The littlest Child of the Atom takes center stage as Nighty-Nightcrawler makes us say “oh no, sweet little baby” all throughout the transformative climax of Children of the Atom #5. Brought to us by Vita Ayala, Paco Medina, David Curiel, and Travis Lanham.
Cassie Tongue: Don’t you just love it when secrets are revealed and people have to face up to them? I sure do – that’s where good drama lies. In Children of the Atom #5, things catch up to our band of misfit kids, right about the moment that they come face-to-face with the X-Men. They say not to meet your heroes, right?
Kenneth Laster: But if your heroes happen to be Pixie and Maggott, you have nothing to worry about! All things said and done, this meeting could have gone way worse but maybe that’s due to our plucky POV character this week.
Life According to Jay Jay
Kenneth: I’ll admit…I was apprehensive about the POV from the “jokey young character” but Vita got me again! Specifically they got me saying “Oh you poor baby” to a comic book, and for that I give them props. What were your thoughts on Nighty-Nightcrawler?
Cassie: Firstly, I love that he refuses to let the others call him the far more refined ‘Daycrawler’. It’s fascinating that the way Vita Ayala has structured the issues thus far – with revolving cast narrators – gives the issue with big reveals and big action to Jay Jay who, at twelve years old, is the youngest of the group. There’s of course the opportunity to play with innocence, and the potential for using the honest voice of a child as a device to strip any florid darlings that might have been pretty, but distracted from the story. It’s a big gamble, but for the most part it pays off.
We get a close look at Jay Jay’s insecurities: his fear that he’ll lose his close relationship with his brother Benny (he doesn’t see, as we did in the previous issue, that Benny loves his Jay Jay ferociously); his place in his family; the burden of the racial microaggressions he deals with at school; his worries that he isn’t good enough. All of these kids, we’re learning, just want to be loved. Wanted. Needed. They want to be enough.
Even at 12, Jay Jay doesn’t feel like he’s enough.
Ayala handles Jay Jay’s cheerfulness and his fears with finesse. It’s a fine line to walk, somewhere between cavalier and morose, and they pull it off. This kid, in all his multitudes, represents the heart of the team.
Touchingly, this little movie buff names Justin Lin and John Waters as his role models; he wants to “make things that make people feel excited and weird.” It’s a small and specific detail that elevates his character instantly – in one sentence, we get a deeper view.
What did you think of our time with the littlest teammate?
Kenneth: Like I said, I wasn’t prepared to like Jay Jay’s POV, but Ayala really ties his wants and needs to the central theme in this book of wanting to belong – and the ways his insecurities are filtered through his little twelve year old brain were heartbreaking! And makes the later interactions with Benny all the more impactful.
You hit on so many of the positives here but I do think Jay Jay’s issue suffers a bit from the action, having to check so many boxes that he’s not directly involved in so it feels like we get less time to visually be with Jay Jay like we do with other characters. But also that’s definitely not a problem when it comes to establishing that empathy this book is known for.
X-Men X-Traction
Cassie: Jay brings some real mutant heavy-hitters back to free his friends from the U-Men. There’s COTA faves Maggott, Magma and Pixie, as well as Storm, Jean Grey, Wolverine and Cyclops. The fight is a big one – Medina’s linework is urgent and rangy – and even though the ramifications of the battle are large, it’s filtered through Jay Jay’s exhilaration – the kid loves being a superhero, because people want superheroes around. What did you think of this meeting of the teams?
Kenneth: It was great, if only for this book’s insistence that Maggot and Pixie are the A-List X-Men guest stars they deserve to be. I agree Medina’s action scenes were very dynamic and the scene itself really hit that wish fulfilment, “fighting along side the X-Men” feel both for the reader and the characters. I can’t say it’s not fun to watch Buddy and Scott blast fools back to back and Kurt and Jay Jay trade a quip. My only complaint is that it felt odd to have that recruitment happen off panel, but I guess it’s not necessary. The U-Men were capable as threats and served the plot for the big reveal and the interactions between the doctor and the general or whoever were engaging enough to make them not complete cardboard, but I think I went in thinking they would be tied to the legend and icon, Gorilla Man. I’m hoping we get to see him one last time before the next issue.
