Fallen Angels #3 // Review
Psylocke, X-23, and Cable get a step closer to Apoth in Fallen Angels #3, by writer Bryan Hill, artist Szymon Kudranski, colorist Frank D’Armata, and letterer Joe Sabino. This issue is action-packed and fast-paced, setting the group on a collision course with Apoth.
At the Brazilian village, Apoth’s robot attacks the team. Cable tries to take it out but is swatted away. Psylocke gives X-23 a pep talk, and X-23 attacks the robot, taking it out. They discover that it was piloted by a young boy, and Psylocke touches the boy’s mind, trying to find out what happened to the village. In the jungle, Cable comes to but is captured by a servant of Apoth. Back at the village, Psylocke discovers what happened to the village’s children in the boy’s mind, but X-23 has different plans- she wants to track down Cable. The two eventually agree to free the villagers first. Meanwhile, the being who captured him tells the goal of Apoth- the end of difference itself.
Bryan Hill starts the issue at a breakneck pace and barely lets up the whole chapter. The pep talk between Psylocke and X-23 feels a little out of place- while, yes, they pinned down behind a vehicle by the robot, there’s no reason it shouldn’t press the attack against the two, except narrative convenience. Psylocke is mentoring X-23 in this book, but in this case, she could have done it telepathically while the two made their counterattack. It’s a strange moment in an issue that otherwise does most things right.
The conversation between the two characters later in the book is one of those things. Psylocke reveals how empty she feels on Krakoa and that her vision of Apoth, this battle she’s fighting, is giving her a purpose. It makes sense for Kwannon to feel rudderless and unneeded. Krakoa doesn’t need another telepath, not really. For so long, her body wasn’t her own, and the name she’s using, Psylocke, isn’t even her’s. The only thing she has is this mission. It works very well for the character.
Szymon Kudranski’s art really sells the action of this issue. He uses a lot of speed lines, giving the scenes a lot of momentum and a sense of movement. The robot’s design is a little elementary, but that’s okay. Frank D’Armata’s colors really pull the whole thing together. He casts the characters in shadow a lot, accentuating the darkness they find themselves surrounded by, but uses bright colors in the action scenes to help highlight the action.
Fallen Angels #3 is an action-packed little number that brings the team one step closer to their quarry. Bryan Hill does a great job with Kwannon, per usual. Her motivations make perfect sense. The pep talk in the middle of the fight is a little much, besides that, he does a great job here. Szymon Kudranski and Frank D’Armata work together nicely. The action scenes are dynamic, and the dark coloring throughout the book sets the stage for the group’s descent into Apoth’s darkness. This isn’t the best Dawn Of X book, but it’s a good character study for Kwannon and an intriguing story nonetheless.
