Having sided with Wolverine after Schism, Rogue and her team of X-Men become teachers at the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning in Westchester. Unfortunately, not everything is copacetic. The mutant extremist Exodus is unhappy with the recent division of the X-Men and has come to hold those responsible for the schism accountable. This, of course, means that he intends to kill Wolverine. It'll take Rogue and her X-Men to stop him before he can lay waste to the school.
Under previous writer Mike Carey's pen, X-Men: Legacy became Rogue's unofficial title. He transitioned the character from a reactionary superhero to a responsible teacher, giving her a purpose that she previously lacked. Christos Gage picks up where Carey left off fairly well. Rogue continues to be the focus of the book and her dedication to mentoring is as unwavering as ever. Even still, all is not well in Rogue's life. The schism has not only torn the X-Men apart, but it has created a rift between her and her then-boyfriend Magneto. While Gage uses the opportunity to superficially touch upon the difficulties of maintaining a long distance relationship, it gets watered down by the impositions of other characters. Most notably, Rachel Grey continually tries to tell Rogue how she is feeling and Wolverine questions Rogue's resolve by using her relationship as the chink in her armour.
Since Schism was largely branded as a conflict of ideologies, it's no surprise that there's a certain amount of finger pointing in terms of who is right and who is wrong. While Cyclops was faulted for his supposed extreme treatment of the new generation of mutants as soldiers, Gage accidentally presents Wolverine as the party that's in the wrong. For one thing, Wolverine's philosophy seems to be that the teenage mutants should be hidden away in a school and sheltered from conflict. When Exodus attacks the school, the student body are immediately evacuated into a shelter. What happens next is ultimately what undermines Wolverine's point of view. His X-Men ultimately fail to stop Exodus and are subsequently responsible for sending him towards their former home to destroy Cyclops. He then gets into a heated argument with Rogue and makes an ass of himself doing so. Following this, Exodus is swiftly defeated by Cyclops' students. If anything, their victory over Exodus merely proves that Wolverine is not capable of taking care of the next generation and also that his side lacks the power they need to protect their students.
Wolverine aside, the characters in X-Men: Legacy - Back to School are well-written and likeable. Rachel Grey fulfills the role of Rogue's friend remarkably well and works to challenge her complacency when it comes to Rogue's relationship with Magneto. The chemistry between Frenzy and Gambit is great as well. What's not so great is just how little we get to see of them in this collection. Their budding romance ultimately gets relegated to subplot status. Of course, Rogue is ultimately the star of the show here. For the most part, Gage understands the character and writes her fairly well. She could have been a touch sassier, but his decision to have her at odds with Wolverine was an excellent one. Even still, Rogue has quite clearly become a walking deus ex machina. In the two stories collected here, her powers prove to be too perfect and this makes the character prone to releasing all of the tension from conflicts like air being let out of a balloon.
For anyone who is a fan of Rogue, X-Men: Legacy - Back to School will not disappoint. She's the star of this book and is treated with the utmost respect. Gage's writing is consistent and his strong suit proves to be the interactions between the characters. David Baldeon's art is superb as well. He knows how to set a scene and his characters are dynamic. Rogue especially looks great under his pen. Additionally, Mark Brooks' covers are jaw-droopingly gorgeous and are an added bonus to this book. Even though Back to School may lack some of the epic feel of the other X-Men books, it does a good job of delivering a character-driven story and looks good while doing it.
Rating: B
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