X-Men Blue #23 SPOILERS Summary

[JasonEsta]

Definitely the best issue of the series, but Jimmy and Bloodstorm need more to do. There were on the cover and everything, but barely had a page or two of focused story. I get Bunn just loves Magneto to death, but come on. The Madripoor ninja kids got more paneltime.

You gotta be kidding me...Magneto has barely been in this book. Bloodstorm and the X kids have held this book hostage for months.

[RLAAMJR.]

Can somebody post some beautiful Bloodstorm scans please? I really love how the artist drew her.

[airdreams]

Emma and Alex must have their own plans and it's good to see Bunn doesn't forget that they have irreconcilable conflict in ideology with Bastion and Sinister.

[jmc247]

And she has shown interest in advising Magneto & basically bein' his #2, as well as spending more time with him & eXpanding upon their hereditary relationship. Also, training & prepping the team for worst-case scenarios, seems to be somethin' she's been pretty invested in. And I can't help but think sortin' out this Mothervine mess, along with everything that's led up to it... is somethin' she's doin' for herself, as much as anybody else.

Then it will be great to see her explain why she is doing it in time and for what outside of wanting to fix her boyfriend.

I still have a really bad taste from Fabian Nicieza deciding to turn her time on Genosha entirely into a secret quest to find Havok who fell into the Mutant X universe. I can assure you reading Mutant X Havok was focused on getting back, but not for entirely or even mostly Lorna centric reasons.

[King_Thor13]

Finally. I'm so so glad we're back to proper X-Men stories. I've enjoyed bits and pieces of the O5, but they've long since worn out their welcome. I really didn't care for the symbiote sub-plot, so this is a godsend in comparison. Very happy to be seeing more of Magneto, Polaris, Emma Frost and Havok. Seems to me like Bunn is enjoying using these characters, more so than the young X-Men at least. Love that he's bringing in more players too; Sebastian Shaw, Xorn, Exodus, Unuscione, Elixir... all have a part to play in X-Men Blue in the coming months. I like that we've slowly been building to this, and now we've got the beginnings of a great arc that might just be a fresh start for many characters involved. Can't wait to see how it plays out.

Based on the dialogue, I suspect Bunn might be building a slow redemption arc for Emma Frost, and might even eventually undo Havok's inversion somehow. Whether it's editorial or fan request or just great writers, there does seem to be an awareness of reintroducing some characters best selves. Generation X cured Jubilee's vampirism and restored her mutant powers, and separated Emplate & M, whilst over in Tamaki's She-Hulk run Jen Walters was back to her green self. Even fan-favorite Avengers are going back to the status-quo: Ironman, Thor, Captain America etc. Maybe we'll be lucky enough to get Emma and Havok back to the versions we know and love.

I do also think we might just be transitioning into a new team of X-Men. With the O5 seemingly on their way out, and a new line-up temporarily assembled, there's room for readjustment. I can't imagine Xorn or Gazing Nightshade will stick around for too long, and might even be killed off. Daken doesn't really fit either, given he has no ties to any of them (yet) Maybe once this is all done we'll get a new team with Magneto, Polaris, Danger, Emma Frost + Havok together. That'd be a pretty rad line-up, and there'd still be room for further expansion: Elixir, Unuscione, Mystique, Banshee, Blink, Frenzy, Sunfire etc. I love the idea of there being a darker equivalent to the X-Men, closer to the Brotherhood of Mutants in its execution. Brilliant that's it's dealing with the Hellfire Club, Acolytes, Sleepers and such too. Some great stories there. This is the kind of book I want Bunn to be writing.

Some other notes:

• Bloodstorm is looking hella good. Even if she & Jimmy didn't get to do much this issue, vamp Ororo was looking fresh.
• Yawn for the Raksha. They don't bring much to the table and I wouldn't care like, at all, if Malice or Bastion or whoever were to kill them all.
• Shaw is great, and his secondary mutation was a nice twist and makes him even more formidable. I do wish we'd seen who's in the new Inner Circle, but I suppose that'd sideline the story slightly
• The art was great. Love seeing the characters drawn well.
• We knew Malice was coming. Her being from an ultimate reality means she'll probably be destroyed.
• Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Ferris
• Weird that Gazing Nightshade has taken on characteristics of Jubilee & Blindfold, both more interesting characters.

[LoganAlpha30X33]

I don't think that Alex and Emma would be together on the same team with Lorna, as a couple, as I hope that they aren't now and won't be but more it seems that they both want the same thing and are only working together to that end, and since Alex is like the only character in Marvel that is still inverted, if you don't count Sabretooth, it's high time that ended and he got his face fixed up...

[ShepardOakenshieldPrime]

Much better than the whole Poison X arc, the art was awesome too.

[AbnormallyNormal]

No doubt about it, that arc with symbiotes was pretty uninteresting as a fan of X-lore. Although it was sort of cool they had Venom disembowel some alien just for info... shocked that was put in this book actually. And the Jott stuff is pretty decent.

But yeah now we're getting The Good Stuff

[Heroine Addict]

... Maybe once this is all done we'll get a new team with Magneto, Polaris, Danger, Emma Frost + Havok together. That'd be a pretty rad line-up, and there'd still be room for further expansion: Elixir, Unuscione, Mystique, Banshee, Blink, Frenzy, Sunfire etc. I love the idea of there being a darker equivalent to the X-Men, closer to the Brotherhood of Mutants in its execution. Brilliant that's it's dealing with the Hellfire Club, Acolytes, Sleepers and such too. Some great stories there. This is the kind of book I want Bunn to be writing. ...

