Psychedelic attack – review of the comic book “Astonishing X-Men: The Man Called X” vol. 2

The Return of Proteus

In the previous volume of the Astonishing X-Men series, we got to know a changed group of mutants and see how they save London from the Shadow King. In the end, they managed to bring back to life Charles Xavier, whose mind moved into Fantomex’s body. In a Man called XWe quickly learn that not only Professor X, but also Kevin MacTaggert, better known as the Proteus, escaped from the astral dimension. He manages to escape from the heroes and move to a small Scottish village, Fetters Hill. There he also implements his diabolical plan, allowing its inhabitants to make their every dream come true. What might seem miraculous quickly causes chaos and destruction. Psylocke, Gambit, Roque, Bishop, Mystique, Old Man Logan and Xavier must stop him before the whole world is attacked. It will quickly turn out that Proteus is not the only threat.

An idea worthy of a madman

The writer behind Astonishing X-Men: The Man Named X is Charles Soule, whom fans probably associate most with the Daredevil franchise . I must admit that he had an extremely interesting idea about the story contained in the second volume of homo superior adventuresalthough it was somewhat wasted. But let’s start from the beginning. Probably no one expected that Proteus would be the opponent of mutants. There was no mention of him in the first part. It’s nice that the author did not make this character only an enemy of the heroes, but briefly reminded readers of his story and his relationship with his mother – Moira MacTaggert. His crazy idea was presented even better. First, he manages to trick the group very cleverly, then flee to Fetters Hill, where he promises the residents to grant their innermost wishes. Sound’s great? Then imagine that Kevin shows up in your city, and the wishes of every inhabitant, even the most secret one, come true. Perhaps someone would like to get rid of you or take over your property? It already sounds worse. But there are also those who would like to kill with impunity, and even do worse things. And everything comes true. In addition, the dreams of two people can be completely contradictory and both suddenly come true. This leads to complete chaos, and the reality turns into a psychedelic world, like a drug addict’s vision. And suddenly it ceases to be beautiful. And our “bad guy” is just starting to play. He’s going to spread his idea all over the world. Only the X-Men can stop madness that knows no bounds. Another plus for the author is an interesting plot twist. Unexpectedly, a second threat appears, which the recipient does not expect either. Such a twist is even more captivating. Unfortunately, there is also a downside to the comic – it’s too short. For this reason, everything happens quickly and there is no time to develop the action. Introduction, quick fight, ending and starting the next thread. There is no tension building and the moment when we start to worry about the fate of the heroes. They will barely get into trouble when they are already leaving to get into more. It’s a pity, because Soule’s idea is worth expanding and a few additional pages.

Capture the chaos

Astonishing X-Men: A Man Called Xis a notebook consisting of 136 pages. For a not-too-extensive book, it has a lot of cartoonists. Phil Noto, Paulo Siqueira, Matteo Buffagni, Ron Garney, Gerardo Sandoval and Aco worked on its creation. All artists showed their skills by creating beautiful illustrations. It uses a wide variety of colors and a clear line. So it is colorful and transparent. Additionally, they managed to dim or brighten the background to capture more dramatic and dark scenes. The most appreciated, however, is how the already mentioned psychedelic moments showed us. The moment Proteus fuses Psylocke and Xavier’s bodies together is unsettling and awesome. In turn, the events of Fetters Hill are a real masterpiece. Narcotic visions straight from the mind of a madman frighten and fascinate. You need to spend a few moments on each of them to see what is actually happening in each frame, and it is not always successful. Thanks to this, we can feel the atmosphere and emotions that accompany the heroes in their fight against the enemy.

Not so fast!

Astonishing X-Men: The Man Named X is the second volume about the adventures of a re-assembled group of mutants. We have a very interesting idea here and a crazy antagonist who spoils some blood for the heroes. He should spoil her much more, but unfortunately he gets too little time for it. In addition, an interesting plot twist deserves attention, and great applause is due to the cartoonists who perfectly conveyed the unusual and abstract atmosphere of the notebook. It is a pity that the action is racing all the time at breakneck speed. There is barely a problem and we already have a fight, a solution, and another thread. It is a pity, because it would be worth developing what we already have. And so we can not fully feel the plot and live with the mutants. Nevertheless, it is worth reaching for this item, if only for the drawings themselves and to prepare for the next adventure with homo superiorstarring. And it will be the Resurrection announced by Egmont Phoenix: The Return of Jean Gray .