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A review by dr_matthew_lloyd
Astonishing X-Men - Volume 2: Dangerous by
4.0
I really misremembered the story in this volume of Astonishing X-Men. In part, I think that is because Joss Whedon was determined to ground his story in the history of the X-Men and so it contains references to many past stories about which I know little or nothing. But coupled with that is the sense that the depth of this story is dependent on understanding a little of that past, which at the time when I originally read it I did not. Furthermore, I think that I had not fully appreciated how this story progresses, part by part, and the message it carries. Unlike many of Whedon's metaphors it is quite subtle, or at least relies on information, particularly about the Danger Room, that is part of the longer history of the X-Men rather than being contained in this story in particular. I think that this is good, but for someone who came to this story on the basis of Joss Whedon, rather than having read a lot of X-Men stories, the necessity of context ensured that I did not remember this volume favourably when it is, in fact, very good.
Fundamentally, this is a story about the consequences of violence. The X-Men have been training in the Danger Room for decades; more recently, it was upgraded with the technology of the Shi'ar people - all of which, we are told, is intelligent. As the Danger Room becomes, well, dangerous, all it knows how to be is violent. But it is not just the X-Men's violence that comes back to them, and this story includes a powerful resolution for one of its newly intelligent machines. But there are also questions about how we treat intelligent beings - or at least, beings that we know are intelligent. About our values and how and when we express them. Neither of these threads is fully developed, but it is certainly more interesting than I had realised. And, tied into this, is a little (post-)teen melodrama between Kitty and Peter, because it just wouldn't be a Joss Whedon crisis without some of that.
My only real problem with Dangerous is that in relying so heavily on X-Men past it is quite difficult to access the very good storylines that are going on here. I appreciate long-form storytelling well-told, but I also find decades-long comic book continuity pretty inaccessible, and telling a story this good, with a writer likely to draw in his own fan base can hardly avoid frustrating a few people. I know more about the X-Men now than I did when I first read this book and thus still enjoyed it more, but I still has to look up Genosha. As far as a review is concerned, I suppose the message is: look up a few things about X-Men past before reading this one!
Review of part one, Astonishing X-Men, Volume 1: Gifted.
Review of part three, Astonishing X-Men, Volume 3: Torn.
Review of part four, Astonishing X-Men, Volume 4: Unstoppable.
"This being has power we can't fathom... and the only thing it has ever known is violence." - Emma Frost
Fundamentally, this is a story about the consequences of violence. The X-Men have been training in the Danger Room for decades; more recently, it was upgraded with the technology of the Shi'ar people - all of which, we are told, is intelligent. As the Danger Room becomes, well, dangerous, all it knows how to be is violent. But it is not just the X-Men's violence that comes back to them, and this story includes a powerful resolution for one of its newly intelligent machines. But there are also questions about how we treat intelligent beings - or at least, beings that we know are intelligent. About our values and how and when we express them. Neither of these threads is fully developed, but it is certainly more interesting than I had realised. And, tied into this, is a little (post-)teen melodrama between Kitty and Peter, because it just wouldn't be a Joss Whedon crisis without some of that.
My only real problem with Dangerous is that in relying so heavily on X-Men past it is quite difficult to access the very good storylines that are going on here. I appreciate long-form storytelling well-told, but I also find decades-long comic book continuity pretty inaccessible, and telling a story this good, with a writer likely to draw in his own fan base can hardly avoid frustrating a few people. I know more about the X-Men now than I did when I first read this book and thus still enjoyed it more, but I still has to look up Genosha. As far as a review is concerned, I suppose the message is: look up a few things about X-Men past before reading this one!
Review of part one, Astonishing X-Men, Volume 1: Gifted.
Review of part three, Astonishing X-Men, Volume 3: Torn.
Review of part four, Astonishing X-Men, Volume 4: Unstoppable.