Way of X 4 preview

[jwatson]

I wanted to stick around for the plot but I’m not buying this book anymore. I think the way Dust uses her powers are awesome, but I agree that the characters are just ciphers that are molded to fit the writers personal opinions. Even from the new previews I can guess where is probably going:

A mutant shows up to lecture Nightcrawler about everything the higher ups are doing wrong (This time it’s Dust)
Obligatory jab at kurt being religious (is Dust REALLY the sort of person who would turn her nose up at Kurt being religious!)
Nightcrawler remains passive and ineffectual to the plot
Legion plays and active role to move the plot forward because it’s his book
Pixie and Dr Nemisis are there.

Tune in for Way of X 5: Rinse and Repeat

The dust thing in particular is why in the storm thread i admit maybe he is that good of a writer he just has me triggered because i don't remember Dust ever sounding anywhere close to this. Nightcrawler also has never been a prude about sex and to have David (david did not sound like this in the mini with Blindfold in it.) of all people acting like he is the authority on good motivation just seems really backwards. I think i may give it one more issue or after the onslaught story but little things have me unsure. It is hard to tell if he is a weak writer because the characters are being moved by the plot not vice versa but this is the first time i have ever disliked any of the characters in this book, ever, so he could really be doing a great job and all of a sudden when onslaught is exorcised everyone at least is less of a debbie downer. But i'm on like full alert.

[From The Shadows]

Think we all agree on that!

Well... Marvel hated her during some feeding frenzy after 9/11. And she had actually been created after it so that made less sense. Maybe that's why she is always being pushed out.

[Starfish]

I'm still trying to figure out if I'm looking forward to where last issue is leading for Mercury. :/

Yeah, same. The wait for the next issue would probably be less stressful if we had any idea where her arc in this is headed, because with Spurrier it could go in any direction, including some where I'm not sure he has the necessary nuance as a writer to pull it off.

The dust thing in particular is why in the storm thread i admit maybe he is that good of a writer he just has me triggered because i don't remember Dust ever sounding anywhere close to this. Nightcrawler also has never been a prude about sex and to have David (david did not sound like this in the mini with Blindfold in it.) of all people acting like he is the authority on good motivation just seems really backwards. I think i may give it one more issue or after the onslaught story but little things have me unsure. It is hard to tell if he is a weak writer because the characters are being moved by the plot not vice versa but this is the first time i have ever disliked any of the characters in this book, ever, so he could really be doing a great job and all of a sudden when onslaught is exorcised everyone at least is less of a debbie downer. But i'm on like full alert.

A lot of characters seem a bit off compared to their previous characterization. Like you'd think at least Pixie would have suggested they should keep an eye on Mercury after realizing what kind of thoughts she has and with Onslaught still out there haunting vulnerable mutants, but instead they all couldn't wait to get back to that bar to get sloshed again. It's certainly possible that all of that is because of Onslaught's influence, with this version apparently created by Orchis to hasten Krakoa's collapse by turning everyone into a self-absorbed egoist, but right now it doesn't make the book's protagonists come off very endearing or smart.

[Del torro]

I think i'm starting to see the "destructive" or writers brought on to be the antagonists vs. the "builders" or rather protagonist to the era. Preview looks great. I never have much to say about this book but def in my top five.

Yeah....
It kind of feels like anytime I read anything big happen on Krakoa, there's a writer who goes in their book to under sell it

[Sutekh]

The lack of a moon, able to move the tides, is an issue.
Phobos and Demos are tiny!
But I’m sure that if necessary the mutants could find a stray planetoid or amalgamate some asteroids?

Yeah, it also needs a (bigger) moon to form a useful magnetosphere, which helps against radiation from space and I think in retaining whatever atmosphere it has gained (somehow? I don't remember who actually *created* the atmosphere that Storm was manipulating...) from the terraforming process.

But it's a comic book about dudes that shoot stuff out of their face that has zero recoil (since it doesn't push their eyes out the back of their skull every time they fire), except when they mysteriously *do* have recoil and he can use them to slow a fall? I don't expect science.

[Sutekh]

I'll be surprised if it's acknowledged anywhere else. If there was a problem, the Arakki would be handling it anyway.

