X-Men #161 begins Chuck Austen's final arc.

Chuck Austen's final arc.  I like those words.  I think I'll write them again.  Chuck Austen's final arc.  Mmmmm.  It's like stroking a mink.

This is a big fight between the X-Men and the new Brotherhood of Mutants.  In the background, Austen seems to be clearing up some remaining storylines.  Annie Ghazikhanian ups and leaves for no immediately apparent reason (or at least, none that wasn't equally applicable from the moment she arrived).  Polaris is suddenly sane again, for no apparent reason.  Rogue has her powers back, for no apparent reason.

The new Brotherhood is a curious selection.  Exodus makes reasonable sense - while his last appearance had him trying to reform, his history gives him a sensible justification to try and follow in Magneto's boots.  Avalanche has been in plenty of previous incarnations.  Black Tom has never shown much interest in this sort of thing before, but than I suppose he's meant to be mad, and in stories like these, madness is a handy justification for anything you want the character to do.

Sabretooth and Nocturne, on the other hand, seem entirely out of place.  It's hard to see why anyone would have recruited Nocturne in the first place, or why she would have said yes (except to infiltrate, but that brings us back to the question of what idiot would invite her to join in the first place).  Sabretooth has never been much of an idealist, and unless he's being paid to turn up, his presence on the roster is unconvincing.

Once again, Salvador Larroca's art at least means that it's nice to look at.  The story, however, is the standard mix of the illogical and the uninspired that we've regrettably come to expect.

Rating: C+

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