Connecting the dots, this has been my inclination since the SE announcement from C2E2 last year:

... that came in late April, right after ResurrXion had just launched.

And it's been growing more & more ever since, in part due to... coordinated support seen elsewhere, which I've interpreted as signaling, or 'showing their hand':

... i.e., harmonious developments, that can't be just chalked up to coincidence.

YES, these 2 would be GREAT:

... and PERFECT additions!!

[jmc247]

And it's been growing more & more ever since, in part due to... coordinated support seen elsewhere, which I've interpreted as signaling, or 'showing their hand':

... i.e., harmonious developments, that can't be just chalked up to coincidence.



YES, these 2 would be GREAT:

The Gifted Lorna allied to the Frost's because in the end saving the mutant race meant more to her then her boyfriend and friends.



Right now the comic version is entirely individual focused so yes she might go along with some kind of project to save Havok and help him, but you can understand why I want her to be a bit deeper then that if such a thing happens.

[Mitteloss]

I am glad this story is finally moving, it's been a long while since I have been this excited about a storyline. As others mentioned, the story flows from many previous events, so I appreciate the respect for continuity. It helps the X-verse feel more organic, and Bunn here builds directly on both his own run and those of writers before him. The focus is also refreshingly not on the O5 and characters from AUs, but long established characters with complex histories like Emma, Magneto, Polaris and Havok.

The twist I can deal with. I can even deal with Havolaris and you know how I feel about that 'relationship'. Lorna having no depth and being generic and in the end mono dimensional is a step above the other two.

I agree with you and Soulsword here. I think this is a perspective many who perhaps are less invested in Polaris can struggle to appreciate. Polaris hasn't had much of a chance to appear so it is a shame, relatively speaking, that much of the character emphasis has by default been placed on her relationship with Havok during this issue, as has happened throughout her history. I would have appreciated a bit more padding into other, deep seated reasons why Lorna is working with Magneto. I understand however there may have been constraints on time, but ultimately I think Lorna is a character worthy of a long term rise from a supporting role to Havok or Magneto's story here.

Yet, it is only the start of this arc, so I am going to wait and see. I still have confidence Bunn can develop Lorna into a more multi-faceted character during this arc and don't want to base my reaction on just a few (may I say gorgeous) pages, and I hope she is able to overcome Malice through her own means. Something I believe can and may still happen. I am looking forward!

[Havok83]

YES, these 2 would be GREAT:

... and PERFECT additions!!

Is that Frenzy? Is she supposed to be white now?

[RLAAMJR.]

Connecting the dots, this has been my inclination since the SE announcement from C2E2 last year:

... that came in late April, right after ResurrXion had just launched.

And it's been growing more & more ever since, in part due to... coordinated support seen elsewhere, which I've interpreted as signaling, or 'showing their hand':

... i.e., harmonious developments, that can't be just chalked up to coincidence.

YES, these 2 would be GREAT:

... and PERFECT additions!!

I love Sunfire! :-)

[LoganAlpha30X33]

Yeah that's Frenzy, not sure about her skin color sorry, though in The Gifted the mutant race is in an entirely different place than in the X world so things are VERY different there and you can't compare the two...

[jmc247]

I am glad this story is finally moving, it's been a long while since I have been this excited about a storyline. As others mentioned, the story flows from many previous events, so I appreciate the respect for continuity. It helps the X-verse feel more organic, and Bunn here builds directly on both his own run and those of writers before him. The focus is also refreshingly not on the O5 and characters from AUs, but long established characters with complex histories like Emma, Magneto, Polaris and Havok.

As am I.

I agree with you and Soulsword here. I think this is a perspective many who perhaps are less invested in Polaris can struggle to appreciate. Polaris hasn't had much of a chance to appear so it is a shame, relatively speaking, that much of the character emphasis has by default been placed on her relationship with Havok during this issue, as has happened throughout her history. I would have appreciated a bit more padding into other, deep seated reasons why Lorna is working with Magneto.

In terms of fleshing out her relationship with Magneto I certainly think that will happen though its pretty apparent why she is there. Its pretty much the same reason why any 20 or 30 something moves back in with their parent. She has no significant other and lost her job for whatever reason. Magneto when she rejoined him this time really didn't have any grand plan other then wanting to stay dead and let the 05 manage things.

Its not too different when the last time at the end of the 90s that X-Factor collapsed and Havok disappeared and she had a major mental breakdown similar, but different to the one Emma had when Scott died as Lorna went totally reclusive living alone with Alex's shirt and taking to it for a few months. Magneto broke up the situation by getting her to come to Genosha with the side benefit of shoring up his rule.

I understand however there may have been constraints on time, but ultimately I think Lorna is a character worthy of a long term rise from a supporting role to Havok or Magneto's story here.

Even in the support role she can weigh in on important team conversations like they just had about Mothervine and Magneto going dark knight.

That alone for me would have compensated for me in regards to using her for the big introduction into Havok and his story and I do understand why Bunn did it full well as Havok and his backstory had to be introduced for the Cry Havok arc and he seems to be going with the star crossed love angle.

Yet, it is only the start of this arc, so I am going to wait and see. I still have confidence Bunn can develop Lorna into a more multi-faceted character during this arc and don't want to base my reaction on just a few (may I say gorgeous) pages, and I hope she is able to overcome Malice through her own means. Something I believe can and may still happen. I am looking forward!

I am still buying Blue and hoping for the best.