Yeah, in all those millions of Arakki mutants, there's probably a few Rictor/Petra/Avalanche/Magma types who can backhand a volcano into behaving. Hell, Genosha was churning out the geokinetics back in the day. It was a plot point that some NPC character was ideally suited to be a healer, but the Gengineer said they 'had plenty of healers, and needed more earthmovers' and tweaked her mutation to be more in line with their needs.

[jwatson]

And if the volcano is such a problem why don't the non omega mutants just stand up and do their job to help out other mutants without resentment. Why couldn't magma do anything about the volcano if that is a problem but yet we have dust being a jerk. Yeah sleeping on it, i'm out on this one.

[king of hybrids]

Krakoa reaching for the stars without having actually made sure of its own feet seems to be a recurring them with Way of X and New Mutants

[Kingdom X]

I’d be very interested to see a tension between different classes of mutants, I’ve said that before.
Who is cleaning Emma’s toilet? Who’s doing Eric’s laundry? Someone has to be.

I feel like this book has huge potential to explore important issues like that, but unlike some other writers I think Si knows that his book might not last long so he's rushing through plot points that would seem way less in your face if he had the time to explore them over more issues.

Honestly maybe they should go back to having a bunch of series with "X-Men" at the end of the title like, "Astonishing, Amazing, Extraordinary," etc and then sales might go up.

Obligatory jab at kurt being religious (is Dust REALLY the sort of person who would turn her nose up at Kurt being religious!)

This actually irked me a little bit because I was hoping that Dust would show up in this book because her religion is such a huge part of her character, and it would be nice to have someone for Kurt to bounce off of who is coming from a similar but also distinct place as him.

[Malachi]

And if the volcano is such a problem why don't the non omega mutants just stand up and do their job to help out other mutants without resentment. Why couldn't magma do anything about the volcano if that is a problem but yet we have dust being a jerk. Yeah sleeping on it, i'm out on this one.

I’m not going to excuse everything that’s going on in this book. It seems though that it is showing us the disconnect in Krakoa. The lack of information channels. For instance the volcano might be something that only Soraya and a select few so far knows of. This was her way of informing the council. What they need somewhere to file rapports or report problems then some part of the government sends mutants suited for the problem.

Why Storm,if she spends her time on the planet, isn’t working on it or staying in close contact with the council is beyond me.

I’m still picking this up but for every issue so far I have found problems in the characterization. Not Excalibur bad yet but it’s affecting my enjoyment. Still loving the way Pixie is drawn!

[Rev9]

At least one of the Xorn brothers should replace either Jean or Storm on the QC, if not both.

[Rev9]

I'm still trying to figure out if I'm looking forward to where last issue is leading for Mercury. :/


That's the main reason I want to see this addressed in SWORD as well. It feels off for it to just be, essentially, a throwaway joke in Way of X, instead of a very serious problem that should be a plot in the space book.

The Mercury handling so far is atrocious. if her whole repressed anger issues are just a bait and switch to revert to her typical wall flower depiction. I'm gonna lose it.She should be a regular on S.W.O.R.D to get better paneltime or story.

[Starfish]

The Mercury handling so far is atrocious. if her whole repressed anger issues are just a bait and switch to revert to her typical wall flower depiction. I'm gonna lose it.She should be a regular on S.W.O.R.D to get better paneltime or story.

Her anger issues just getting magically resolved by the plot would probably be the outcome I'd hate the most, but I doubt they'd have bothered to get us into her mind and reveal some of her darkest memories if she wasn't going to get some character development out of this. I like to remain optimistic and think it may lead to more prominent roles in other books down the line. And I really like the S.W.O.R.D idea; she's perfectly suited for space and other hostile environments, and might actually end up feeling more at home on Arakko than Krakoa.

[ExodusCloak]

Dust is savage, a credit to the New Hellions

[Paragon]

The Mercury handling so far is atrocious. if her whole repressed anger issues are just a bait and switch to revert to her typical wall flower depiction. I'm gonna lose it.She should be a regular on S.W.O.R.D to get better paneltime or story.

Like if they stop Onslaught and everyone just goes back to acting like they did before, with no time given for introspection? That certainly wouldn't be satisfying.

I do still love your SWORD idea. Considering how little Mercury's powers have been explored over the last decade, two of the logical places for her to be useful are harsh conditions or something taking advantage of her magic resistance.

Two other random points about the preview:
-The art always looks great; it's some of my favorite in the entire X-line.
-Dust and the Xorns waving at each other made me laugh.