What do you get you get when you mix five time-displaced teens, a time machine and one fractured timeline?  You get Jean Grey, Scott Summers, Bobby Drake, Hank McCoy, and Warren Worthington III – impromptu time cops!

Now that the crossover with the X-Men: Gold team is done and the battle with Mojo is over, we can return to the Blue team and focus on the issues that matter… time travel craziness and what Magneto is up to!

Writer Cullen Bunn gets right to it as timequake like events are occurring causing individuals to blink out of existence and it has something to do with the displaced X-Men (but the alternate dimension Wolverine and Bloodstorm are ok… and Old Man Logan… and…). This issue is a setup getting us going on the next adventure and it pulls that off really well.

The issue’s pacing and interactions of the characters are key and the issue nails all of that and does it quite well. Scott has a moment with Bloodstorm. Jean has a moment with Hank. Polaris has a cool moment with Angel and James. All of them are good and add to the overall story in some way. They’re generally slice of life type interactions and all of them play into the drama, that when mixed with action, make the X-Men comics great.

There’s definitely some things to question and aren’t explained like the revelation of who Magneto was talking to and how Mojo has set up a television network without anyone pushing back (not even the FCC!?) but they don’t completely derail the comic and will most likely be answered down the road.

The art by Thony Silas is solid. I haven’t thought this series has had the best art up to this point but there’s something here that works and works really well. There’s a good mix of dynamic sequences and poses along with more subdued moments and each are rendered in a solid way. The characters look good, the designs click, it all just looks good.

The series has had a lot of sidequests and distractions but this issue feels like it’s finally finding its way and allowing it to do its own thing. I know there’s another crossover coming down the road with Venom which seems to be the biggest issue of the series but when it’s allowed to focus on what makes it unique, it stands out from the pack. And, that last page. As a fan of a certain group that’s revealed, I can’t wait to see where it all goes from here.

Story: Cullen Bunn Art: Thony Silas Cover: Arthur Adams
Story: 8.0 Art: 8.0 Overall: 8.0 Recommendation: Buy