So the combination of a hackneyed plot, deficient art and an oppressive continuity force me to decline to read another issue of X-Men. Maybe after another 10 years, Ill come back to this title. Im sure it will still be around by then Read Full Review

Less interesting: Stock plot, stock characters, only a tiny backbone for Havoc. Emma comes off better than anyone, so follow that lead and keep her around to goad the team on. Milligan needs to get definitive with these characters, and quick. Hes shown he can do it with Marvel mainstream when he played the Avengers straight in their unlikely and surreal but definitely effective battle with the last days of X-statix. He knows all about mutants. I dont expect the body count or the inspired riffs on the concept in this book. I just expect good stories with interesting characters, and a fair amount of drama and life or death intensity along the way. I know Milligans capable, and Im willing to give him more rope at this point. Read Full Review

It is nice to see Salvador Larroca has gotten himself an inker on this book, as if there was one thing that I didn't care much for when I last saw his art was the decision to use a new coloring process that skipped over the inking step, as it gave his art a washed out, decidedly soft appearance. Now his work on this issue could do a better job of conveying the action as there are moments where it's difficult to follow what's going on, and I was also a little disappointed that the art didn't do a better job of conveying the visual excitement of this group's powers, as Havok has one of the more impressive looking powers on the X-Men, and the art failed to capture this idea during its brief action sequence. On the other hand the art does a pretty decent job of conveying the unsettling quality of the opening sequence as the X-Men make their way through the ruins of the compound. The cover image is also a lovely visual, even if it does feature Wolverine, who is nowhere to be found in these Read Full Review

The Verdict: Well, one must admit that X-Men has a certain built-in readership. That unwavering loyalty is to be at times admired, at others, pitied. As the series debut of a fan-favorite writer, though, this issue of X-Men enjoys even more attention. And, unfortunately, it utterly disappoints. Read Full Review