The “From the Ashes” era saw the start of three new X-Men teams: the adjectiveless X-Men fronted by Cyclops, the Uncanny X-Men fronted by Rogue, and the Exceptional X-Men fronted by Kitty Pryde. The three titles have had their chosen roles that typical Marvel mutant books fill: X-Men is the series that most directly deals with the fallout of the end of Krakoa, Uncanny is the superhero action book, and Exceptional is the character drama book. All three books took these classic elements of the legendary mutant team and made them the focal points for their series, but Exceptional was the one that I never really checked out. When it comes to my X-Men books, the team roster has been the deciding factor, and the team surrounding Kitty Pryde and Emma Frost just wasn’t that interesting to me. But after reading Eve L Ewing, Carmen Carnero, and Federica Mancini’s Exceptional X-Men Vol 2: The Deep End, I have to admit that I was very wrong, as this collection is very much one that you shouldn’t judge by the cover (or roster).
SPOILERS AHEAD for Exceptional X-Men by Eve L. Ewing Vol. 2: The Deep End!
Now fully settled into Chicago, Kitty Pryde is navigating her role as a mentor to three young mutants: the empath Axo, metal wielder Bronze, and invisibility teen Melee. Paired with Emma Frost, Kitty is working on building up their confidence when they learn of the controversial new Verate app. Brought into the corporation as assisting interns, Melee, Bronze, and Axo have a weird feeling about the Verate’s “supply us with your genetic coding” pitch, and they’re right to do so, as there is something more behind the scenes of Verate. Something….Sinister.
Yeah, it’s Mister Sinister (he’s right there on the front cover, so it’s not a big spoiler), and it’s a real treat to get one of my favorite X-villains here again. Eve Ewing’s script uses leftover elements of the Krakoa saga as a plot device, but not in a way that would leave you completely in the dark if you never read any part of that saga. The main plotting of Sinister using a variety of people’s genetic coding information to further hone his gene sciences isn’t the most original plan he’s ever had, but at the same time, that’s not the real highlight of The Deep End, as Ewing’s plotting is really just a framework for some truly great dialogue and character interplay. This was my first time reading any issue of Exceptional X-Men, and I have to say I enjoy Melee, Axo, and Bronze way more than the newcomers in Uncanny X-Men. While those characters may have flashier powers, the teens in Exceptional feel like actual people.
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That’s not to say that Ewing doesn’t push Kitty or Emma to the side. Far from it. While this collection features the apparently final eight issues of Exceptional, there’s still plenty of solid character work for the two leaders of this ragtag team of mutants. Of the two, Kitty gets the bigger spotlight, highlighting the stress of working a normal job, trying to figure out a potential new relationship, AND mentor a new generation of mutants in ways that are both fantastical and yet completely human. When Kitty takes the time to check in with her potential new girlfriend Nina, it’s really sweet and smartly written. Kitty clearly cares about this new relationship, but doesn’t want to jump right in and ruin it by not thinking it over. It’s a really smart and adult way of crafting a love interest, and one that works really well in this series.
Emma Frost doesn’t have any of those worries, but that’s why she’s a fan favorite. Emma is the de facto financier of this mutant help group, and her banter and control issues with Kitty are really fun to watch. The “frenemies” vibe from these two is really engaging and entertaining, and as much as they get on one another’s nerves, there’s a clear mutual respect for each other underneath the snark. Emma’s standout moment is in the seventh issue collected here, an X-Manhunt crossover in name only (that I covered already in my review of that very collection), and as inconsequential as that issue was to the overall X-Manhunt story, the character work included for Emma in that issue was extremely well done, as is her hero moment against Mister Sinister. Really the only character who’s not given much to do is Iceman, which is a surprise since he’s arguably the most seasoned mutant on this team.
Deep End‘s art duties are handled by two separate artists: Carmen Carnero and Federica Mancin, but don’t worry, their styles are both very similar, so much so that I didn’t really notice the changeover after issue 10. Both artists have a great semblance of the “Marvel style” that has permeated the publisher for a few years now, but their gifts are really in how they craft the quieter moments with the mutants in this series. Sure, they pull off stunning battles against Mister Sinister or a park battle that teams up our new mutants with Ironheart extremely well, but like Ewing’s character work, the real surprise here is how well Carnero and Mancin’s art makes you feel for Axo, Melee, and Bronze. Part of the reason why I was so charmed by them is because of how the art made them feel so real to me.
I have to say I’m pretty surprised at how much I enjoyed this collection. Despite passing the series over when it initially came out, Exceptional X-Men by Eve L. Ewing Vol. 2: The Deep End definitely shows that I made a mistake in doing so, and I will be going back to seek out the first volume to see just how these kids convinced Kitty to train them. While not everything in this collection works (the already mentioned X-Manhunt issue and the glorified Ironheart cameo in the last few issues), Exceptional X-Men‘s second volume highlights one of the big things missing from the other two “From The Ashes” titles: heart.
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