Review: X-Treme X-Men, You Can't Go Home Again

Typified by its frivolous and adventurous tone, X-Treme X-Men took a displaced D-list heroine (Dazzler) and made her the leader of a ragtag group of heroes whose sole mission is to find and assassinate ten evil Xaviers. Its first collection (Xavier Must Die) was fun but lacked depth. The second collection, X-Treme X-Men: You Can't Go Home Again, is darker than its predecessor. Greg Pak digs deep to deliver a more heartfelt series of stories and offers a much more intimate portrait of the characters he has in his title.

In this second volume of stories, Dazzler has taken to her role as leader rather well. She cares for her teammates and shows herself to be a very resourceful strategist. Her cheesy one-liners have been dramatically reduced but she's still the fun-loving Lightengale readers will recognize her as. Still, Pak has evolved her into an edgier character whose beliefs are put to the test. Thankfully, Dazzler remains more or less unchanged. The supporting cast of this collection are fleshed out more fully. Kurt's backstory is elaborated upon as is Howlett's. In fact, Howlett's boyfriend Hercules joins the cast. This relationship became a major selling point for the title and one conversation Dazzler has with Howlett reveals how little progress has been made in terms of gay rights. It is a standout scene. Unfortunately, Pak never quite gets the opportunity to develop Howlett and Hercules' relationship. Nevertheless, it had potential if only because of the unusual aspects of the pairing. Pak adds Sage and an alternate universe Cyclops to the title as well. The latter is a rather brilliant re-imagining of the character and is written as a former slave who became a government agent during the Civil War. Even more interesting is the fact that Pak nominates this version of Cyclops to be Dazzler's love interest. He's more rugged and stoic than most of Dazzler's boyfriends so it's a nice change of pace (I'm just grateful he doesn't have a mullet). The narrative itself is merely a continuation of the previous trade paperback but its pacing has quickened. There's a whole lot of action and it's almost all non-stop. It should be noted that Pak deserves credit for coming up with creative ways to re-imagine the various evil Xaviers too. When it comes to the art in this collection, it's even more inconsistent than in the previous issues. Aside from the two issues pencilled by Paco Diaz, the art lacks any real style and dynamism. It's all fairly generic.

What is most disappointing about X-Treme X-Men is that it was cancelled before it could reach its true potential. The narratives and character development was improving dramatically as the series went on so it was really cut down before its prime. Pak was doing interesting things with the lead heroine and obviously respected her. The supporting cast was refreshing in their differences, perhaps moreso than their mainstream counterparts. X-Treme X-Men: You Can't Go Home Again is a good read for fans of alternate universes and re-imaginings. It's a little darker and more mature than the previous trade paperback but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. An added bonus of this particular collection is getting to see Dazzler in one of her better costumes. Too bad it didn't carry over into the 616 universe.

Grade: B