X-Treme X-Men wraps up with issue #46.  This is cause for celebration.  It doesn't really mark the end of the series, since almost everyone is decamping to Uncanny X-Men, where the art will probably be a better fit for the writing.  But it does mark the end of that god-awful name.  Believe me, the sum total of human happiness has been added to by my knowledge that I won't have to type that dreadful name in future. 

"X-Treme."  I ask you.

Anyway, this is a curious bridging issue which, on closer inspection, doesn't actually bridge anything.  The X-Men finally learn about Magneto's occupation of New York which, it seems, didn't actually make it to the news until it had finished, despite lasting a week.  (Little things, I know, but they irritate me.)  Claremont takes this as a cue for his cast to head to New York, join the rescue efforts, and meet up with some other characters.  And that's basically it - a somewhat belated quasi-9/11 story, and a reminder about the XSE storyline from a few months back.

It's a mixed bag, with the "outpouring of sympathy" stuff working best.  One of the problems that the Marvel Universe has had with 9/11 is the inherent implausibility of its inhabitants regarding the terrorist attack as a big deal, bearing in mind that they get invaded by aliens on a fortnightly basis.  This, on the other hand, is a genuine disaster even by Marvel Universe standards, and the scenes work rather well.

On the other hand, there's some clunky plot advancement, such as Rachel Summers inexplicably deciding to name herself Marvel Girl (a name with nothing but nostalgia to commend it), and a really awful scene where Sage and Rogue restore Gambit's powers.  God alone knows why Sage didn't do this months ago, or indeed where she suddenly developed shape-changing powers.  Or maybe it's meant to be an illusion.  It's hard to tell - but it's a mess, anyway.  Unusually, the scene also features noticeably botched colouring, where the colour and warmth of the room actually changes entirely from one page to another.

Attempts to position this as the end of a series (such as having the team waving goodbye in the recap page) are cute, but seem a bit out of place - after all, the book is effectively just moving down the road to take over Uncanny X-Men.  And since this issue doesn't wrap up any storylines, or relocate them to New York, I have to wonder quite why it was felt necessary.  It feels as if this book, and New Mutants, have been wheeled out to provide an extra issue whose primary purpose is to play up the momentousness of Reload rather than to actually do anything.

Still, it's generally quite readable as a fallout issue.  And at least there's no mind control in it.

Rating: B-

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