Jim Lemoine
Apr 13, 2002, 01:11 am
<a href="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/covers/xmenevo05.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/covers/xmenevo05t.jpg" align=left alt="X-Men: Evolution #5"></a>Reviewed by: Jim Lemoine, darkkelf@earthlink.net
Quick Rating: Average
Story Title: Untouchable
It’s Rogue’s turn in the spotlight as she’s seduced (not literally) by the evil Brotherhood.
Written by: Devin Grayson
Art and Colors: Udon with Long Vo, Charles Park, and Saka of Studio XD
Lettered by: Randy Gentile
Associate Editor: Brian Smith
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada
President: Bill Jemas
For four months now, I’ve been happily raving about what a pleasant surprise X-Men: Evolution has been. After all, most cartoon tie-in series have been shoddy, childish stories with poor art. Conversely, Evolution has provided mature insight into the counterparts of our favorite characters, as well as some of the most beautiful animated-style art in comics today.
That said, it’s very unfortunate that the fifth issue of Evolution is such a disappointment.
Like the four issues before it, #5 focuses on one character, and this month it’s Rogue’s turn. The first thing you notice about this book is the cover, and if you’ve been following the series, it’s something of a let-down. The last three issues in particular have had gorgeous covers that perfectly portrayed the situations of the characters within. Here, we’re just given a very plain cover with two half-faces. A minor thing, but certainly a step below what we’ve been seeing.
The story within is a good counterpart to the cover. Like the cover, it’s far below the quality that has been established for the last few issues. And like the cover, it’s still better than what you’d expect from the forced tie-in book.
The issue devoted to Cyclops focused on his fear of his power running out of control and his attempts to find his place in society. Jean’s story showed us her constant struggle to make peace with her power, and her blooming relationship with Scott. Kurt’s tale showed us an introspective young man coming to terms with his appearance and heroism. All of these are central, core issues for the characters involved, which is why it’s so surprising that Rogue’s story doesn’t deal at all with her own identity or her fear of hurting others with her powers. Instead, we get a relatively mundane story of jealousy and belonging.
The story of Rogue not being sure if the X-Men is the right place for her, and her insecurities over being surrounded by “perfect” (her words) teammates, is a story that could be told about virtually any of the X-Men. Could you see the Evolution Nightcrawler being in a story like that? Sure. How about Cyclops? Just read the first six issues of Ultimate X-Men for a very entertaining affirmative. Or even Kitty, or Spyke? Absolutely.
And that’s the problem. As Andrew Helfer, the editor of the classic Justice League International, once said, “a sure sign of a bad comic book story is one in which any character can be used as the hero.” The story in #3 could only have worked with Jean, and last issue’s saga could only star Kurt. This issue is lackluster by the very fact that the somewhat clichéd plot could have worked with just about anybody, and as a result, the issue comes across as a filler.
Which is not to say that this was a bad issue. Grayson takes a slightly shabby and very “been-done” cartoonish plot and adds some enjoyable elements. The budding relationship between Scott and Jean is fun to watch, and it’s nice to see a bit of realistic jealousy on the part of the other X-Men students. We get a good Danger Room sequence, and there’s a great Nightcrawler subplot running through the issue that connects nicely to what we saw last month. Finally, we finally get to see our team’s counterparts: the Brotherhood.
However, these positive elements are marred by poor storytelling on several occasions. For instance, it’s quite obvious to everybody reading that Scott and Jean are by no means practicing CPR on the floor in the gym… but nobody in the book seems to notice. The dialog in the instances when the Brotherhood tries to convert Rogue is obviously very forced. The ending, while going for the warm-fuzzies, only leaves you with a bit of disbelief, as we can’t believe Kurt would honestly think Mystique had told him that she loved him.
What’s most annoying, though, is that Rogue never catches on to what’s going on around her. Sure, it would make for a much shorter story, but come on… she’s not dumb, is she? It’s obvious from the dialog that this team has tangled with Mystique before, so they must know that there are mutant shape-changers out there… would Rogue really believe that personalities flip-flop that often? And would Mystique really give her ruse away so stupidly at the end?
So I’m disappointed by the story. Enough about that. The art continues to be outstanding, if not quite as outstanding as it was last month. While as a whole the pencils and computer embellishments are beautiful, you get the impression that the art is a bit more hurried and less detailed this time around. High points include the Danger Room workout and a great silent page with Rogue leaving the X-Mansion; low points are the opening roll-call and just about any panel with Mystique in it. But then, maybe it’s just those fangs she’s sporting now. In the humble opinion of this purist, they’re just wrong!
In conclusion, it’s not a bad issue, really. It’s certainly more than we’ve got any right to expect from an animated series tie-in. It’s got great art, and a decent (if cheesy) storyline. But in the last few months, X-Men: Evolution has proven that it can accomplish so much more… and the book really dropped the ball this issue. I’m hoping this isn’t indicative of the downward trend that always seems to come to books that are out of continuity, and I’m happy to say I have a ton of faith in Devin Grayson and UDON.
ART:
http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xhalf.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xnone.jpg
STORY:
http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xnone.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xnone.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xnone.jpg
OVERALL:
http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xhalf.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xnone.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xnone.jpg
Buy this issue online now from X-World Comics (http://www.x-worldcomics.com/x/bstore/newbooksmain.html) and save!
