Thoughts time. Cliff notes before in-depth.

1) It was good. I’ll continue reading Blue and MIGHT get the physical copy of this issue.

2) It turned out much better than I expected given what I saw in #8 and everything leading up to it.

3) I don’t regret any of what I said after #8. Every word of it was true to what I saw. But I’m glad what I expected to happen didn’t happen.

4) It’s not lost on me that Marvel deliberately buried view of it on their digital store so that it’s not only not a highlight, but literally the very last book listed for sale today.

Now for my thoughts.

I still have a problem with the use of “daddy’s little” before Mistress of Magnetism. 
Its phrasing basically takes a title unique to her – Mistress of Magnetism – and frames it as if it’s something she only gets to have because Magneto’s her father. As if she would be stripped of it without Magneto.

To me, that comes off as a dig on any complaints about making the entire focus of her cliffhanger appearance in #8 on the men in her life. This could have been a big problem for me if things were really bad elsewhere, but thankfully things got better.

I liked Lorna forcing Jean to go rescue the others. It serves as a refutation of the idea that Lorna can’t fight her own battles or that she’s not as capable as Jean. This is important, since historically Lorna has been used to make the others look good at her expense. This issue thankfully doesn’t make that mistake, and also doesn’t drag Jean through the mud to make the point either.

The art is, of course, amazing. Glad they’re using this specific version of Lorna’s costume too.

Lorna interacting in any way with Havok was a huge, huge, huge red flag for me coming into this issue – and why I expected it to be a colossal disaster. Fortunately, their interaction was very brief and it won’t be something that persists issue after issue.

The biggest risk with anyone writing any of their relationship is ultimately a matter of time. The more panels and time spent on it, the greater the risk Lorna will get screwed over for Havok’s benefit. This was mercifully brief enough to avoid that outcome. Which is great. I came into this expecting most of the issue to be their fight.

Which, by the way, is another good thing here. I was expecting their interaction to be all about their relationship and how much Havok supposedly means to Lorna and blah blah blah, all the horrid things. Instead, Havok provided actual insight into who Lorna is as her own character. He said things that didn’t make it look like Lorna’s identity revolved around him. Some people might have been tempted to do that thinking it would show Havok’s ego and possessiveness, but it would’ve been a huge mistake that damaged perception of Lorna and her potential. So credit to Bunn for avoiding that trap.

The dialogue when Jimmy attacks the guards is really amusing. Makes me think of the play on 60s Batman sound effects that I saw out of Batman and Harley Quinn on Monday.

I also get this overall feeling that the dynamic between Polaris and Danger will be a lot better in X-Men Blue than it was in All-New X-Factor. And I also get the sense that things may turn out good between Lorna and Briar.

I think Bunn’s getting into the groove of the book now, too. The humor is more on point and comes off more natural.

I’ve softened up a lot on my attitude since X-Men Blue #8 specifically because Bunn started talking about Polaris and responding to questions. I don’t expect or demand that he rave endlessly about her or anything like that, but being willing to talk about her and show at least some interest is crucial IMO. It shows the person is putting some thought into her. As such, it becomes easier to put more faith into the notion of good intentions – that even if something looks bad, the writer at least meant well. And now it’s not words alone, but an actual issue to back the words up.

At the end of this issue, I do actually get a sense that future issues will explore Polaris as her own character and not just as Magneto’s daughter. I hope that sense is correct.

So, I end with a dual-pronged deal. This issue was good. Much better than I expected. I intend to keep reading it, and I think there’s a lot of potential and opportunities here. I get the feeling that future issues will do better than the bad start of #8.

But… I can’t bring myself to say “I look forward to future issues” either. Especially since the last few pages tease the idea that there might be more forced interaction between Polaris and Havok in the not too distant future. They’ve only been kept apart for 6 years, if I willingly ignore Havok’s appearances and interference in All-New X-Factor (2014). Blue #8 and #9 alone was already way too much time, way too soon, for them to be interacting.

I really don’t think I can overstate the negative impact that having Polaris interact with Havok had on my ability to trust the potential good of Lorna on X-Men Blue. It’s like driving after being in a horrible car crash. It doesn’t matter how stable the car is, how clear the roads are, how attentive you are to any hazards. You still keep expecting to get hit hard any minute.

That’s what touching on their relationship for Lorna’s introduction on this book was to me: scraping against my car when I haven’t had enough time to just simply drive without incident. I expected a massive wreck and it didn’t happen – but how do I know one isn’t coming the next time I drive? Or the next? Or the next?

All in all: I do encourage people to read this issue. I hope you enjoy it. I wish I could’ve done so. My reaction may not be yours.