X-MEN LEGACY #230

Review by: flapjaxx

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Avg Rating: 3.2
 
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Size: pages
Price: 3.99

You know how there’s that advice that some of us comic readers give each other from time to time, about how you should just pick an issue up if you think you want to start reading a series? Don’t worry about continuity too much, just jump right in, go for it, hope for the best and often you’ll be pleasantly surprised. Okay, well, you know what the opposite counterpart to that advice is? To just go ahead and DROP A SERIES ALREADY if it hasn’t done anything for you in at least a year and if the most recent issue was particularly awful.

That’s where I am with X-Men Legacy. The premise of the series has been up in the air for way too long now. The art has been substandard since last winter. And there hasn’t been any good characterization stuff in god knows when. For over a year now I’ve tried to look on the positive as much as possible. The few decent issues of this series in the past year–and there have been a few of those–I’ve pinned my hopes for the future on them as much as possible. But it’s time to stop telling myself that things are going to get better. There’s no reason to suspect that anymore. Maybe things WILL improve for this series, and if I hear six months from now that his title is good again, then I’ll happily jump back on. But after this awful issue, I’m dropping this series.

I love the X-Men. Have for a long time. I love Mike Carey’s writing. Have for a long time. I loved Carey’s first year on Adjectiveless X-Men (pick up that “Supernovas” collection, if you haven’t already done so–some of the best Bachalo art ever). I also really enjoyed the first year/year-and-a-half of this series after it was renamed “Legacy”. I’m a long-standing X-fan, so I really appreciated all of the continuity-obsessed stuff that Carey was dealing with. Many readers complained that this series was just a bunch of vignettes of Professor X walking around in people’s memories–but, for me, I liked that.

Then this series got off track. Rogue came back in the picture, and initially I liked that. In Mike Carey’s first year on X-Men, his Rogue was a great character. But that’s changed. There’s nothing endearing about this character anymore, and that’s NOT just a byproduct of her conquering her powers to an extent. No, Rogue is less interesting because Mike Carey doesn’t know what to do with her anymore. There’s no unique driving force for her character anymore–none that make much sense anyway. And the idea that a troubled Gambit threatens to come BACK in the picture for Rogue AGAIN does nothing to make me want to keep reading.

There’s nothing exciting happening here anymore. Nothing exciting has happened in forever. It’s just been drawn-out story-arc after drawn-out story-arc. None of the dialogue between any of the characters really matters or expands their personalities. (Yeah, what was the point of putting Rogue and Gambit together with Danger during Utopia? There was no point; nothing was accomplished. Is it really interesting to have gotten an earfull every issue lately from the guys from the Science Team? Uh, NO, not interesting at all–just smarmy mumbo jumbo…and not even smarmy in the somewhat interesting way that Fraction writes them.)

The recent conversations that we’re SUPPOSED to think were meaningful were Rogue’s powwows with Cyclops, all about him wanting her to become a teacher for the younger mutants. This idea MIGHT be interesting if it didn’t feel so forced. Why would Cyclops choose Rogue to do this when there are several other mutants on staff who have much more experience teaching mutants? Rogue JUST mastered her powers and got her life in order, and the last time she saw Cyclops they were at odds. So it makes no sense for Cyclops to instantly approach her and ask her to be a teacher of the young mutants. Interesting concept, though? Yeah…but like I say, it feels so very forced. It’s so obvious that Mike Carey is just grasping at straws, trying to come up with anything to give this book the semblance of a purpose already.

But wait–! We’re gonna have to wait even longer to get the status quo of “Rogue as teacher of young mutants” because–drum roll—-We got another crossover coming up starting next issue! … No thanks, guys. I’m checking out. I haven’t hated Necrosha–in fact, I’ve liked it okay–but I am not going to keep reading Legacy if it’s just going to be part of another crossover, meaning that the issues of Legacy won’t really matter because it isn’t Carey who’s really been behind the crossover in the first place. We went from two “Utopia” tie-in issues (which were pointless), to the last four installments that have been branded as part of “Nation X” (waaay too drawn out story; a villain like Emplate does NOT deserve four consecutive issues EVER), and now we’re coming into “Necrosha” tie-ins. No thanks! I know the upcoming issues will be pointless!

…But you know what really sealed the deal for me, to not keep buying Legacy? At first I thought the idea of “Rogue teaching the young mutants” was kinda interesting…but then with this last issue I got a glimpse of who these kids will be.

Bling! (with her annoying exclamation point).

Pixie (the most forced/false pseudo-nu-Kitty Pryde of all time).

Rockslide (he of the jokes so lame that they make Deadpool seem endlessly hilarious).

Etc.

These young mutants suck! They’re all horrible and none of them have ever had any interesting stories written about them ever! How did I forget this? Why on earth would I want to read a series about Rogue palling around with these losers?

In this issue Bling! even makes some weird comments about how Rogue turns her on. Y-y-y-y-yeah…Y’know, I can obviously see where Bling! is coming from on that, but forgive me if I don’t want to read a comic series in which I’m supposed to think it’s cutting-edge/oh-so-NAUGHTY! for comments like that to constitute basically the only unique characterization Bling! has been given in four issues. And after the hot-for-teacher comment she makes some incomprehensible comment about how anything can happen when you sit in on one of your parents’ parties or something.

It’s just a total misfire. Mike Carey is better than this. On the other hand, maybe it isn’t his fault. I get the impression that for some time now Carey has definitely been demoted in importance around the X-office. He used to run the ship as co-captain when Brubaker was there. But after Messiah Complex titles like Cable, X-Force and of course Uncanny have been guiding the line…and Carey seems forced to plan Legacy AROUND those titles…or else produce crossover issues that don’t even affect the other series. The way Carey had Xavier and Cyclops interact in Legacy, for example, seems to have been ignored by how Fraction had the characters interact once they met up again. If I was Carey, I’d probably be mailing it in at this point too, and just concentrating my real creativity elsewhere on my other titles.

So maybe it’s not all his fault. But I’m dropping this. It’s beyond time to do so.

Lastly, the art…I’ve actually liked Acuna’s stuff overall, much more than others seem to have. I’ve defended him. I liked his Rogue a lot. But–this issue felt rushed.

Story: 1 - Poor
Art: 2 - Average

Comments

  1. I like Rockslide… at least when Kyle and Yost wrote him. Actually, now that I think about it, only when Kyle and Yost wrote him… So yeah, you might be right about it being a bad choice for this book. I will see.

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