General X.S.E. Thoughts

[stormrage]

XSE is a very interesting title and I am intrigued by it because it is steadily improving in terms of writing style. At first, I won't lie I found the narrative very stiff and thus the story came across very boring. It has gotten better with every issue, not in huge leaps, but in strong increments. I feel like by issue 12 this will the fast-pace, high drama title it originally set out to be.

Alisande Morales is the saving grace of this title. She's obviously someone you're not supposed to like and you're not supposed to root for, but that's why I like her. She's a completely unlikeable protagonist. But she propels the title and without her in it I'd imagine that things would be a whole lot worse off. So what I'm saying is that she does not need to go at all.

What I need to see happen in this title is a better selection of antagonists. I have to admit that so far the choices have not been exciting to me. Or maybe it's not the choices, but just the delivery. I'll def. want to see more bigger baddies pop up though. Looking at the dibs, I see Elias Bogan as a foe. He has always had the potential for big villian-dom in my mind so I hope Gavin can properly bring him to that level.

Husk is probably the best written character in this series after Ali Morales. I sense that Gavin has an appreciation for her and I'm looking forward to where he takes her. I'd like to see more from Wisdom, since I get that he's supposed to be in a leadership role. He needs to have some more spotlight put on him.

[gavin]

Thanks for the review!

Alisande Morales has been a highlight in the series for many people. It's something about the duality of her character. Morales has a lot of bad qualities, and her views are borderline radically conservative but she remains a good person. Or so I hope to explore. She's not tolerant but she's still a good agent who is willing to fight for her country. Morales is central to the antagonism within the team you can expect plenty more of it in the issue's to come.

I'm sorry you haven't enjoyed the villains thus far but that isn't likely to change. Elias Bogan is planned but he isn't an immediate threat to the team. X.S.E are borderline X-Men, they're on the outskirts of everything related to Xavier's dream. First and foremost they are a government agency akin to S.H.I.E.L.D. Thus the storylines, such as the premiere one against Shiva in South Korea, will remain international and focus on the politics of mutant and human coexistence. I probably haven't written it the best at this point as I'm still finding my tone with the series. X.S.E is the X-Line's answer to Criminal Minds and that is something I will continue to explore. Still, I hope the threats become more appealing to you. Next up is Huntsman.

Husk is meant to be that way. She's my personal favourite in mainstream Marvel and she's pretty much the protagonist of the series. It focuses on a team but Husk is the central character in many senses. The team will shift up a little bit as we jump two months forward after the return of Bishop, and many other events in that final issue. X.S.E is hopefully going to reach that faster pace which is why I am forgoing a 'formation issue' in favour of just jumping into the plot. I want to up the ante from here. It's going to be bigger stories, more action, more characterisation. It's a somewhat newer cast, a newer direction and much like Husk, Wisdom will be taking centre stage. We're going to see him lead.

GMM