Children Of The Atom #4
The team meets its match in Children of the Atom #4, writer Vita Ayala, artist Paco Medina, colorist David Curiel, and letterer Travis Lanham. For anyone who isn't down for the Hellfire Gala rigmarole, this issue is the perfect antidote. It has an old-school X-Men feel and reveals even more about the team.
This issue focuses on Benny, the team's Marvel Boy, as the group finds out about the Hellfire Gala, deals with the fallout from the dinner party at Cole's, and attempts to crash the Gala using a sweaty jersey Buddy liberated from Cole's. Unfortunately for them, they're attacked before they can try, and all of them get captured except Daywalker. The group wakes up surrounded by vivisected mutant parts in tanks as the U-Men, a group of humans who try to gain powers by dissecting mutants, prepares to cut them up. Before that can happen, something incredible happens.
Ayala's doing a fantastic job with this book. They use the framing device of a character narrating the story expertly, getting readers into the character's head. Benny is full of abandonment issues stemming from the childhood dissolution of his parent's marriage. The installment has a mini-arc for him as it uses a flashback to illustrate how the relationship with Daywalker, his younger stepbrother, has evolved from that time to the end of this issue as he fights to make sure that Daywalker can get out of the situation. It's extremely effective storytelling, and it makes this issue yet another treat in a book that's been full of them.
Beyond that, the issue basically reveals what many readers may have already figured about the team, which makes the irony of the U-Men attacking them even more entertaining. The fact that it's taken so long for the U-Men to show up with mutants ascendant again is weird, but it's great to see them again for fans of Grant Morrison's run. The issue's ending is great, as well, a feel-good moment that is even more interesting with what readers now know about the genetic disposition of the characters.
Medina's art remains great. As usual, the action scenes are amazing, and he kills it with the character acting, which is very important in this issue. So much of this book revolves around the characters' reactions to things, and Medina's art is able to perfectly sell that aspect of the book.
Children of the Atom #4 takes everything there is to love about an X-Men book and puts it perfectly on display. The characters are interesting, and getting to know them is enjoyable. There's the fun interpersonal drama, moments of growth, and setup for the future. The main X-line is full of books that go nowhere, but that's not this one. It's a fun, old-school X-Men book, and Ayala and Medina are doing an excellent job on it.
