New X-Men #131 finds us between story arcs, so we get a token epilogue to the Weapon XII plot in the form of Darkstar's funeral, followed by two parallel stories advancing character arcs.  The common theme here is dysfunctional relationships and seduction.

Getting roughly half the book is the Scott and Emma arc, which has been on a very, very slow boil for most of Morrison's run.  (In other words, he mentions it every three months or so.)  Emma has a chat with Scott about his feelings for Jean and, despite protesting that she doesn't want to cross Jean again, she seems to be setting out to break up their marriage.

There's some validity to the common criticism that comics writers seem congenitally unable to leave happily married couples alone, since drama equals conflict, and if you have an ongoing series then the conflict can never end.  On the other hand, Jean and Scott have had a good eight years of blissful harmony, so it's fair enough to start probing around the edges.  Morrison's version of Scott seems to draw more heavily on the excuse-making character who walked out on his wife back in the 1980s for no terribly good reason, but that's a part of the character's history whether people like it or not.  If anything, this version of Scott might deviate from the template by being a little too interesting.  I've always found Scott a bit dull.

The other subplot takes us back to Angel and the Beak at the school, with Angel kissing him for a bet and the Beak falling hopelessly in love with him.  All very soapy, not to mention a shamelessly stock plot, but I like the dynamic Morrison's established between these two characters.  The obvious way to go from here is a transition into a real relationship, softening Angel and giving the Beak a bit more confidence, which would be your classic "wish fulfilment for teenage readers" angle.  Despite my better judgment that it would be an awful cliche, I'd quite like to see it.  Beak is a bit of a caricature, but Angel's showing signs of being an interesting character.

This week's guest artists (does this book even have regular artists in any meaningful sense any more?) are John Paul Leon and Bill Sienkiewicz.  It's not as heavy on the shadow as some of Leon's work, and Sienkiewicz's inking - normally overpowering - plays it fairly straight here.  At times the work is a bit too loose, but the layouts are strong, and they sell the characters well enough to get the story over.

Another good issue.

Rating: A-

back | continue