Extraordinary X-Men #2

By Jeff Lemire, Humberto Ramos and Edgar Delgado

The first issue of Extraordinary X-Men was a bit underwhelming which can largely be attributed to the fact that there are pieces, and people, missing from the team after the events of Secret War and we have no answers. Aside from that, it just wasn’t that exciting of a first issue for a re-launch. As we enter into the second installment, we hope that the pace will pick up and things will start to get exciting.

As Jeff Lemire pieces together the events following, one would assume, the epic event that was Secret War, we can start to see a few things unfold. Lemire makes it very clear that there is a difference between an Inhuman and a mutant. This is shown with an interaction with Jean as she helps a suspected mutant as he gets beaten. It turns out not to be a mutant, but an Inhuman, who runs away from Jean saying that he wants to be left alone. This feels like the tone Lemire is setting for this series and we’d be naïve to think that these two parties won’t be clashing at some point. Magik and Colossus are the highlight of the issue, as Lemire writes their family dynamic very well. It’s clear through his writing that he loves both of these characters. We get a bunch of Old Man Logan in this issue and it’s decent, but the dullest part of the book. Another cool point is the concept of Cerebra in the shell of a sentinel. This is a pretty sweet idea by Lemire and it is fun to see the interaction between Cerebra and an old Wolverine who doesn’t trust sentinels. The writing this issue is an improvement, but there hasn’t been that moment in the series that takes your breath away.

The pencils this issue are done by Humberto Ramos with colors by Edgar Delgado. Ramos had a really good first issue, and this one isn’t bad either, but there are sections that are tough to see. One page where we see a flashback to Logan’s future is almost a jumbled mess. There are lots of bodies lying around, but it’s hard to make out everything on the page. The full-page of Mr. Sinister appearing is well drawn. Ramos does the character justice by making him look smug, and for lack of a better word, sinister. Individual flashback panels of a dead Storm and Iceman are very eerie and look great. Ramos did a lot right this issue, but it is a small step down from the first book. The colors by Edgar Delgado are fine here too, but the panel where Logan flashes back to all the X-Men he’s killed is a little muddy. The art is still pretty good, but there are a few off panels that could be better.

Extraordinary X-Men #2 is an improvement over the first issue. The hard thing about this series is that we want answers and we want them now. Jeff Lemire will eventually give them to us, we just have to be patient. The art has been very good so far and can hopefully continue to be consistent. Extraordinary X-Men won’t blow you away, but you shouldn’t be disappointed either.