I have said many times I am not a fan of annuals especially not ones written so long ago. They never have anything to do with the main ongoing plot and vary wildly in quality. Thankfully with this issue it is in the minority. The art is superb and while the story is such a massive departure from the main ongoing saga of the X-Men, it was well written and gripping. I don't know Arkon nor do I really care for a tangential story to rip me away from the X-Men finally reuniting with Jean and Xavier but at least it was an enjoyable read.