.....X-MEN LEGACY #261.....

   X-MEN LEGACY #261
LOST TRIBES PART 1

STORY BY Christos Gage

ART BY David Baldeon, Jordan Tarragona
COLORS BY Sonia Oback
LETTERS BY Cory Petit
COVER BY Mark Brooks
PUBLISHER Marvel Comics

With this whole “Regenesis” non-event-event going on in the X-Men family of titles, I’ve dipped my toes into the X-Men pool and found the water surprisingly refreshing. Sure, there are things I’ve missed since I last regularly read any X-Men titles, but “X-Men Legacy” doesn’t waste time lingering on what has happened, choosing instead to move forward. Well, except for the whole “reflecting on the non-break-up of Rogue and Magneto” bit.

Rachel Grey (when did we stop calling her “Marvel Girl” and “Phoenix”?) insists on breaking down Rogue’s choice to move back to Westchester in a cutesy sitcom kind of way. Christos Gage shines at these character moments. This issue would be rather anti-climatic if that was all that happened though. Luckily, remaining true to the cover, Exodus drops in on campus to rile the faculty.

The battle is exciting and filled with moments that help define the characters and their powers for readers, but those scenes stop at moments. Rogue gets the most time in the spotlight and casually tries to absorb the powers of Exodus and Kid Gladiator. Granted, I’ve been away from the adventures of Rogue for a bit, but this seemed wildly out of character and rather odd in the lack of effect her powers had on the characters she borrowed from. Complicating matters, the resolution to the conflict is anticlimactic and unfulfilling.