Cassie: We all demand Gorilla Man!
As A Superhero Door Closes, A Krakoan Gate Opens
Kenneth: So a lot of threads kind of get pushed towards their conclusion and also a handful of doors still open despite this issue feeling like an ending. There are a lot of things I wish we had longer for but I guess we’ll have to see if the next issue brings a greater sense of closure. What were your thoughts here Cassie?
Cassie: Due to the nature of publishing schedules and a linewide event, keen X-readers might have seen one of those reveals coming – Carmen was in attendance at the Hellfire Gala; catch her in X-Factor #10 looking stunning (Kenneth, we made it to the party after all!) But of course here is where her secret is revealed to her friends. By Storm, no less.
The moment the X-Men realise the kids are human comes so quickly; it runs so counter to the established pace of the series. Of course we now know, with the usual pace of the first five issues and the satisfyingly no-rush style and slow-build plot construction that’s becoming this series’ touchstone, that those fires are still burning. Now that the battle is over, the excavation will come. It’s hard to wait to dig into the aftermath and what it means emotionally – what will the team say and do now that everyone’s mutant status has been revealed?! – but I have to trust that when it comes, it will feel thoughtful and considered.
Plus, there’s a data page that breaks down the kids’ mysterious alien tech that gives them their powers. It serves, cleverly, not just to provide a ton of information, but also to demonstrate the kids’ ingenuity in repurposing the tech and modelling their own adjustments. Carmen buying those Magneto helmet shards? It wasn’t just for cosplay!
How do you feel about Storm’s visit, Kenneth?
Kenneth: I agree! This conclusion definitely felt a little rushed which makes the fact that there’s one more issue a little shocking. As for the actual conversation with Storm and where the kids end up, I do really hope there’s more in the final issue. I feel like the mutant metaphor is too messy for the two lines total addressing the kids trying on identities.
On the one hand if we look at mutants as a metaphor for sexualtity and gender, then exploration is more than welcome and important in understanding oneself even if you find yourself not sticking with an identity as labels are fluid. However looking at the mutant metaphor from racial or cultural lens, trying on identities is a bit different and more problematic. I really would like the last issue to show that they’ve learned from this and maybe their superheroic turn is them accepting they aren’t mutants but showing up as strong superhero allies. The type of human superheroes the Avengers never end up being and actually showing up for mutants and other marginalized communities. If not, then I won’t lie about being a little disappointed if this is the end of that exploration.
Also the drama! I need Carmen/Buddy/Gabe reconciliation now! Yes tender bathroom scene but I need to know how those mfers end up! Do Carmen and Gabe finally ask what did you mean by that “special connection”? I need answers!
Cassie: If these kids become Avengers-style superheroes who actually show up for marginalized communities, including mutants, do they essentially become the Champions? I wouldn’t be mad at that. I agree – I’m really hoping to see some reflection and growth here. What does it mean that they did this? What does it mean now that they’ve been asked to go home in the gentlest way? Can these kids even do that after receiving official thanks from Krakoa in a legitimizing statement that we see in Jay Jay’s social media feed? In the words of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, where do we go from here?!
X-Traneous Thoughts
- When Jay considers calling the Avengers for help, he immediately self-corrects with an “ugh, gross!” A true X-Men fan.
- Buddy and Carmen have a poignant moment of tending to wounds and soothing sore feelings – the tension!
- Also, who were these mysterious aliens who left their tech lying around for the kids to claim?!
- Krakoan Reads: Hellfire Gala (oops)
Cassie is an arts and culture writer living on Gadigal land in Australia. For 10 years she’s been working as a professional theatre critic, and is delighted to finally be writing about her other love: comics, baby.
Kenneth Laster is a critic, cartoonist, and cryptid with a movie degree.
