After discovering a mysterious artifact with ties to an enemy her people, Warbird goes rogue and is chased across Cairo by S.H.I.E.L.D. Then, the world is blanketed in snow and it becomes clear that there's only one person responsible -- Iceman. The X-Men must not only save the world, but they must rescue their allies from their inner demons as well.
Astonishing X-Men: Unmasked collects issues #57-59 and #62-68 of Marjorie Liu's run on Astonishing X-Men.
Unmasked offers a variety of stories from the desk of Marjorie Liu. This collection opens with the two-part Warbird-centric arc that deals with the Shi'Ar's complicated relationship with art. She uses these two issues to further develop Warbird's character and flesh her out beyond her role as a warrior. Warbird was one of the standout characters of Liu's run on Astonishing and she did a brilliant job of providing readers with some backstory to the character.
At the heart of this collection, however, is the Iceman-driven snowpocalypse arc. In this story, the X-Men are dealing with the aftermath of X-Tremination and come face-to-face with the reality of Iceman's dark side coming to the forefront. Over the course of this four issue narrative, Liu gets right to the core of Iceman's character and deals with his insecurities in a way that no other writer has done before. Despite being one of the original X-Men, Iceman tends to get ignored by most writers and it's rare to find a story such as this one that places him in a starring role. For that alone, Liu should be celebrated. However, she also provides us with some great cameos of the character's past girlfriends and posits Mystique as the story's secondary antagonist. For fans of the X-Men's resident frosted mutant, this story will not disappoint.
Character development is a crucial selling point for Liu's run on Astonishing and that continues to be the case here. Throughout, she focuses on the intricacies of the X-Men's relationships with one another and indulges in the downtime between missions to give us maximum development. While other writers are eager to toss the characters into battle, Liu takes her time and carefully crafts subplots into her stories for the singular purpose of providing the X-Men with depth. From Northstar's struggles with immigration to Warbird's acceptance of herself as an artist, Liu helps to remind readers that the X-Men are more than just your everyday generic superheroes and that they have personal struggles just like the rest of us.
Astonishing X-Men: Unmasked is a bittersweet ending to Liu's near flawless run on the title. She concludes her tenure with a bang, providing fans with amazing character development and a much-deserved Iceman-centric story. To top it all off, the art is top notch. Phil Noto's covers are gorgeous and Gabriel Hernadez Walta's interiors match the tone of the book perfectly. While there were still some problems with the material, Liu's handle on the characters remained strong and the title was getting addicting. The fact that it was cancelled, and with such a unique team, is sad. Fingers crossed that Liu will return to the Merry Mutants some day!
Rating: A-
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