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Written by: Eve L. Ewing
Art by: Carmen Carnero
Colors by: Nolan Woodard
Letters by: VC’s Travis Lanham
Cover art by: Carmen Carnero, Nolan Woodard
Cover price: $3.99
Release date: October 9, 2024
Exceptional X-Men #2, by Marvel Comics on 10/9/24, sends Kitty Pryde on her date when she encounters more teenage mutants who could use the guidance of an older, experienced woman.
Is Exceptional X-Men #2 Good?
To put it bluntly, Exceptional X-Men #2 is boring and strangely uncomfortable. Writer Eve Ewing spends an awful lot of time with slice-of-life shenanigans to slowly convince Kitty that there are underaged mutants out there who really need the firm hand of an older woman, and if you think that choice of words is accidental… it isn’t.
When last we left Kitty Pryde in Exceptional X-Men #1, she decided to live a life of quiet seclusion in Chicago. When Kitty misses a date, she decides to take in a concert, but her night turns foul when she encounters a young mutant with dangerous powers and self-control problems. The issue ends with Emma Frost making contact.
In Exceptional X-Men #2, Kitty desperately pushes to live out the most mundane life possible by tending bar at Lulu’s Tavern, going on dates, and intentionally choosing every non-unusual choice whenever possible. Kitty misremembered the timing of her date in issue #1, but she has a second chance by attending a high school soccer game with her romantic interest, Nina, to watch Nina’s little cousin play.
To Eve Ewing’s credit, the comic reflects the boring mundanity of the life Kitty is choosing to carve out for herself. Kitty wants a boring life, so you, the reader, get a boring comic. Synergy!
Of course, Nature finds a way. Kitty enjoys the game and idle chit-chat with Nina. Unfortunately, a group of teenage boys start harassing another attendee, a mutant named Alex, whose colors change with the mood of people nearby – a living mood ring. One of the players on the field leaps onto the bleachers to intervene because she’s a mutant with intangibility powers similar to Kitty’s.
The setup would work well if it wasn’t so obvious and forced. Eve Ewing puts Kitty in the exact right place at the exact right time to witness a mutant getting harassed and a situation escalating into a fight. It’s as if two young mutants, who talk and act as if they’re terminally online, have no idea how dangerous human/mutant relations are or take any steps to mitigate conflict.
Kitty slyly sneaks up on the fight in progress and phases the two mutants under the bleachers to give them a chance to leave peacefully. Kitty then sneaks back to her date, who seems completely oblivious to anything that just happened, but the date has to end when the game is called early due to the fight.
The issue ends with Kitty deciding the two mutants need a friend, so she hooks them up with Trisha from issue #1, but the trio shows up at Kitty’s apartment looking for guidance.
What’s great about Exceptional X-Men #2?
It’s the art. Carmen Carnero’s art in this issue looks fantastic, particularly during the brief action scene, which isn’t much. Carnero carries the burden of this comic by making every panel angle and character interaction look as visually engaging as possible. In large part, Carnero succeeds.
What’s not great about Exceptional X-Men #2?
If you haven’t picked up on it yet, the story is a slow, plodding, forced attempt to create a new team of underage mutants under the expert guidance of Kitty (and soon Emma Frost). There are multiple ways to show Fate intervening, but this series makes that intervention feel forced and overly convenient.
Now, for the uncomfortable part. Kitty either doesn’t realize (or maybe she does) that she should not be interacting with, giving out numbers, or involving herself in any way with minors she barely knows without the knowledge of their parents. You’ll note that the parents of the fledgling team are nowhere to be found, and the more this series progresses, the more uncomfortable it gets. I’ll leave it at that for now.
About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.
Follow @ComicalOpinions on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter
Final Thoughts
Exceptional X-Men #2 is a slow, boring, and sometimes uncomfortable chapter in the series. Eve Ewing may be too successful in showing Kitty’s attempt to live a mundane life, while Carmen Carnero’s art is much better than it has a right to be for the script.
5.8/10
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