The cover to issue #8 made me realize I have a tag for when comic books “cover” (i.e., imitate) prior covers or iconic panels, but I don’t have one for when they reference movie posters. Oh well. I’m just going to use my “comic book covers” tag for all of it.
The plot of these issues is very simple: The ghost of Jeffrey Garrett, a mutant killed when Xorn-as-Magneto attacked and destroyed the school, starts making crazy crap happen as he haunts the surviving students. Since the villain is a ghost, Dani is able to use her experience from her days as a Valkyrie, enabling her to contact the dead. Eventually, all is made right via a seance.
We learn that the deceased mutant went back into the mansion after he should have evacuated, but since his power was teleportation and he tried to teleport out, there was no body to bury and thus he’s been haunting the rebuilt mansion. Ghost logic is weird, but it’s fine for a teen-heroes story. It’s actually pretty damn good for that kind of story. Not everything has to be “it’s the end of the world everybody drop everything, call Wolverine, and fight a lot!”
But if you’re like me, you come here for the characterizations much more than the action and plotting…And these continue to be excellent. The kids continue to struggle with various conflicts with their parents and their identities as mutants. There are fun danger room training sessions. There’s teen romance. All of it is written very well, and this continues to be a delightful little book.