Can We Talk About Astonishing X-Men #43?
I picked this issue up when it first came out based entirely on the fact that it was a one-shot issue involving Emma and Danger. I hadn’t read a single issue of Astonishing since Whedon left the title and I actually think that they did themselves a disservice by not renaming the book. Nobody would have been able to live up to Whedon’s run which was, to put it simply, one of the best runs on a comic ever.
Back on topic. This one-shot issue details the journey of Emma and Danger, breaking into the Secret Avengers heli-carrier and following a computer signal that Danger tracked. The signal of another sentient being, not unlike herself. We have an appearance from our old friend Beast, who, if you remember, was a member of the Astonishing team when Emma was on it and under Whedon’s and Morrison’s pens, they became good confidantes and dare I say it, friends?
I went into this issue not really expecting much. Maybe some eye candy T&A which we usually get from Emma and maybe some poorly written one-liners. That’s what I usually expect from Emma when I’m not reading something by Morrison, Whedon or Gillen.
I was more than pleasantly surprised. Not only do we get to see the friendship between Emma and Danger expanded upon, we get to see Emma in all her snarky glory. She is written perfectly in this issue under the pen of James Asmus, who is quickly rising in my list of favorite Marvel writers between this singular issue and his great portrayals of Hope in the Uncanny X-Men Annual and issue #511 (or something like that).
