I really wish I liked this book more. Well, that's not entirely true, I wish this book would live up to its potential so I COULD like it more. The team seems to consist of almost all the X-Men who matter (Cyclops, Emma, Angel, Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Beast, Colossus) and almost none that don't (see you later, Warpath.) Cyclops is still being a solid, badass leader. Beast is (hopefully) turning into less of a cat. And that's about where the things I liked about this book ended.

There are just so many problems here. The plot seems to be coming down to a generic racism/discrimination against mutants theme. Yawn. Emma and Scott's relationship seems entirely forced... I mean, it's getting ridiculous at this point. It feels like they're together simply because it's already been established and nobody can write anything that makes it seem like they actually care about each other. The writers keep forcing this whole "green" issue down our throats, not as bad as last issue, but Warren is apparently designing aluminum cars that get 300 mpg. I get it. The X-Men have always been about metaphors for racism and social change and whatnot, but could you please try a little subtlety? This feels like the equivalent of launching the original X-Men book in the 60's with five minority students who were hated and constantly discriminated against, and on top of that, kept talking about how much it sucked.

To top it all off, this book is also just way too smarmy and self aware for its on good. Just take a look at the narrative descriptions: Emma Frost - Psychic Supervixen. Um, okay. If I'm a new reader, that tells me nothing. Nightcrawler - Generally Looks Like A Demonic Pirate Elf. Alright, first off, there's a picture right there. You don't have to tell me what he looks like. And two, demon: yes, elf: eh, sort of with the ears, but it really only works as Wolverine's nickname for him, pirate: huh? Where exactly does that fit in? Just because 'Demonic Elf' wasn't funny enough? Oh, and my favorite of all, Wolverine: Ubiquitous. Really? Wolverine is everywhere? That has no relationship to his powers whatsoever. So, they either have no idea what ubiquitous means, or, and I'm guessing this is probably the case, they're making a joke about him being in almost every single title Marvel publishes. Oh, don't worry, guys. I got the joke. But it's not all that funny that your company has completely oversaturated the market with a cool character and totally took away his relevance to the X-Men. All you really managed to do was piss me off with your weird, self-referential meta-joke. So, good job with that.

And who's drawing this thing? (Answer: Greg Land) Cyclops looks like Vince from Entourage. Not a good look for him. And why is Wolverine always wearing a cowboy hat, wranglers, and a giant belt buckle. I never got a real good look at his shoes, but I'm guessing they were cowboy boots. Has he been retconned to being from Texas and I just missed it? He's still Canadian, isn't he? I'm not expecting him to dress in flannel and suspenders with a wool cap with earflaps while carrying around a giant lumberjack's axe, but if you're going to style him after a stereotype, couldn't you at least go with the one for the country he's from?

Alright, I'm done ranting for now. I haven't finished reading all my books yet, but I can safely say this is my Anti-Pick of the Week.