We have definitely been taken back to school. And while that's all we'll get of this experience as X-Men heads into Battle of The Atom, we can only hope that Woods shifts back to this kind of storytelling because no matter how far the Marvel Universe expands or grows, no school is better than the old school. Read Full Review

Another strong issue from a tight and well-executed series. Read Full Review

Overall this is another high quality issue of X-Men. Brian Wood has proven over the last few years that not many writers are as well equipped to handle the duties of writing a x-book. His inventive use of mutant powers combined with a focus on the interpersonal relationships within the team have made sure that this title can not only stand next to the other x-books on the stands, but surpass them in many ways. The media may have been focused on the fact that this is a book featuring an all female cast, but ultimately the focus should now shift to just how well Brian Wood gets the X-Men. Read Full Review

Brian Wood offers fans a little bit of everything that can be asked for from a comic with X-Men #4. The argument between Storm and Rachel address a long standing question in superhero comics and further establishes Storms role as the leader of this group. Not to be left out of the issue Kitty, Psylocke and Rogue steal the show in during their screen time with a riveting sequence that involves the three saving an airplane over a mountain range. The Wolverine and Jubilee portion of this issue helps break up the seriousness of what the other X-Men are doing and highlights the father-daughter relationship that they share. With so many X-Men comics to choose from every month Wood breaks out of the pack with X-Men #4 and stakes a claim at having one of the cant miss comic books. Read Full Review

X-Men #4 works because it covers the rounds. There's action, a sense of newness and exploration, and psychology. This is a team looking to take a stand, and as sum of its parts, it's pushing and pulling all at once. There are dynamics that create a palpable tension within the team, and though the narrative could have been a wee bit stronger, it's the action that really speak louder than the words. Read Full Review

With issue four, Wood starts stepping in a new direction with his new-age X-Men team and it's a good idea to follow if you aren't already. This series is just getting started after a couple of intense issues. Read Full Review

Watching the X-Women work together through David Lopez's pencils is an engaging and entertaining experience. I've never seen Psylocke's powers used in such a creative way, and credit goes to Lopez for making it all look so cool. There's a few faces that look a tad strange -- Psylocke sighing, Wolverine making any facial expression -- but the rest of the comic is executed with expertise. There's a palpable sense of speed as the planes careen through the sky, and the closing pages create so much tension it'll have you holding your breath. Read Full Review

This was a terrific issue, as although not as exciting as the previous story, it was very entertaining, having plenty of emotion, suspense, and drama. It also had great character development, and was overall a brilliant stand alone issue. Due to all this I'd highly recommend it, as it's a perfect starting point for new readers, especially with Battle of the Atom about to start. Read Full Review

As a mild breather between events and an epilogue to the three part Primer storyline with Arkea, X-Men has a decent piece here overall that lets the two tales unfold at their own pace. While I wish that the main story didn't take place within an action setup for it since that's just expected and feels perfunctory, I liked what they got across because you have Rachel and Ororo each coming from such different backgrounds and hard experiences that you do expect them to butt heads once in awhile about the overall approach to things, particularly with Ororo having gone to that political level for awhile. I also rather liked the Logan and Jubilee story as the two of them have a certain kind of relaxed nature that's definitely good to see from both of them and it helps to ease Jubilee into what comes next. I just wish there was a little more backstory given for Shogo for those that came into this series fresh. Read Full Review

I'd love to see more stories like this, and less of the manufactured heroics. Read Full Review

For being an issue that's crammed between the phenomenal opening arc and the upcoming Battle of the Atom event, X-Men #4 gets quite a bit done with the little space it has. With few but glaring slip-ups in the art and divergent plotlines, the issue is still a decent read. I highly recommend picking up this series. X-Men is only 4 issues in and I have a strong feeling that it will be one of the best ongoing X-Men series. Read Full Review

Overall, this is an extremely good looking comic, with some great dialogue. The major plot is a bit of a throw-away, but it's not the main attraction anyway. I definitely think it's worth picking up, regardless! Read Full Review

Overall, this issue doesn't exactly stand up against the opening arc in many aspects, but scrapes by on pure personality alone. Wood clearly gets why these women are popular enough to warrant a team and a title dedicated them, but too often falls in the trap of feeling like a ‘man writing about women' instead of just telling his story. It's a shame because when he does tell the story, it works. Especially now that he has an artist as capable as Lopez to bring all together and make this issue enjoyable, despite everything. Read Full Review

For a filler issue, it’s pretty solid, with a story that’s not too heavy but still interesting that no one should be dropping the series before we get into Battle of the Atom here. Read Full Review

The best moments of "X-Men" #4 are smaller, like when Kitty and Rogue rib Psylocke about her love life, or Shogo's silly baby facial expressions on the beach or in a restaurant. In upcoming issues of "X-Men," Wood will probably return to a story more like tightly-wound action of the first story arc, but it would be good to see more of this kind of grace and humor as part of his characterization strategy. Read Full Review

Without Olivier Coipel as a selling point, Brian Wood's X-Men is quickly losing its edge, as this well-illustrated book falls back on some fairly tired team tropes. Read Full Review