Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

X-Men Legacy #218
Marvel Comics
Carey, Eaton, Hennessy & Keith

The penultimate chapter in the Original Sin crossover provides an apex in its own right. The story has a couple of fights of like opponents, it has some strategy, traps sprung and a nice cliffhanger. The arc hasn’t been simply about Daken, which was a concern of mine coming in, but a story about Wolverine and Xavier and their past. Now, with this installment it adds a wrinkle to that relationship. It’s a very good story.

The issue opens with the flashback to Xavier tempering Wolverine to put his claws away. He councils Wolverine to learn how to control his animal instincts and that he will eventually regain what he’s lost. Flash to the present and Wolverine and Xavier invade the Island where Shaw is camped out.

Daken is still being toyed with by Sinister and eventually, she knocks him out so Shaw can have his way with him. Xavier and Wolverine take the Island in stealth mode, but not without some interesting techniques that were clever additions to the story.

Eventually Shaw fights Wolverine, while Xavier is confronted by Sinister. This gives the brawn versus brawn and the brain versus the brain aspect of the comic that provides satisfactory showdowns in their own right.

The issue ends with Daken deciding that he isn’t really the mouse he’s been since he lost his memories. He’s one evil guy and he intends to show everyone how nasty he is. It’s a great cliffhanger, but not a totally surprising one. It’s not even a battle we haven’t seen, but it’s still a good cliffhanger.

The story is very light on Daken. The comic is more about the four that are trying to control him in one way or another. It’s an interesting storytelling device where we see everyone doing exactly what Xavier is guilty of: manipulating others for this own benefit. Wolverine just wants to restore some sanity to Daken’s life to make Daken less of a pawn. In a way Wolverine is trying to rig his son’s life to be as different from his own as possible. Maybe that just isn’t in the cards though. I guess we’ll see.

The artwork plays out beautifully. The comic has plenty of action, but much of it takes place in the dark and, yet, the comic doesn’t suffer one bit. I particularly liked how Xavier appears to be strong and capable, but still older. It’s a great depiction of the character. He doesn’t always have to be so old and feeble looking, especially now that he’s out of the wheelchair.

Look, this is a straight forward fight over the man in the middle, but it plays off of a lot of history. Meanwhile, it mixes in some newer characters to keep things fresh. It’s a good story and a good crossover. I’m not sure this is everyone’s cup of tea, but still, as far as mutant stories goes with a small cast, this one is pretty good.

5 out of 5 geek goggles