Astonishing X-Men #10

Writer: Joss Whedon
Artist: John Cassaday
Colorist: Laura Martin
Letterer: Chris Eliopoulos
Assistant Editor: Sean Ryan
Associate Editor: Nick Lower
Editor: Mike Marts

Rating: 4/5

Plot: Something which knows the X-Men so well, the Danger Room, has
come to life. It's goal? To defeat them once and for all.

Comments:

This arc started a bit slow for me. I almost believed it wouldn't live up to the greatness that was the first arc. Happily, I've been very wrong.

The Danger Room has taken on a humanoid form and, in this issue, goes on to systematically defeat each and every member of the Astonishing team. Some of the ways in which the characters are defeated are downright genius, which is a credit to Joss Whedon for knowing the characters fighting habits so well. When I say that, I want to be clear that it's not like Joss is making this stuff up as he goes along, this IS how these particular X-Men have fought over the years. It's something that Claremont established many years ago and has, for the most part, survived right up to now.

This issue is interesting because we get inside the "mind" of the Danger Room. We see exactly how much the Danger Room knows by following what it is thinking. This is just a great idea. What other thing, besides the X-Men themselves and Professor X, know their fighting habits as well? Sure, some of their major villains have a lot of experience with them, but the Danger Room arguably has more.

There are a couple of shocking scenes in this issue, which I won't spoil of course, that I'm extremely curious as to how will be resolved (ahem, Kitty and Peter's defeat at the hands of the sentient Danger Room).

Astonishing X-Men has more of a classic feel than Chris Claremont's current run on Uncanny X-Men. Coming from me, a die-hard Claremont fan, that's the ultimate compliment. Where Claremont's book is heavy in past continuity and dangling plot lines, Whedon's is very accessible to a person that might not be as informed on the X-Men. But it's not like it's a dumbed-down book. That's not the case at all.

Whedon manages to maintain that classic X-Men feel because of the fact that he knows the characters so well and maintains them as such. These are the characters we've known for years, there are no big changes going on in their personalities. It doesn't feel like Whedon is trying to cause dramatic changes to the characters to make his stamp on X-continuity. He's making a name for himself by just writing great stories, which is something other comic book writers should pay attention to. But that's what connects this book to the world of the
X-Men, not plot lines from the past. There's no muddled continuity here, just new material.

I can't say enough good things about John Cassaday's art. It has such a realistic feel to it. The colorist, Laura Martin, is a perfect match for Cassaday's work. The whole thing just feels right.

Chances are good that you're already reading this book, but if you're not, get out there and pick it up! The first trade paperback is available and we're only just a couple of issues into this arc, so they shouldn't be too hard to find.
 

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