X Years into the future, the Expatriate X-Men on their flotilla straddle a dangerous line. Eve Ewing and Francesco Mortarino follow up on their intriguing first issue with a story that focuses on some surprising players and features new revelations. Expatriate X-Men has so far been more tied to the central premise of the event than some other titles, and while the first issue felt all too brief, that is remedied by this second issue, which accelerates the story in a major way.
Kamala Khan, Bronze, Melee, and Rift are our central team for this book, operating as the mercenary team known as the Blue Dashers. When they’re charged with securing a mutant by the name of Lyrebird by Mystique, the group breaks him out of a prison and takes him aboard their flotilla. We see there that Colossus is among their group, unwell and being tended to by Bronze. It’s there where we pick up, with Bronze bringing breakfast to the ailing mutant. Colossus is not a character we have seen much of in the From the Ashes era, so some focus here on his character is quite welcome.
The caring, big-brotherly mutant is now the one being cared for, with Bronze willing to take on the role of a family member, calling him “unc.” Colossus in this future has lost much; his sister Illyana is now the Darkchild who rules Limbo, where Lyrebird is set to be delivered, while his old love Kitty Pryde is presently a ghost in Philadelphia, unable to make contact with the corporeal world. The two bond over the shared loss of Kitty, and it’s clear that whatever plagues Colossus is quite serious.
Meanwhile, Lyrebird, the rescued mutant, becomes suspicious of his rescuers, as they become suspicious of him. During what could only be described as a pirate attack by Shinobi Shaw, Lyrebird reveals his secondary mutation: the ability to combust what he touches and manipulate flame. Tensions quickly arise between him and the Blue Dashersm, with Lyrebird suspicious of where they are taking him, and Kamala Khan suspicious of who Lyrebird really is. Things go awry when the team begins to bicker on what to do with Lyrebird, with Thao wanting him gone, while Bronze, Rift, and Colossus vote to take him to the Limbo Lands and complete their mission. Thao releases him anyway, and that’s when Kamala takes matters into her own hands. While recapturing Lyrebird, Kamala finds out that the flotilla is built on a surprising secret. But her revelation comes too late, as the team finds themselves in the Limbo Lands.
Expatriate X-Men #2 races by at a much swifter pace than the first issue, though in this case, it might be too fast. The dynamic between these characters is still new to us readers, so even by the second issue, the arguments and distrust between the members feel inorganic and contrived. The speed at which the situation breaks down is difficult to believe, particularly the back-and-forth over how to deal with Lyrebird, whom the team distrusts, and the flip-flops between casting aside and fulfilling their mission too quickly and too often. The best sequence in the issue is the slower moments between Bronze and Colossus.
Francesco Mortarino and Raul Angulo are the art duo on this comic, with Mortarino’s pencils working well with Angulo’s colours. The comic looks good and is visually pleasing. The costumes in particular are quite strong, and the colours reflect the atmosphere well, being broody and misty in times of tension, to fiery and frightening in the final page. One noticeable flaw, however, is that the characters’ movement doesn’t flow particularly naturally. There’s a sequence when Lyrebird and Thao are conversing inside the ship, and then the next page shows them outside of it, without the art properly reflecting that movement. Likewise, the action sequence happens in a way that felt stilted, with little connective tissue between the pages. As this was a weakness in Exceptional X-Men as well, where Carmen Carnero and Nolan Woodard were on the art, this may be a weakness on Eve Ewing’s part.
While Expatriate X-Men #2 looks quite good, the characters’ movement from page to page is abrupt and stilted. The dialogue and character dynamics are too quick to descend into tension and fighting in a way that stretches credibility. This is not a team of characters who feel like they’ve been working together for years. Ultimately, while there are strong moments, such as the dynamic between Bronze and Colossus, as well as the overall aesthetic quality of the comic, it is ultimately showing signs of being too rushed to fit within the 3 issue length.
‘Expatriate X-Men’ #2 Review: The Flotilla’s Secret is Revealed
Expatriate X-Men #2 races by at a much swifter pace than the first issue, though in this case, it might be too fast. The dynamic between these characters is still new to us readers, so even by the second issue, the arguments and distrust between the members feel inorganic and contrived.
