Wolverine and the X-Men #33 Review

Early on, "The Hellfire Saga" was a little too heavy on humor and light on drama for what is supposed to be the long-awaited culmination of Jason Aaron's work on the series up to this point. But issue #33 shifts the focus far more to the latter, resulting in what is easily the strongest chapter of this arc so far.

One of the most immediate and obvious changes is Aaron's decision to frame this issue from the point of view of Idie. This issue marks a major turning point for her character. Drawn into the Hellfire Academy's message of selfishness and hatred for all life, Idie is finally forced to choose between the warring angel and devil on her shoulders and decide where her allegiance lays. Seen through her eyes, the Academy is no longer a silly place where the teachers and students cavort and celebrate their wickedness, but a disgusting school that perverts everything Wolverine's school stands for. It seems that Idie was a better focal point for this arc than Quentin Quire all along.

Nor is Idie the only benefactor of some strong character work in this issue. Toad emerges as another standout player, as he heroically fights to protect Quentin and struggles to bring Paige to her senses. Some Toad fans understandably took issue with the way he was reduced to comedic relief early on in the book. But this arc is where his current journey really begins to pay off. Even small scenes like the interaction between Dog and Sabretooth show that this arc is ultimately more focused on character growth than it is spectacle or laughs.

And that's not to say that Aaron completely ignores the book's typical slate of black humor. It's fun to see Wolverine and Lord Deathstrike spend an entire issue carving chunks out of one another, as is Kade Kilgore's fumbling attempts to woo Idie. But again, these elements are less a focus now, and the story is stronger for it.

Nick Bradshaw's art maintains its usually level of expressive energy and detail, despite the somewhat accelerated schedule of the series lately. Aaron gives him plenty of memorable material to work with, in particular a scene of Krakoa coming to life. There is, however, some unsettling, needlessly sexualized imagery in this issue. Idie dons an old-school Black Queen costume for much of the story despite, as the recap page helpfully points out, her being a mere 14-year-old girl. Bradshaw, strangely, draws all of the Hellfire Club's Inner Circle as much older than they were when they first debuted in Schism. It's a common flaw with superhero comics that children rarely look their age.

Jesse is a writer for various IGN channels. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter, or Kicksplode on MyIGN.

Source : ign[dot]com