Kitty Pryde has a mystery date! Well, based on the cover, no it’s really not a mystery date at all, is it? Kitty and Colossus OTP FTW! Or is it FTL? SPOILERS LOL!
Written by Jason Aaron
Illustrated by Jorge Molina
AVX TIE-IN!
- We can’t say much or we spoil the event of the summer!
- Kitty Pryde on a date with…???
If there was a couple I thought we had seen the last of for a good long while, it was Kitty Pryde and Colossus. I was thankful for that too, as the couple’s constant soap operatic on-again, off again relationship had been particularly tumultuous since Piotr came back in the pages of Astonishing X-Men some years back. It’s just been this side of tragic since the ”SCHISM” split them up by putting the length of the entire country in between them. It even appeared that Kitty had moved on a bit. At least, Bobby Drake seemed ready to help her move on.
But now AvX came along and Colossus is one of the Phoenix Flock FiveFour their relationship proves to be the litmus test for the humanity of those imbued with the power of the Phoenix; a litmus test that looks to turn the tables against the PFF. There had been hints they don’t really care about anything except “the mission” which includes keeping Pax Utopia in power and putting down any opposition, which includes imprisoning any Avenger that crosses their paths. The Ever Lovin Blue Eyed Thing is a victim in this issue, which is no small feat.
The important part of their arrest of Thing and Kitty’s date is that it indeed sparked the beginning of the X-Men turning on their messiahs, so to speak, and galvanized them to take up the cause with the Avengers, who are presumably in shambles at the moment and could use a little galvanizing themselves. To Jason Aaron’s credit, he knew how important the relationship is to the whole team, and not just the two involved in that relationship. The fact he tried to woo his “Katya” while being a Phoenix is extremely important, because it proved how out of character and, well, hot-headed the Phoenixes are acting since they took over the world and helps set the context for their defeat at the end of the epic war.
If there is a weak point in the book, it’s on the artistic side. Not to say it’s flat out terrible, but it’s extremely uneven in spots. In some places, for instance, Kitty looks like Natalie Portman, and it really works for her. She looks gorgeous, but on the same page, Piotr has this goofy look on his face that looks more like play-doh than organic steel. It actually goes on throughout the book like that, and not just with those characters. The way they look doesn’t exactly bring it up to the level of Nick Bradshaw or Chris Bachalo. In fact, the book suffers by lacking their talents. Perhaps Molina just isn’t a great fit.
Unfortunately, while this book has some importance in the grand scheme of things, that just serves to make you wonder why it wasn’t in the main event itself? Tie-ins should enhance the overall experience, while not being essential reads just to make sense of it all. There are even a few problems in the book that may feel like nitpicks, but one can’t overlook them, especially someone from California. First, in his lone scene in the book, Cyclops is talking with one of his oldest friends while sealing the San Andreas Fault. I’m not a geologist, but if you seal two continental plates that grind against each other, it doesn’t help things. In fact, it would make things worse by creating more pressure. Now this falls under one of four things:
- Scott is stupid
- Scott is a bigger jerk than we imagined
- This is a writing error on Aaron’s part
- I really don’t know what I’m talking about.
I really hope it’s one of the last two, because, man, Scott, we’ve been through enough!
The other problem that might be closer to a nitpick is that, while it’s called “Wolverine and the X-Men,” you see neither hide nor hair of the titular character. This should have been called “Pryde of the X-Men” at least for the issue. It doesn’t seem like an odd thing to do, considering.
Continued belowIf you’re an AvX completionist, then you’ve probably already bought this book. However, while it’s kind of important, there are quite a few flaws that detract from the overall product, which is a shame. This book deserves to be better than this. At least Doop is still great. If anyone is wondering, Doop’s lone speaking part translates to this:
I don’t know what to say, none of you can even understand what I am saying. So let’s just move on.
In retrospect, Kitty was kind of rude to him.
Final Verdict: 6.0 – Browse
