After he was left with no more options, Dr. Hank McCoy (aka the Beast) decided that the only way to bring Scott Summers back to his senses is to have him talk to himself. Throwing caution to the wind and completely disregarding the potential consequences of time travel, Beast brings the original team of X-Men to the present to confront Scott and his new team of X-Men and stop them from potentially participating in mutant genocide. After the events in Brian Michael Bendis’ ‘All-New X-Men’ #3, big things are bound to go down now that young Cyclops and older Cyclops have finally met face to face.

In this issue, we get into the minds of both versions of Scott Summers, instead of just the present day one like we did in the last issue. Both men are in awe of what they see in front of them. For past Cyclops, he can’t believe what he becomes and who he’s associated with, specifically the mutant terrorist Magneto. For present Cyclops, not only is he in disbelief over the fact that the whole First Class is standing right in front of him, but also he’s practically in shambles to see Jean Grey once again.

One thing that made this issue for me was the panel in which present day Cyclops realizes who brought the original X-Men to the present. Bendis did his thing in the storytelling, but it’s really Stuart Immonen who shines here because the pure hatred in Scott’s face is unmistakable. He hates Hank for doing what he did, but moreover, he hates himself for doing what he did to Charles Xavier while he was possessed by the Phoenix during ‘Avengers Vs. X-Men’.

Another important thing about this issue was that the groundwork has been laid for Jean Grey’s larger part in all of this. She’s an infamous character in the Marvel Universe, but this version barely knows how to use her powers. I can’t even really begin to think about what will happen when young Jean learns about what’s in store for her and what ultimately happens to her. Mostly what I’m thinking of is how present Scott is going to handle his one true love being back among the realm of the living.

There’s certainly a good amount of drama being built up in ‘All-New X-Men’ and I can’t get enough of it. Bendis is certainly in good form.

Final Score:

 

 

ALL-NEW X-MEN #4

Written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS
Art by STUART IMMONEN, WADE VON GRAWBADGER, & MARTE GARCIA