Very shocked that I enjoyed this book so much, both because I really loathe a lot of what Bendis' writing has devolved into the past few years. Even so, this was a wild read and one that made me sad when the book ended.

It's been years since I've bought any X-titles, so there was some confusion but the solidity and grasp of the original team characters belayed all that and I'm really wanting to find out more. NOT quite enough to start buying monthlies again, but eagerly awaiting the next collection, to be sure. ( )

1605 ( )

2021 Summer (July);
Reread of Baby!Jean Arc

Still deeply agreeing with earlier reviews.
~~

I am unabashedly in love. Honestly. You people gave me Jean back, and even as a child I'm in love.

The future and the past are tangled into the mother of all knots when Hank makes the choice to bring The Original X-Men from the past into the future to fix the horror's going on right now. To make Scott Summer have to face who he was, and that there were better choices and deeper beliefs in clearer visions once upon a time.

I love getting to watch all these characters interact. I love watching each of the younger X-Men, who are the whole reason I'm here, interact with the older group. Where Hank is making everyone face the cleaner, clearer, young eyed time. Children who haven't been through as much as them, but who are people, memories, that are infinitely precious and important.

I'm a sucker for everything that is happening with Jean here. It keeps me clinging on by the tips of my fingertips. As we catapult her into being a psychic (which I still think is being handwaved a little too easily on a daily basis, especially with no one there to keep her powers in check or train her ala early 1-100 X-Men books/Xavier), but I'm still loving it. Her conversation in Hank's head, while he's on the table was my turning point for knowing I wanted to keep buying these issues.

The end of volume 1 where Jean is the one who rally's the team with the decision to stay (and fix this world gone to hell) was the moment I knew I was going to love it. Because there she was, my most favorite girl, who makes all the hard right choices, and sacrifices all the things she want, shining through, even though she'd just been given all the horrors of sixty years of history over her earlier-'selves' shoved into her head. Here she was still deciding right.

And stepping out as the leader her earlier self never had to be until much later. I'm in this one for good, yeah. ( )

I went into this book thinking it would be OK - I was blown away with both the story and the art. Lots of different twists and views on things. A kind of reverse time travel story that is not usually told, as time travel is typically a perspective of a group going back in time or from the group going forward in time. In this perspective, we have both, the inside and the outside group and what they are thinking. Lots of character development and interesting interactions. ( )

Oops left this as a comment:

What could be a lame gimmick ends up being incredibly fascinating. Bendis hits the right moments left and right, and Immonen is absolutely perfect on art. Definitely looking forward to more of this. ( )