All-New X-Men #32 Review

“You’re–you’re from that other earth. Where Peter Parker is still alive.”

Dimension hopping shenanigans means the All-New X-Men meet Miles Morales, the Ultimate Spider-Man!

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis

Artist: Mahmud Asrar

Colorist: Marte Gracia

Letterer: VC’s Cory Petit

Cover: Sara Pichelli & Marte Gracia

Assistant Editor: Xander Jarowey

Editor: Mike Marts

The Story: The All-New X-Men, already displaced in time, have now been shunted to a different earth altogether, that of the Ultimate Universe. Angel lands in the Savage Land, the Beast in Latveria, X-23 in the middle of a football game, Iceman in the subterranean lair of the Mole Man, and Jean Grey lands in New York, face to face with Spider-Man Miles Morales. She reads his mind and finds that they are in another dimension and Miles goes to take her to a portal that should return her home. However, when they arrive they find the lab empty, the portal closed, and Amadeus Cho states that the government has stopped funding his research. In short, they’re stuck there.

Thoughts: This is my first issue of All-New X-Men and, with a little help from the front page recap, I was able to get up to speed and follow along pretty quick. It helps that I have a working knowledge of the X-Men and was aware of Bendis’ concept behind the book.

Bendis, being both the writer of All-New X-Men and Miles Morales, brings consistency to the voices from the cast. Not only that, but having been the architect for Miles, he is able to deftly bring up past continuity, such as Ultimate Cataclysm and Spider-Men. It helps ground the story and make it feel more “realistic” and an actual part of Miles’ story, helpful since this is a guest appearance for him. Bendis brings his trademark patter. I particularly liked Miles’ disbelief that Jean didn’t remember Galactus and his disclaimer that he’s a teenage boy regarding his thoughts.

This is the first time that I’m aware of that I’ve seen Asrar’s work and he has a very clean style that reminds me a bit of Stuart Immonen’s work. His depiction of Miles is solid and I love the two page spread he did of sharing Miles’ memories. Gracia’s colors make the image pop in all the right ways and I love how he spotlights all the red in the art. It’s my favorite part of the issue hands down. Judging by the panel towards the bottom right that shows Miles fighting the Goblin, it’s safe to assume his meeting with Jean happens after Miles Morales: TUSM #7.

I love how earnest Miles is when he realizes he can help Jean. His eagerness speaks a lot to his character. Looking through his memories is a great reminder of how much he’s endured in such a short period of time. Another funny moment was Miles’ realization that yet another person knows his identity. It’s one of the worst kept secrets in the Ultimate U!

The story ends on a cliffhanger panel featuring a forlorn Jean. Her posture says it all. Will she ever make it back home? With how things are going at Marvel right now, I have no idea if the All-New X-Men will make it back to their Earth, let alone their original time, which gives this story a nice air of unpredictability, instead of just automatically assuming they’ll make it home by the arc’s end.

The creative team put forth an entertaining effort. It didn’t knock my socks off, like the aforementioned MM: TUSM #7, but it was a good read. I’ll definitely stick around a bit to see if we get any other glimpses into Miles’ world.

My Grade: B

Javi’s Huh?: So, Jean read all that from Miles’ mind and she couldn’t pluck the location of the rift out of that and needed a friendly neighborhood ultimate escort? Let’s chalk it up to this being a younger, more inexperienced Jean Grey as I await my No-Prize in the mail!