The High Evolutionary strikes and Ben Urich gets anā¦ interesting package as things considerably ramp up. X-Men #3 is written by Gerry Duggan with art from Pepe Larraz and Marte Gracia, and letters from Vc Clayton Cowles!
Tony Thornley: I donāt think any of us quite expected the series to go this hard this quick. The High Evolutionary is back, and heās brought his big guns…
Cori McCreery: I canāt believe you just called Bi-Son a big gun.
The Kind Of Gift You Return
Tony: We got the tease in X-Men #1, and here the payoff is in X-Men #3. Herbert Wyndham, The High Evolutionary, is returning to Earth in style. Naturally, the X-Men are there to face him.
Last we saw Herb (before his cameo in X-Men #1, of course) was in the (ahem) āmodern classicā Amazing Spider-Man: Hunted. Itās a storyline I read beginning to end and remember nothing about. In that story, Kraven the Hunter ordered 87 clones from the High Evolutionary on Wundagore Mountain. It was an appearance ideally in character for the character. All facetiousness aside, the creative team goes a long way towards making the Evolutionary feel like a threat, probably for the first time Iāve ever read.
Every other appearance Iāve read Evolutionary in has only ever been weird and vaguely menacing. Here, he feels like a credible threat, and Rogueās reaction to him sold that to me. She hates that guy, and for a good reason…
Cori: Man, I have all but scrubbed Uncanny Avengers from my mind, but yeah, Rogue hates the dude, and boy, was her punch satisfying. Pepe Larraz just goes for it with two consecutive half-page splashes. The first is Rogue slobber-knocking Herb. The second is even more satisfying, as Lorna wraps her fist in metal and delivers a right hook to both Luminous and whatever the rhino dudeās puntastic name is. Lorna has had a great couple of weeks, and Iām living for her success.
Tony: Between X-Factor, Trial of Magneto, and X-Men, I feel like Lorna might be at her best at the moment. She feels more well-rounded than I think Iāve ever read her. For instance, those two punches were just fantastic to see. Then Larraz and Gracia cut loose. It is the second issue in a row where Dugganās script seems to say something to the effect of āThe X-Men fight creatures. Go nuts, and Iāll dialogue it later.ā And Iām okay with that.
This might be the coolest the New Men have ever looked. Interestingly, these guys seem to be completely new rather than the existing Knights of Wundagore. Bi-Son and Teslelephant both get named. I also see a crab, a croc or gator, gorilla, shark, and big cat of some kind. Not that I think anyone is clamoring for the return of the Knights, but I wonder if thereās a story reason here. What do you think?
Cori: Honestly, Iām perfectly fine with just seeing them continue to get their butts kicked. The High Evolutionary isnāt a favorite villain of mine. This is probably the best story Iāve ever read with him. But like you said, itās mostly just an excuse to allow the art team to go wild, and they deliver on every single page.
Tony: Another thing I like that Duggan does is continue to consider careful use of each memberās powers. Scott, Lorna, Anna and Laura are the fighters. Jean contains the virus. Ev and Shiro provide air support and prepare to burn the virus out of the air. When Luminous enters the fight, Ev shifts his attention to her to copy her powers. Of course, that doesnāt go well. I think X-Men #3 is way more intelligent writing than most superhero action books are. Itās like the punch-em-up version of Williams and Baldeonās X-Factor.
Cori: Yeah, and even amidst the big punch-em-up, thereās also glimpses of heart. The scene with Laura and Ev, remembering that Ev remembers everything from the Vault while Laura doesnāt, was gut-wrenchingly beautiful.
Tony: Her protectiveness was sweet, especially as Herb tries to take advantage of him, or more specifically, his blood. Ev allows him to take a single drop. Not only is this the best kind of heroic and noble, but itās also a great thread we know is going to come back to bite the team. Even with this current fight over, it’s definitely not finished.
Divide & Conquer
Cori: One thing to come from the fight here in X-Men #3 with the High Evolutionary is what he reveals about Cordyceps Jones and Gamesworld to the team. It gives the team an idea of the incoming threat and a place to go. And since itās not on Earth and they still need to maintain a presence here, it means splitting the party. To decide who gets to lead the away team, Scott and Jean have the funniest game of rock, paper, scissors ever, and Jean wins legitimately. Who do you think her away team will be, Tony?Ā
Tony: First, Scott teasing her that she may have cheated was cute. Secondly, Iām thinking of who would be most helpful in space and who would be best to stay home. If I had to guess, I think Jean would take Sunfire and Polaris with her, and maybe Synch? They seem best suited for space travel. Leaving Scott slightly short-handed would also be a good opportunity for the just-announced Captain Krakoa to join up in Decemberās issue.Ā
Fascinating little tidbit we learned about Gameworld was that it was initially a Mojoverse installation. It seems too pretty for Mojo, but it does fit his tech and aesthetic otherwise.
Cori: And Mojoās not the only old foe to show up, as Orchis rears its ugly little head again complete with that right bastard Gyrich, who is commissioning Feilong to invade Arakko. Iām sure thatās going to go swimmingly.
Tony: Invade Arakko or martyr himself, which is just the sort of devious thing Orchis would do. Orchis does not care about collateral damage as long as mutants are also hurt in the process.
A Confidential Source
Cori: Speaking of Orchis, they have another trick up their sleeve in this issue too.
Tony: No kidding. So it looks like Ben Urich is between a rock and a hard place now, isnāt he?
Cori: Woo boy, is he. Benās a good guy, but first and foremost, heās a journalist. And he was already poking around this story, but now he has an anonymous source that has given him further details to Cyclopsās recent return. I think weāre going to see him struggle a little with the ethics, but in the end, I think heās going to have to publish. Iām interested to see what kind of fallout thatās going to have.
Tony: Knowing Ben, heās also going to allow Scott to respond before blind-siding him. Hell, that could be why Scott isnāt happy about Captain Krakoa in the upcoming issue? With the events of X-Men #3, it seems like this new guy could not come at a worse time. Ben gets this news JUST as Jean heads off-planet. Whan an excellent story beat! Jean would be able to handle it MUCH better (even without telepathy) than Scott can alone.
Iām glad for this story beat because it gives X-Men something to do besides single-issue monster-punchies. Which, admittedly, is a blast, but Iām excited about a little more depth.
Cori: Yeah, I like a good punch āem up as much as the next girl, but the heart and soul of X-Men is the soap opera. With everything laid out in X-Men #3, it looks like thatās coming in the following few issues. Either way, this was another really fun issue from the team.
Tony: Definitely. With X-Men #4 being a Halloween theme, I think we might see more than one scare in the Treehouse next month!
X-Traneous Thoughts
- A common theme is X-Men get invited to dinner, and I love it. The selfie alone was precious.
- Let Lorna say bitch.
- Telselephant series when? I mean, he loves elephants and Nikola Tesla! Come on!
- Krakoan tease for next issue-: Heads up! (The exclamation mark is from us.)
Tony Thornley is a geek dad, blogger, Spider-Man and Superman aficionado, X-Men guru, autism daddy, amateur novelist, and all around awesome guy. Heās also very humble.
