I forget how refreshing Chuck Austen's run on "X-Men" really is until I dive into the newest issue. Austen took over writing "X-Men" after Grant Morrison finished his grand "New X-Men" saga, and what a task that would be if Austen hadn't already been writing "Uncanny X-Men" during Grant's run on the sibling series.
"Heroes and Villians Part One of Four" starts off introducing a brand new Brotherhood of Mutants featuring Exodus in new duds, Sabretooth in old duds, Avalanche from wherever he's been for the last four years, Mammomax who's either new or really obscure, Noctune who I'm assuming is a Nightcrawler "clone" from that whole Draco thing, and Black Tom in all his mossyness.
Thus begins the story with a bang as the X-Men fight off the Brotherhood, saving innocent bystanders as usual. The fight was good, but I felt that it was nothing really different than any other slugfest Austen has written so far. Having driven the Brotherhood off, the X-Men return to base to resume their complex relationships and angst-driven lives.
Here is where I think Austen excels. He writes the X-Men as humans, regular people. Juggernaut's gotten more depth in the three years Austen has written him than, well, ever. I enjoy watching them interact with none of Chris Claremont's staleness and drone-like dialogue. One thing I think Austen should watch out for is Gambit. I'm getting sick of him whining about being blind and blaming Rogue for it. This seems out of character for him.
Salvador Larroca has drawn another excellent issue with his flair for details and clean art. Though sometimes I worry that Larroca will cross the line, like Greg Horn and Greg Land, when some day everyone he draws will look like airbrushed super models.
Overall, it's more greatness from the team of Austen and Larroca. I can't wait for the next issue what with one of the X-Men being a traitor and all. But have faith, I don't think that things are exactly what it seems.
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