Astonishing X-Men Vol. 5: Exogenetic
On my continuation through the entirety of Astonishing X-Men, this is the second volume in Warren Ellis' run on Astonishing. It's definitely one of the shorter volumes, but it brings some really interesting things to light.
I don't really have too much to talk about here. Essentially, Abigail Brand has been tracking this guy named Kaga, who has been genetically engineering mutant/Brood hybrids, with the mutant half coming from dead mutants closely tied with the history of the X-Men. It's a very basic story, but the slow reveals make it interesting. Kaga states the reason he hates the X-Men so much is because, while they fight for mutantkind, they are beautiful people. Whereas he is -- while the textbook definition of a mutant, not a possessor of the X-gene, and therefore not an X-Man -- incredibly deformed and ugly. Apparently he's hated the X-Men ever since the Claremont days, possibly even the Silver-Age.
We also learn the lengths that Beast has been willing to go to in order to revive the mutant race since M-Day. Particularly, harvesting DNA from dead mutants in the idea that they might still have an "active" X-gene. This could be used to revive, in a matter of speaking, mutants who are alive, but without powers. Kaga hacks Beast's systems and uses his research to develop weapons against the X-Men developed from their own history. All fused with Brood. This includes an organic Sentinel, Krakoa, and Sauron.
The most interesting part of this story is that it builds upon something Morrison was pushing in his New X-Men run, which was that not all mutations are going to be useful superpowers. Beak, Basilisk, that one gas motherfucker, all had mutations that weren't useful at all. They were just fucking gross and useless. This book elaborates on that, minus the X-gene. It's an interesting topic to go into, that actually gets explored more in Worst X-Man Ever, with the main character having the ability to explode and that's it. Just a one off.
The book is good. The plot moves at a good pace, the banter and characterization was great. True to Ellis form, the action sequences are well-plotted. Jimenez's art, while I'm not a fan (it's the faces) is a great vessel for them. The art is bright and colorful, and it's a solid trip down memory lane. Honestly, I'm not sure what people dislike so much about Ellis' run. While it feels like this story wasn't handled with as much weight as I feel it should have, it was still pretty good. The chemistry between the X-Men, as well as the action scenes are all done very well. Ellis knows these characters well, something shared with Whedon and Morrison. I believe there's one more volume with Ellis' name on it and I can't wait to read it.
