When this arc started, I had a couple concerns, both of which proved to be no big deal:

1. Greg Land: I’m not a fan, but I have to admit that his work on this arc has been pretty solid. Yes, there were still several obviously referenced figures resulting in inconsistent character design from panel to panel, but there were also some truly striking panels that could only be original illustrations. I think Gillen has maybe found the trick to getting good work from Greg Land — big, massive action.

2. Fear Itself Tie-In: This is an X-Men story first and foremost, so much so that the Fear Itself banner now seems unnecessary. Gillen does a nice job moving the characters toward the new post-Schism status quo. Cyclops in particular is being set-up for something intriguing.

3. Juggolossus: Good to see that this isn’t just a one-off plot device for this arc. Looks like we might get some great Peter development in 2012.

At first glance, with the FI tie-in, and knowing the X-changes coming in November, I didn’t expect much from this arc. But Gillen and (in particular) Land rose to the occasion and delivered a very solid X-Men story, that promise an interesting future for the X-Men, particularly Cyclops, Collossus, and Emma.