Astonishing X-men 13 (Spoilers)

[Leirus]

Alex reeks of desperation. With his mind put right back by Emma and Polaris over in x-men blue, he is trying to be a hero again. First he goes solo, and goes as you saw in the preview. Then he just goes into the mansion in Central Park and tries to grab some students to make his own X-men team. It is interesting that he wants to be called Havok, I guess the the "call me Alex" days are in the past now that the Avengers do not want to be seen in the same general area as him. The students however are less than impressed, and Kitty (rightly, for once) chews his head off. He can not just waltz back and recruit some child soldiers. Warpath is present to witness his total emasculation.

So he goes to Beast, who is teaching in Harvard, because both of them have “disappointed every single person they know”. The rationale being they both can find redemption together. But Beast is tired of fighting. Half his teeth are prostethics and under the fur he is scarred all over.

Over in B-plot land a military guy is using the Reavers to capture experts in mutant genetics. Not real world old doctor ladies, mind you, but exciting ones. They start by baging Miss Sinister (I guess they decided Sinister himself was above their paygrade). Given Moira is still dead, their next stop is Beast…

And so the Reavers attack the Hank-Beast meeting. There is some fun banter about who is their actual target, with Beast thinking they are there for Havok. Luckily Beast has a secret weapon.

And with two of the most despised and unlikable X-men around as leads you need someone really warm and lovable to make this work (There is a reason Dazzler is the one in the cover). So Beast pushes a lever and a door opens. In the shadows a high collared figure can be seen. And it starts low, a sound effect we have not seen in ages. eeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

ENTER THE WAIL OF THE BANSHEE

**** yeah. He looks like crap, and it is not the usual male Land thing, he is all parched up. God only knows what that traitorous monkey-cat has done to him.






So, Land. I dislike his art deeply, but it is not the worst we have seen of him. Also not his best, mind you.

About the writing, I like the fact that he takes the time to pick up characters from where they were left. Like the reavers after the Wolverine mini, Beast being a pariah after his “trial”, Banshee having been in a lab for a while, and so on. The banter is fun, and I expect it will be better once characters that are not Havok and Beast show up.
The pep talk was super sudden, and Land is not good at talking heads. I do not know if the intention was making Alex look like a twat. Points for using Rockslide to mock him pretty much in character. A lesser writer would have chosen Quentin. It is also cool that Iron man is written as a smug *******, and the he remembered that Kitty actually dislikes Havok.

With the Banshee reveal, it is also clear that this team has only one gal, which is curious. I hope they pick another one along the way. Emma would be ideal, as she has close ties with all the cast (except Dazz, maybe) and fits the redemption thing.