A step towards making Peter Parker, not Tony Stark is great.

Found this one more enjoyable then the last several issues.

The artwork for the most part looked great, but the story structure was a bit of a mess.

In the first issue of Gold we are introduced to a demon looking member of the new Brotherhood of Mutants. Later placed in captivity, his story slowly unfolds. He is an alien. He was under Mesmero's control. Now we get the story of why he is on Earth. Just as has been done with numerous characters he was exiled because he was a mutant. He grew up a wild man that then re-entered civilization like an otherworldly Tarzan. Eventually he is exiled again to Earth for unexplained reasons. I found the story cliche, but still kept me reading. Where his story lost me was the inclusion of a rebellion that used Nazi (like) imagery. It was just one too many used tropes. Especially after Secret Empire. I was also unclear if he was just trying to get home or now wants to take over Earth. Earth in this case is just a prison planet where he was exiled so that seems unlikely. Since we are not told however, it is still possible that this is his new plan. This had little payoff for me making it a wast of time. The story tries to make him a sympathetic and menacing villain, but he comes off as redundant. I will give the writing credit for trying to present Mojo more like he was in the Longshot solo series. He is deadly and over the top. Where this issue did shine for me was the art. The pencils did a lot with tired character designs. The colors are a good balance of bright and washed out that did not lean to heavy between cartoon or gritty. It felt like a good fit for an X title. more

No X-Men in this book. A character I suppose we are supposed to like learning about...hmmm

A Nazi/naked alien? Really? Worst X-Men run ever.

It's an entire issue of backstory for Kologoth, the "Creepy New Guy" reptile monster who's cameoed several times since #1. It is a mashup of villain tropes that becomes absurd in its comprehensiveness: He's a Negative Zone mutant exile parent-killer who became a demagogue/prophet/dictator-in-waiting with *way too many* Nazi parallels.

I feel like I just won at villainous origin bingo.

(He's also running around naked on Earth while his flashbacks make it crystal clear that his people *do* believe in clothes. Anybody remember Killface from Frisky Dingo?)

I question the timing of this issue. *Why* was it important to squeeze this clown's backstory in right now when the final scene reveals the next arc will be devoted to Mojo, not Kologoth?

Luke Ross contributes pro forma visuals snatched right from Mike Deodato's wheelhouse. Hilariously, Marc Guggenheim calls this Mr. Ross's "unique voice" on the letters page.
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... is that a Nazi alien? Lol. I'm going to give 2, just because I laughed so hard at this. As long as Fox has the movie rights, Marvel's simply going to butcher every single X-Men comic book, aren't they.

The random alien thing finally got his time to shine after several issues of being ignored... and hopefully that light goes out now

A really weak issue after a promising premise. Everything was wrapped up way to fast making omega red a throwaway villain in his return being easily defeated by old man Logan. Illyana was very poorly utilized in this short two story arc, not being able to handle things on her own. Finally Peter transforming again was very random and not something very exciting, making that side story a pointless dull adventure more

A step up from previous issuses making it a fun read