What is Cyclops' dark secret?
At this point it's probably safe to say that Death of X won't serve as the lifeline the X-Men franchise needs right now. As refreshing as it is to see characters like Cyclops and Emma Frost back in the spotlight, this mini-series is surprisingly slow in pace and small in scope. It's clearly a small prelude to what will hopefully be a much bigger and more dramatic story in Inhumans vs. X-Men.
This issue does little to escalate the conflict between the two groups beyond where it was in the previous chapter. The X-Men spend half of the issue passed out thanks to new Inhuman Daisuke's powers, and the other half preparing for a scuffle that may or may not ever arrive. There's little tangible plot progress in this penultimate chapter. At best, it's mildly entertaining seeing some of these characters butt heads, but that's about it.
Again, the book only manages to be engaging when Cyclops and Emma Frost are in the spotlight.Given its prologue status, the outcome of this story is essentially preordained except where these two are concerned. That fact really doesn't help add any tension to the brewing X-Men/Inhuman scuffle. The fact that Cyclops is battling a ticking clock in terms of his own health does create tension, however. There's also the ongoing mystery of what exactly Scott and Emma are hiding from the rest of their team. It's looking more and more as though the series is building towards an M. Night Shyamalan-worthy twist in the final chapter.
This issue also takes a hit from the fact that Aaron Kuder doesn't draw every page himself. Issue #2 already brought several extra inkers on board, and now this chapter sees Javier Garron step in to handle several pages himself. Garron's work is solid enough, though some panels are plagued by wonky anatomy and a generally cluttered layout. But naturally, this issue is at its best whenever Kuder's confident line-work and expressive figures are on display. In terms of visual consistency, the back-and-forth between Garron and Kuder isn't as distracting as the constant shift in colorists. It's a little bizarre seeing five different colorists working on one standard-length comic, and it begs the question of just how many artists will wind up being credited on the final issue.
The Verdict
Death of X was always limited by the fact that it's taking place well before the rest of the X-Men line, and these past two issues have done little to offset that problem or build a compelling conflict between the X-Men and Inhumans. Apart from the growing Cyclops mystery and Aaron Kuder's pages, this series isn't doing much to set the stage for an exciting finale.
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