Joss Whedon

A major X-Men event is on the horizon; it may be worth checking out, and perhaps it will launch me back into the expensive habit of picking up every X-title that hits the shelves again. But with X-Men: First Class being the hottest X-book since Whedon started his run here on Astonishing, I’m not sure about how closely I’ll be able to follow the next mega X-event. Questions are abundant: Will Jean Grey return? Who will die? Will Cyclops continue his new darker personality and be in complete control of his powers? Only time will tell, but after a delay, Joss Whedon’s next chapter in his X-Men space saga makes its way to shelves and hits a positive mark, proving why space sagas of a team originally based on social equality is fun and entertaining.

Some of the concepts Joss Whedon has presented during his run on Astonishing haven’t particularly impressed me. For example, I think the idea of the danger room taking on human form and being a sentient evil being is a bit silly and ridiculous, but it is this issue that reminds me what we are dealing with. Maybe it’s Whedon’s style and the plot of the story, or perhaps it is his playful banter between Agent Brand and Beast blatantly and expertly referencing Star Wars, but something about this issue reminded me what this story-arc is. This arc hasn’t been about humans vs. mutants or the X-Men going public as a group of superheroes to “astonish” the world. No, this arc has been the one thing Joss Whedon is the master of: a science fiction epic.

Whedon manages the plethora of characters featured in this issue and story-arc very well. He makes it a very effective team book by not giving any one character, specifically those with adamantium skeletons, the spotlight. He divides the page time accordingly and keeps the story suspenseful and moving along. While there are certain moments that stand out more than others, such as Kitty Pryde standing naked in front of Colossus and the opening spread where Wolverine appears riding what looks like Lobo’s motorcycle, everything flows nicely and remains well maintained throughout this issue.

I love the themes that Whedon brings up in this issue. I haven’t really cared about Ord or the Breakworld. I have felt that the real defining characteristics of this story-arc have been the characterizations and the dialogue Whedon writes for these legendary characters. But the plot thickens in this issue, and I absolutely love where this story is headed. Many of the Breakworlders want to kill Colossus to save their future; however, there is another group that wishes to keep Colossus alive as they believe he will be their savior. Whedon doesn’t dance around the themes of religious interpretation; in fact, he downright puts it in the pages that the two groups of Breakworlders have two separate interpretations of the prophecy. It’s a fantastic way to explore interpretations of prophecy, something that is rampant in today’s world, and Whedon has set Colossus up to either be savior or destroyer.

I’m a hardcore fan of the Cyclops/Jean Grey relationship as well as a big fan of Emma Frost. That being said, since Emma and Cyclops started their affair, I was a little torn over what to think. I’ve also never been the biggest fan of Cyclops and Emma’s relationship and am still waiting for the day when Emma goes back to bad and Jean rips her apart. While I do want to see Jean return, Whedon has made it so that I actually have grown a bit attached to the relationship between Cyclops and Emma. While Whedon’s Cyclops has taken a turn to have a bit more sarcastic personality, it is something his character needed. The dialogue between Emma and Cyclops is fantastic; they may not share the same connection that Jean and Cyclops had, but Whedon makes their relationship legitimate and proves that they go beyond pure physical and sexual attraction. Cyclops even drops the “L-bomb” which I’m sure if Jean does return will cause a few complications.

Backed-up with spectacular artwork from John Cassaday, Joss Whedon has undoubtedly created one of the best X-Men space sagas in years and has really set a high level of expectation for every X-title to follow. While it may be some time before the next issue hits store shelves, it’s unfortunate that Joss Whedon will be moving on. As long as Chris Claremont and Chuck Austen stay away from this series, I’ll be happy. Perhaps X-Men: First Class scribe Jeff Parker will get a shot. This story-arc and run, while outlandish at times, should go down as one of the best X-Men sagas ever.