Essential X-Men 15

Continuity. Where would we be without it? Arguably, it was the X-Men, as reborn and rewritten by Chris Claremont in the 1970s, that really started to push continuity, ongoing sagas, story arcs, events with consequences that would reverberate for years to come. The central X-Men narratives go on doing so, with parallel story lines going on across different titles. It is all very confusing. Since these Panini reprints actually contain the equivalent of a few (four in this case) issues of the American originals, they are also opportunities to create a linear (ish) narrative out of these different cross-title strands. Still, it is a struggle to work out what is going on at times. One of the worst elements of this is the use of annoying captions telling us who certain characters are. These are occasionally useful, if there are obscure mutants, or characters so inadequately drawn that they could be anyone. But do we really need one reading "Scott Summer - Cyclops. Optic Force Blasts"?

The current storyline falls under the overall saga Utopia. The X-Men now live in San Francisco, and are trying to build a safe haven for the world's few remaining mutants. There have only been a couple of hundred since the Scarlet Witch uttered the nearly accurate magic words "No More Mutants". As usual, there are anti mutant protests and violence, which is escalating on the streets. Add in the current Dark Reign - the rule of evil former Green Goblin as the man in charge of pretty much the whole USA with his own team of bad Avengers, and his conspiracy to collaborate with the once bad now good but still a bit unpredictable Emma Frost, and there is chaos, tension, some confusing dopplegangers, one of whom is a clone, the other is Mystique, and a bit of a mess in general. The X-Men always was a bit messy, it is part of the charm, but it walks a thin line here. The return of Gambit, (lame) Rogue, (used to be great but is now as lame as the movie character) and Danger (amazing villain invented by Joss Buffy Whedon, an intelligence that emerged from the X-Men's Danger Room but now one of the good guys and therefore lame) brings the tone down here with some sloppy action, or in other words, it is a bit lame. As usual, it is the edginess offered by Emma Frost and boyfriend Cyclops that offers a core of interest to the story. The utopian dimension here is exciting, as we see Osborne's illusory order and stability clashing with the hope for a West Coast Mutant haven.