I'm seeing in a lot of the #2s a bit of strain with the faster pacing of a three book story. There's so much wild stuff that needs to be established, and then you get this middle chapter that has the task of locking in the actual plot stakes all while moving towards the resolution...

Perhaps I’m just responding to a story about a guy learning what it’s like to teach kids because I’m a teacher, but I do genuinely think this could be an interesting exploration of Quentin reckoning with his own shittiness as a child. #XSpoilers

Perhaps I’m just responding to a story about a guy learning what it’s like to teach kids because I’m a teacher, but I do genuinely think this could be an interesting exploration of Quentin reckoning with his own shittiness as a child. #XSpoilers

One interesting implication of the issue is that the kids know that Quentin sincerely cares about them because they’re running the simulation to distract him while they plan whatever it is they’re planning. They’re presenting Phoebe and her perspective to him. #XSpoilers

And it’s not clear yet just how messed up the kids are. Are they Revelation hardliners who think Quentin is going soft? Do they have misgivings about Quentin’s training? I honestly don’t know. The smallest one is intentionally scary, but with the others it feels more ambiguous. #XSpoilers

It’s a fucked up kind of dynamic where Quentin is trying to be a good mentor, but his mentorship is about assassination and spy craft. He knows these kids aren’t really okay, but he wants to give them some kind of stability. #XSpoilers

The tone of Omega Kids is deeply weird since it’s clear Quentin is training kids to do psychic black ops for Revelation (who he’s fully on board with), but he also absolutely wants to take care of these children and is very tender towards them despite acting gruff. #XSpoilers

Quentin’s lane is punk kid who annoys the older folks on the team (and also he went fash for a minute when he was 15, but we’re working through that). Using the time jump to put him in the mentor role is fun. #XSpoilers

One interesting implication of the issue is that the kids know that Quentin sincerely cares about them because they’re running the simulation to distract him while they plan whatever it is they’re planning. They’re presenting Phoebe and her perspective to him. #XSpoilers

And it’s not clear yet just how messed up the kids are. Are they Revelation hardliners who think Quentin is going soft? Do they have misgivings about Quentin’s training? I honestly don’t know. The smallest one is intentionally scary, but with the others it feels more ambiguous. #XSpoilers

It’s a fucked up kind of dynamic where Quentin is trying to be a good mentor, but his mentorship is about assassination and spy craft. He knows these kids aren’t really okay, but he wants to give them some kind of stability. #XSpoilers

The tone of Omega Kids is deeply weird since it’s clear Quentin is training kids to do psychic black ops for Revelation (who he’s fully on board with), but he also absolutely wants to take care of these children and is very tender towards them despite acting gruff. #XSpoilers

Quentin’s lane is punk kid who annoys the older folks on the team (and also he went fash for a minute when he was 15, but we’re working through that). Using the time jump to put him in the mentor role is fun. #XSpoilers

None of this is to say the books are bad. I’m open to seeing writers I don’t know well do something interesting on a small story. Will I care about the non-X characters outside this context? Probably not, but that’s okay. #XSpoilers

There are a few books that just have cool setups, like X-Vengers, Iron & Frost, and Cloak or Dagger, although my emotional investment varies on these. Dani has Cap’s shield? Awesome! The Avengers are mutants? Eh, okay. Cloak and Dagger literalize their mechanic for Rivals? I guess #XSpoilers

Overall highlights for me are probably Omega Kids, Expatriate X-Men, and Book of Revelation. Playing with how circumstances can push relatively morally straightforward characters into ambiguous situations is fun. #XSpoilers