My wallet’s been violated by nostaligia. When
I saw the original New Mutants team was being reassembled I had to
subscribe to the title. I got one arc about of nonsense about the
Inferno babies, tying up a plot line of an event from the 1980s.

On the upside, I was introduced to mike
Carey and the Age of X crossover with X-Men Legacy. The story was
unique in that it was a limited event, and the strong writing could
be appreciated by someone, like myself, who isn’t a regular
X-reader. In fact, it may have been better appreciated by readers who
weren’t up on all the characters back stories and decades of X-Men
continuity.

Carey’s strong writing has continued in
this Age of X Aftermath. Being a frequent listener of podcasts and
reader of comic reviews I’ve noticed lack of characterization as a
common complaint. A complaint which I think is often wrong. Usually,
it is that a certain character is behaving unrealistically; that the
writer’s characterization is simply wrong. This doesn’t take into
account that in the real world people are often complex, with
conflicting motivations.

This issue portrays the main
characters, Magneto and Rouge, with complexity while also building on
a relationship and aspects of their characters that go back to House
of M. Magento takes Rogue to the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust
to show her one of the dark corners of his personality, the place
being Birkenau concentration camp to be exact. The subplot with
Legion multiple, unreconciled personality aspects serves as an apt
counterpoint.

The art is ably handled by Rafa
Sandoval, the only redeeming thing about Ultimate Enemy, er Ultimate
Doom or Ultimate doomsday or whatever name will be settled upon when
released in trade.