New X-Men - Volume 4: Riot at Xavier's [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

I've had mixed feelings about Grant Morrison's run on New X-Men. On one hand, the stories he has told thus far have been good, and are responsible for introducing Cassandra Nova, Xorn, and the Special Class of X-Men. But I have sometimes found the pacing to be a bit off, and the art tends to really bug me. In Riot at Xavier's, those two problems are pretty non-existent. For once, the art is consistently good and the story is told at the right speed.

Quentin Quire is a star pupil at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. He is an Omega-level mutant and has the potential to be the world's next great telepath, on par with Jean Grey, Emma Frost, and Charles Xavier himself. His intelligence and little patience causes him to be unliked by his peers, especially the popular Slick, Tatoo, and the five Stepford Cuckoos. Upon learning that he was adopted and finding out that a respected mutant was the victim of a human attack, he decided that he had had enough of trying to pursue Xavier's dream in the world that hates and fears him, and he decides to give people a reason to hate and fear him. Displaying how affective his powers can be by showing the handsome Slick's true, and grotesque, form. He assembles a gang that dresses similar to how mutants were dressed in racist depictions made by humans to generate fear of mutants. Calling himself Kid Omega, Quire leads his gang in acts of violence against humans and instructs them to challenge Xavier and the X-Men.

Cyclops, Beast, and Emma Frost must deal with Quire's uprising while Xorn, the newest teacher and X-Man, leads the "Special Class". This class consists of the most bizarre and grotesque mutants at Xavier's. In a cruel twist of irony, mutantkind has gotten to the point where the ones that appear human can show a sort of racism to the ones who do not appear human. Members of the Special Class include Beak, Angel, Ernst (a young girl with the wrinkled face of an elderly woman), Martha (a brain in a jar), and Dummy (sentient gas). He takes them on a trip to the woods where Beak and Angel begin to get intimate, and the U-Men return.

As Quire calls for the students to let go of Xavier's dream (he goes as far as to wear a "Magneto was Right" t-shirt in front of Xavier), we begin to see a darker side of Charles Xavier. He begins to show signs of oppression and hatred to Quire. Granted, the kid is out of line with many of the things he says and does, but it is interesting to see Xavier, who is based on Martin Luther King, begin to act to a fellow mutant the way some humans act towards mutants.

A few things I noticed in this story line was that the X-Men didn't seem to do very much themselves. This is the story of Quentin Quire and Xorn's Special Class. Xavier and the X-Men are present at the events, but it seems that this story is about the students. I also must say that it seems unlikely that a bunch of punk kids can take out Wolverine as fast as they did, but Quire is an Omega-level mutant. Speaking of Wolverine, he and Jean Grey were barely in this story. However, Jean does factor in to a very important sub-story.

As I said, this is definitely Grant Morrison's strongest arc of New X-Men yet. His stories probably aren't for everyone, and they are definitely not the best comics I've read, but these are entertaining and poignant stories (also, if you are a fan of the phenominal Astonishing X-Men, these stories directly tie into Joss Whedon's masterpiece).

Riot at Xavier's, the fourth collected volume in Grant Morrison's New X-Men run, continues the strangely gifted writer breaking the unwritten laws of the X-Men mythos. An Omega level telepath named Quentin Quire, spurned by the death of celebrity-like mutant, begins forming a gang inside the school as their opening day to the public approaches. Loaded with snappy dialogue, Morrison's master storytelling, and superb art by Frank Quitely (who actually managed to ALMOST do all the art for a full storyarc), this volume ends on a tragic note, along with some hard choices to make for Beak, and Jean learning of the psychic affair between Cyclops and Emma Frost. However, this volume is only the calm before the storm, and is followed by the pivotal events in Assault on Weapon Plus, and the cataclysmic events in Planet X and Here Comes Tomorrow.

Art is at its best and storywise one of the best in the Morrison era. Actually in this volume starts the good stuff plot wise that will lead to the next also amazing volumes. The class of specials is my favourite subplot, these guyz are so cool! Although this is the most "to the ground" story it is my favourite. Morrison plays with the standardised themes in the X-Men that made the series so boring and predictable.

Higly entertaining!