Having defeated the technological menace known as Arkea, the X-Men must now face the threat of a newly regrouped Sisterhood of Mutants. The membership has changed, but the Sisterhood is still as dangerous as ever. With the added muscle (and sass) of Monet St. Croix in the X-Men, they may have just what they need to bring these femmes fatales down.
X-Men Volume 2: Muertas collects issues #7-12 of X-Men, written by Brian Wood with art by Terry Dodson and Kris Anka.
Muertas has all the makings of an incredible action-adventure. It's got high octane action, exotic locales and deadly villains. It also makes use of its small cast in order to give equal panel time to its leading ladies. Additionally, Terry Dodson and Kris Anka's exceptional art makes this a wild ride full of colour and expressive characters. If we were speaking exclusively of the art, this would easily be one of the best looking books released in recent years.
Tragically, disappointment sets in quite early due to poor execution of the narrative and character development. Much of this is sadly due to the haphazard writing of the villains. Ana Cortes, the new Lady Deathstrike, is given a stunning look that pops off of the page. It's something new and fresh that helps to add interest to a moniker that has become synonymous with Wolverine. Unfortunately, Cortes is not created as a new Lady Deathstrike, but rather as a host for the old one. For some strange reason, she's been injecting herself with the consciousness of Yuriko Oyama. This completely undermines any potential Cortes has and lessens the impact she has as a villain. If that weren't enough, her motivations really aren't expanded on in any way that fleshes her out.
The line-up and treatment for the rest of the Sisterhood is also equally as problematic. Typhoid Mary was a brilliant addition and she serves as one of the standout characters in this volume, but Enchantress makes little to no sense in context with the story. Surely they could have gone with someone with more of a connection to the X-Men. It'd be one thing if Dazzler were in this book, but she's not. Like Typhoid Mary, Selene and Madelyne Pryor are perfectly suited to this team. Sadly, neither character is actually utilized in any way that makes sense. These are two of the X-Men's deadliest enemies, so you feel shortchanged when there aren't any substantial action scenes involving them.
The X-Men are not exempt from Wood's inconsistent writing either. The same problems that arose in the first volume are present here again. Namely, Rachel adding absolutely nothing worthwhile to the book and Storm being characterized as little more than a generic leader. Thankfully, Wood builds on Psylocke's character. He's gotten a firmer grasp on her voice, making her interactions some of the most memorable in this collection. Another standout is Monet St. Croix. As one of my personal favourite characters, Monet has been underrated for way too long, so it's no surprise that I couldn't be happier about her being added to the X-Men in this volume. She's fierce and she's funny, but most importantly, she kicks more ass than any other character.
To put it bluntly, Muertas is a mess. The Sisterhood are vastly underutilized, the character development of the X-Men is subpar and the execution is disappointingly underwhelming. This is a book with an absolutely fantastic cast and there are so many great plot points, but this potential is never truly tapped into. If that weren't enough, Muertas is very dense and hard to understand when it comes to its accessibility. It's full of characters who receive zero exposition or explanation, which means only the most avid X-Men fan will be able to fully contextualize the characters in this arc. I've read so many X-Men comics over the years and, admittedly, even I was quite lost at times. In comparison to Matt Fraction's original Sisterhood arc, this is a major letdown. With a star-studded cast and A-list artists, this book should have been amazing, instead it's just middling.
Rating: C
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