Quick Rating: Average
Story Title: Untouchable
It’s Rogue’s turn in the spotlight as she’s seduced (not literally) by the evil Brotherhood.
Written by: Devin Grayson
Art and Colors: Udon with Long Vo, Charles Park, and Saka of Studio XD
Lettered by: Randy Gentile
Associate Editor: Brian Smith
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada
President: Bill Jemas
For four months now, I’ve been happily raving about what a pleasant surprise X-Men: Evolution has been. After all, most cartoon tie-in series have been shoddy, childish stories with poor art. Conversely, Evolution has provided mature insight into the counterparts of our favorite characters, as well as some of the most beautiful animated-style art in comics today.
That said, it’s very unfortunate that the fifth issue of Evolution is such a disappointment.
Like the four issues before it, #5 focuses on one character, and this month it’s Rogue’s turn. The first thing you notice about this book is the cover, and if you’ve been following the series, it’s something of a let-down. The last three issues in particular have had gorgeous covers that perfectly portrayed the situations of the characters within. Here, we’re just given a very plain cover with two half-faces. A minor thing, but certainly a step below what we’ve been seeing.
The story within is a good counterpart to the cover. Like the cover, it’s far below the quality that has been established for the last few issues. And like the cover, it’s still better than what you’d expect from the forced tie-in book.
The issue devoted to Cyclops focused on his fear of his power running out of control and his attempts to find his place in society. Jean’s story showed us her constant struggle to make peace with her power, and her blooming relationship with Scott. Kurt’s tale showed us an introspective young man coming to terms with his appearance and heroism. All of these are central, core issues for the characters involved, which is why it’s so surprising that Rogue’s story doesn’t deal at all with her own identity or her fear of hurting others with her powers. Instead, we get a relatively mundane story of jealousy and belonging.
The story of Rogue not being sure if the X-Men is the right place for her, and her insecurities over being surrounded by “perfect” (her words) teammates, is a story that could be told about virtually any of the X-Men. Could you see the Evolution Nightcrawler being in a story like that? Sure. How about Cyclops? Just read the first six issues of Ultimate X-Men for a very entertaining affirmative. Or even Kitty, or Spyke? Absolutely.
And that’s the problem. As Andrew Helfer, the editor of the classic Justice League International, once said, “a sure sign of a bad comic book story is one in which any character can be used as the hero.” The story in #3 could only have worked with Jean, and last issue’s saga could only star Kurt. This issue is lackluster by the very fact that the somewhat clichéd plot could have worked with just about anybody, and as a result, the issue comes across as a filler.
Which is not to say that this was a bad issue. Grayson takes a slightly shabby and very “been-done” cartoonish plot and adds some enjoyable elements. The budding relationship between Scott and Jean is fun to watch, and it’s nice to see a bit of realistic jealousy on the part of the other X-Men students. We get a good Danger Room sequence, and there’s a great Nightcrawler subplot running through the issue that connects nicely to what we saw last month. Finally, we finally get to see our team’s counterparts: the Brotherhood.
However, these positive elements are marred by poor storytelling on several occasions. For instance, it’s quite obvious to everybody reading that Scott and Jean are by no means practicing CPR on the floor in the gym… but nobody in the book seems to notice. The dialog in the instances when the Brotherhood tries to convert Rogue is obviously very forced. The ending, while going for the warm-fuzzies, only leaves you with a bit of disbelief, as we can’t believe Kurt would honestly think Mystique had told him that she loved him.
What’s most annoying, though, is that Rogue never catches on to what’s going on around her. Sure, it would make for a much shorter story, but come on… she’s not dumb, is she? It’s obvious from the dialog that this team has tangled with Mystique before, so they must know that there are mutant shape-changers out there… would Rogue really believe that personalities flip-flop that often? And would Mystique really give her ruse away so stupidly at the end?
So I’m disappointed by the story. Enough about that. The art continues to be outstanding, if not quite as outstanding as it was last month. While as a whole the pencils and computer embellishments are beautiful, you get the impression that the art is a bit more hurried and less detailed this time around. High points include the Danger Room workout and a great silent page with Rogue leaving the X-Mansion; low points are the opening roll-call and just about any panel with Mystique in it. But then, maybe it’s just those fangs she’s sporting now. In the humble opinion of this purist, they’re just wrong!
In conclusion, it’s not a bad issue, really. It’s certainly more than we’ve got any right to expect from an animated series tie-in. It’s got great art, and a decent (if cheesy) storyline. But in the last few months, X-Men: Evolution has proven that it can accomplish so much more… and the book really dropped the ball this issue. I’m hoping this isn’t indicative of the downward trend that always seems to come to books that are out of continuity, and I’m happy to say I have a ton of faith in Devin Grayson and UDON.
ART:
http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xhalf.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xnone.jpg
STORY:
http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xnone.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xnone.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xnone.jpg
OVERALL:
http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xfull.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xhalf.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xnone.jpghttp://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/xnone.jpg
Buy this issue online now from X-World Comics (http://www.x-worldcomics.com/x/bstore/newbooksmain.html) and save!