Young Jean Grey and Scott Summers are on the run in chapter three of Battle of the Atom. X-Men from the future have arrived in the Marvel Now with orders to make sure the original five students of Xavier go back to their past.
X-Men #5 is a fast-paced ride as X-Men rush to confront the teen fugitives. Writer Brian Wood continues to explore the divide between Storm and Rachel Grey and the splintering is spreading among the mutants as they question what’s the right thing to do:
Send the young mutants back to the past to live out their fates and protect the future or let them have this second chance?
The more the creators reveal the Future X-Men the more suspicious, one might say sinister, the appear. The Future Jean Grey and Xavier especially raise the hairs on my neck. It’s a thrill to see the young Jean and Scott together against the world and makes you root for the doomed lovers to have this fresh start. It’s wonderful to see moments between Kitty Pryde and Rachel Grey reminiscent of the Claremont/Romita, Jr. era.
The chapter ends with a cliffhanger and sets the stage for new confrontation in Uncanny X-Men #12 next Wednesday. While Battle of the Atom is a 50th Anniversary celebration, you can sense the seeds for a major mutation of the X-Men teams, alliances and future.
By Editor