I’m always skeptical while picking up Annuals. They are usually more expensive and usually don’t contribute to the main ongoing story. More often than not, it’s a chance to showcase a writer or artist that don’t normally appear on the book, and give them a chance to work with the characters involved. They can be a good time, but I ask myself, “Am I going to be missing anything if I don’t get this?” The answer with this one, is “YES!” I’ve been waiting for Uncanny X-Men to focus on the new mutants that Cyclops has recruited for months now. Eva Bell, Tempus, might be the most intriguing of these new characters. Goldballs, Morph, Triage, Hijack… they’re all great. But you could tell that Bendis has been building towards something special with Tempus. This issue sets the stage for what should be a great payoff in Part 2 (continued in All New X-Men Annual #1). I don’t want to spoil this issue… I can’t spoil this issue. As you read it, and see what Eva has gone through, knowing where she ends up, it’s entertaining and heartbreaking. You know, we were talking about something similar the other day. Your relationship with someone is usually pretty casual, until something big happens. When something goes wrong in someone’s life, and you see them at their most broken, there’s a level of trust that is born. I have friends I know that are great people, but we only talk about our kids, or sports, or whatever else is the flavor of the week. These are good people that I trust. But those friends I had when I was dumped by my girlfriend, when I was unemployed, when I felt so incredibly alone in the world… those are the friends I’m closest to because so much of our relationship is more than words. That’s Bendis’ goal here in showing you the hardships of Eva’s life. It’s not done for shock value or done to just further a storyline. It’s done to get you to truly care about Eva. Mission accomplished.