All-New X-Men #14 - Recap

Previously on All-New X-Men...

Beast, fearing what Cyclops might do after beginning a mutant revolution and inadvertently killing Charles Xavier while possessed by the Phoenix Force - and fearing might not survive a further mutation (that turns him into an ape), takes it up himself to do something truly desperate. He goes into the past and brings back the original five X-Men (Cyclops, Beast, Jean Grey, Angel, and Iceman) to show Cyclops how much he has changed for the worse.

Upon finding out what happens in the future, the original X-Men decide to stay (against the wishes of Angel) in order to make things right. They are staying at the Jean Grey school under the guidance of Shadowcat and Wolverine who run the school.

Mystique has been running about with Lady Mastermind and Sabretooth posing as the original X-Men, committing crimes and hording a huge amount of money. Mystique tries to make a deal with Hydra to buy Madripoor, but Wolverine, Shadowcat and the original X-Men crash the deal.

Lady Mastermind notices that Jean Grey is alive and well and decides to screw with her, by making her long dead father appear, which sets off Jean Grey as the Phoenix while Wolverine looks on in horror.

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Wolverine vowing to not make the same mistakes again, takes it upon himself to murder Jean Grey as the Phoenix before things go to far. As he is about to strike, Jean Grey reveals it was all a ruse, she was trying to project herself as the Phoenix into the minds of the villains, but she hasn't been able to control her new powers yet, so they got projected to everyone.

Mystique tells Wolverine she is trying to do good, that she is focused. Wolverine, Shadowcat, and the original X-Men are able to defeat the villains. Lady Mastermind is caught trying to escape, Jean Grey puts Mystique to sleep, and Sabretooth escapes to fight another day. The Uncanny Avengers arrive to help clean up the mess and ask what is going on. Cyclops tries to behave the opposite of his future self by being warm to his brother, Havok. Mystique gets taken into SHIELD custody, but she escapes into a helicopter. While Jean Grey ponders her behavior and the scene laid before her when she projected herself as the Phoenix.

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Next up: Beast/Jean Grey Romance!

Comic Book Reviews Become Comic Book Recaps

I haven't been doing many comic book reviews lately (OK, none). But, the reason is that I am not sure how useful they are. Comics are a unique medium and don't lend themselves to singular reviews all that well, the same goes for individual TV shows.

For instance, I watched the first four episode of season 1 of Dexter when it was first released on DVD. I did not like it. It felt formulaic and boring. Then I watched another episode, then another, then another. You have to judge something based on the whole of it. This is hard to do in comics, especially for stories told by the Big 2, which seem to go on forever.

So to feel like I am doing something useful, I am no longer reviewing each issue, but providing a summary of the story. The intent is for people to come read it and if they enjoy what is going on, they will then go out and read it and follow it themselves. It also helps me remember what is going on in each series.