X-Infernus #2 by C.B. Cebulski and Uncanny X-Men Annual #2 by Matt Fraction
X-Infernus #2
This title is kind of my ‘isn’t Pixie awesome?’ title. I mean, Illyana story is kind of interesting, in that the sweet little innocent Snowflake becomes a soulless hell beastie who’s bent on destruction. But Pixie remains the interesting driver of my attention. (Because it certainly isn’t going to be the Rasputin sibling’s love for each other.)
I don’t think that Pixie will get back her soul piece at the end of the comic run. Darkness is considered an interesting character trait, and Pixie has a lot more years with the X-Men.
Uncanny X-Men Annual #2
Cover alert: This story is way better than the cover art.
I like Fraction’s Emma Frost more than a lot of people I know do. I thought the issue was well done as a look into Emma’s motivations, especially since a lot of people didn’t get a reformed Emma sitting at Osborn’s table of powerful villains.
Fraction works the flashbacks into the story perfectly. He shows the past Emma, who was power hungry but learned there was more to life than just power and was abused by Shaw, and the current Emma, who has a lot more ethics and a lot more control of her power. Especially when she only tricks Namor into thinking she chopped off Shaw’s head, but really calls home to put Shaw in cold storage for his crimes against mutantkind.
Emma’s relationship with Namor is interesting. While I don’t think current Emma would’ve slept with Namor, certainly a younger Emma would’ve. I do like how much Emma cares for her students and for mutants in general. She does not want to see what happened to Gen X happen with the X-Men, which was part of the reason for the move to San Francisco. And Emma is willing to make deals for protection depending who currently holds the power.
The growing divide between Emma and Scott is certainly another interesting part of this tale. I was waiting for Scott’s secret X-Force team to come and bite him on the ass. Of course, it was a student (Pixie) who brought it to Emma’s attention that something dangerous was going on. I love that it’s Storm, who had her differences with Scott, that tells Emma to start being a true leader. And now Emma is hiding things from Scott.
I like the Uncanny Annual a lot, too (and not just because I adore just about anything with Namor in it). I really like the dimensions Fraction gives Emma, something a lot of writers don’t seem to bother with. I’ve seen some criticism that the way young Emma is played here makes her look too naive, and does a disservice to the younger version of the character so he can show how much she’s grown up. I think that’s a fair point, but on balance it worked for me and I think it’s tying nicely into the Uncanny storyline (I agree with your points about the previous issue, too, and the scenes with Emma and Storm).
I’ll join you in the group of people who like Fraction’s Emma Frost. From my own perspective, Emma got a bit lazy with being a leader (or I should say writers got lazy with writing her as a leader), playing second to others on the X-Men. Being a leader isn’t black and white, and it’s not enough just to be right — and Emma’s always been one of the best in showing that. I’m really looking forward to seeing how her story shakes out. She’s a survivor!
@Caroline — I do think that her younger self was a little more naive than I’d seen her previously written. Especially if you consider her solo title canonical. Even at 16-years-old, she’s pretty jaded. But that doesn’t mean someone with more experience, such as Shaw, might still be able to take advantage of her.
@paxm — She definitely is a survivor. I’m wondering if this isn’t heading to a break between her and Scott. After all, in this spandex-clad superhero soap opera, you can’t keep a couple together too long and keep things interesting.
I have a hard time seeing Scott and Emma staying together, because it’s being emphasized that they’re not communicating and lying to each other about important things. (I keep saying it’s like O. Henry’s “Gift of the Magi,” with lies instead of presents. The thing that’s always been positive about their relationship is that they actually communicate with each other and work as partners; since Messiah Complex that hasn’t been happening, and it’s a little hard to justify them continuing.
Personally, I’d like to see the present-timeline tension with Emma and Namor go somewhere but that might just be wishful thinking because I’m such a Namor fan.