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Having reviewed Legion: Son of X volumes 1 and 2, I’m happy to report that in Legion: Son of X Vol. 3: Revenants, the series finally hits its stride. And yes, I realize that’s kind of a funny thing to say about a series that ended back in 2014.
But it’s true! In this volume, which collects X-Men Legacy #13-18, writer Si Spurrier and artists Tan Eng Huat, Paul Davidson and Khoi Pham deliver two of the series’ most entertaining stories. And as someone who was never a fan of Legion, I’m just as surprised as you are! Too bad there’s only one more volume on the way (expected to hit shelves in June).
We’re not talking about the fourth volume of this trade paperback series, though, we’re talking about the third. Spurrier continues to explore David Haller’s new status quo in the wake of his father Professor Charles Xavier’s death. David wants to keep the mutant race safe, through his own proactive means, while trying to sort out all mutant-powered personalities that reside in his head. Despite the fact that David can’t seem to stay out of control, he’s formed a romantic relationship with Blindfold, one of the students from Wolverine’s Jean Grey School.
The first story arc in this collection, “Hope and Glory,” is a ton of fun–especially for fans of Marvel heroes and villains from the U.K. Chamber, Psylocke, Captain Britain–they all make appearances–even Alchemy! Remember Alchemy, Death of X fans? And then there’s fan-favorite Warren Ellis creation Pete Wisdom, who serves as David’s foil for this arc… and boy is it entertaining. Spurrier’s British, so you just know he’s having a ball playing with all these English characters throwing around British slang.
In this particular story, we get to see David’s rather unconventional approach to solving England’s mutant intolerance problem once and for all. He’s certainly not Professor X, but maybe that’s a good thing.
David’s English adventure is followed by a rather heavy one-off issue featuring his mother Gabrielle, which sets him out on his next mission–confronting the man who took his father’s life: Cyclops (in full mutant revolutionary mode). Anyone who knows me knows I go bananas for Cyclops, but the three-part story “Wear the Grudge Like a Crown” was especially exciting for me because it takes place during Brian Michael Bendis’ Uncanny X-Men run, which I loved! Sometimes Marvel can go overboard when its characters appear in multiple titles (cough Venom cough), but this is a case where I more than welcomed an appearance from Bendis’ X-Men.
Because it makes sense. In addition to David wanting revenge, it’s pretty brilliant on Spurrier’s part to have Xavier’s true son and adopted son face off in combat. I just didn’t expect it to be raw, shirtless combat… but David and Scott are two of the nuttiest, most extreme mutants around, so I guess it shouldn’t be too shocking they went all Fight Club. But overall, it’s very entertaining watching these two, who probably have more in common than they realize, debate their visions for the mutant race.
If there’s a downside to this volume, I’d say this series’ art continues to be average and just not my cup of tea. By now, I’m used to Huat’s art, but his characters are just a bit too exaggerated for my tastes. Psylocke and Pete Wisdom, for instance, look as though they greased their hair down. Not a good look, guys (at least borrow David’s blow dryer).
Of course, new Thor artist Mike Del Mundo’s X-Men Legacy covers continue to delight with their quirky inventiveness! See what I mean?
Season 2 of Legion is currently underway on FX, but I can’t really recommend this series to fans of that show as it’s a very different animal. But comic fans–especially X-Men fans who missed this volume of X-Men Legacy the first time around (like me!)–should definitely give these collections a chance. I’m definitely looking forward to the final volume of Legion: Son of X to see how Spurrier brought David’s saga to a close.
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