UNCANNY X-MEN #30. (Annotations here.) Part 1 of “Mars Needs Mutants”, though the suspect-looking alien invasion is more of a B-plot in this issue, while we focus on the Outliers finally going to that school dance that was mentioned back in issue #21. That issue came out last September, which feels like an awfully long time for that kind of subplot to come to a head, but there we are. And this is playing to the book’s strengths, so I’m happy to see it. There are a ton of character subplots going on here, which means that the main story can get away with being fairly lightweight – though I really do like Rogê Antônio’s art on the opening scene with the alien abduction. I’m less sure about the Greymalkin material – why aren’t they just releasing the likes of Dazzler, even if they want to hand over everyone else to a legitimate prison? And please let’s not sent Blob back to being a villain, he was so much more enjoyable as a bartender. But a pretty fun opening issue for the arc.

X-MEN UNITED #4. (Annotations here.) This book has been rough so far, but issue #4 is at least a step in the right direction, with a more manageable cast and a focus on character interaction. Still, it remains a puzzling book. Issue #1 set up Graymatter Lane as a school, but it seems to have lost interest in that whole angle. And while it’s more of an editorial issue, I’m baffled by the decision to have Ben Liu show up in this book with apparent control of his powers, since it cuts across his long-term storyline in Jed MacKay’s X-Men. Ben being able to do something useful with his powers ought to be a big moment in that book, not something that’s already happened off panel before an issue of X-Men United. And yes, the set-up of this issue is downright contrived – I can just about believe that Scott gets talked into a team-building RPG game by Bobby, but Emma? Really? Come on. And the art is perfectly acceptable but rarely much more than that (though Palma does seem to be enjoying the splash page reveal of the RPG world). So there’s a way to go, but… like I say, a step in the right direction.

INGLORIOUS X-FORCE #6. (Annotations here.) Back to the Mutant Liberation Front storyline from issue #1, and I am kind of interested in this outfit. I quite like the idea that Kali herself remains suspiciously off panel, while her field team consists of a bunch of amateurs who could get by in most situations on their powers alone, but aren’t really a serious threat to X-Force. Because the real point of this MLF is more about the hype, which seems suspiciously effective against the ordinary humans at Kamala’s school. Really, the main plot in this series is now the question of what’s possessing Cable, and so it’s fine for the MLF to be a bit of a sideshow. The subplot sequence, with an amnesiac Domino being steered back to the plot by her coincidence powers, is rather cleverly done. And I’m enjoying Michael Sta. Maria’s art on this book, which isn’t especially flashy – and is saddled with drawing the rather bland 1991 X-Force base for some of the time – but has some great moments of personality for the cast. Not to mention some well pitched designs for the MLF characters, who somehow do look like they’ve made a respectable effort to put together a supervillain costume at home.

MAGIK & COLOSSUS #5. By Ashley Allen, Germán Peralta, Arthur Hesli & Ariana Maher. The final issue of the miniseries, and effectively of Allen’s Magik run, which has been a highlight of the last year for the X-books. This issue is a fairly straightforward exercise in the Rasputin siblings getting on the same page and working together to defeat Koschei. To be honest, it winds up spelling out that theme Very Directly Indeed, and there’s probably more subtlety in the art than in the writing issue. But the series as a whole has done sterling work to get us to this point and to get Colossus in particular back to a point where he’s come to terms with himself and can actually just take some satisfaction in doing superhero things. Getting him back there and making it feel organic is the real achievement here.