Hello guys, today we are going to be taking a look at All-New X-Men volume 2: Inevitable. This volume has two story arcs. In this review we will look at the Story, Artwork, and character development.  If you are low on time or just want to see the overall score of this review scroll down the bottom of the page.

Story

For the sake of saving time, instead of giving you lovely ladies and gentlemen a detailed description of the first issue of All-New X-Men Volume 2: Inevitable.  I will provide you with the synopsis of Volume 2 that can be found on Amazon.com or Comixology.[Needs a link to the source]

The All-New X-Men continue to chart their own path through a world that hates and fears them! And they live in the shadow of their fate – especially Cyclops, whose adult self’s actions are notorious. But together, can these young mutants change their destiny? Beast will try, but will a man of science find the guidance he seeks from the Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Strange? Perhaps none among them faces the legacy of an older counterpart quite like Evan – aka Kid Apocalypse! Is he damned to become a genocidal madman like his namesake? Or can he somehow rise above? When the Apocalypse Wars begin, he will be tested like never before! They’re yesterday’s X-Men and tomorrow’s, and they’re fighting the future the only way they know how!

All-New X-Men volume 2 is composed of two story arcs which collects issues 7-11. The first story arc is actually a continuation of issue 6 from volume one . It wraps up the confrontation of Toad and Cyclops , and its starts on issue 6 and lasts until issue 8. The second story arc sends Evan and Hank back in time to ancient Egypt where Apocalypse’s Dad rules. Hank and Evan most fine a way back to their time without getting killed by a sandtrooper.

I loved the way Dennis Hopeless wrote Toad in the first story arc in this volume. Toad has be known for being a long time super-villain of the X-Men, and that is why it was awesome to see Toad become more relatable. Toad was a janitor at a local high school who had a good place to live with nice neighbors and a girlfriend.  He was a happy dude, but than the events of Death of X  slowly drove him mad. The relationship between Evan and En Sabah Nur was a nice change of pace. The two share many similarities but have two completely different backgrounds. The two form such a strong bond in a short span of time.

I had the same problem with this book that I had with Invincible Iron Man volume 2, the marketing. The covers to X-Men issues 9-11 are very misleading with the issue 10 cover showing En Sabah Mur standing over Evan with a dagger in his hand. As if they were going to engage in a violent confrontation. Not only is this moment not in the second story arc, but it is untrue to En Sabah Nur’s character. En Sabah Nur is not a confrontational type of guy. He is humble to help others out. He is loyal to his friends and eager to make new ones. The cover to issue 11 shows Apocalypse standing over Hank’s and Evan’s dead bodies. Again this no where in the second arc.

Art

Mark Bagley improves his artwork. I didn’t see a single panel lacking detail in this volume. All the characters, creatures, and backgrounds look excellent. Please direct your attention to the picture above . This one page tells a long and detailed story that you will really have to understand in order to know what’s going on in the X-Men universe. The story is scripted well but is further fleshed out with the even greater art. The first panel shows Toad happily vlogging how happy he is. The second panel shows Toad shocked and confused over the events of Death of X .

The third panel shows Toad packing his cloths and moving out, because things are getting bad in his city. Notice how Toad is sad but optimistic. The fourth shows a beat up Toad explaining how his assault was unfair. The events of Death of X causes humanity to hate mutants again so when Toad went outside local citizens saw that he is a mutant and jumped him. This happened about a month after the third panel. You can tell by how much his hair has grown. From the art in the panel we can tell he is living in a crappy motel. The holes in the wall, messed up window shades, and  layout of the room detail his living conditions. Notice that he is depressed and is developing a drinking problem. The 5th, 6th, and 7th panel shows Toad drunk in the catacombs plotting his plan to kill Cyclops. He is at his breaking point and just wants things to go back to the way they were.

Nolan Woodard did the coloring for volume 2 and he did a great job as he did on volume one. The coloring in this book is so easy on the eyes it makes reading the book more enjoyable. The bright vibrant colors add a charismatic feeling to the book.

Character Development

Kid Apocalypse – Evan  always smiles even when he doesn’t feel happy. He is the clone of the mad tyrant of Egypt.  What happens when his friends see him having a bad day? How long until they worry and wonder about him? Evan deals with these concepts all throughout the second story arc.  His biggest fear is becoming Apocalypse, and that’s why he tried so hard to save En Sabah Nur.

En Sabah Nur- Sabah was a nice kid until becoming Apocalypse.  He was just like Evan, so kind and sweet. He saved Evan’s and Hank’s life without hesitation. He just wanted to get away from his evil father. It’s such a shame he had to turn into Apocalypse.

Toad – Toad was a Good guy drove mad by the events of Death of X. Look under the Art section for his full story.

Honorable Mentions- Hank was present through out the whole volume. He had no real character development. We mainly see him work on his time travel experiments. Until he goes back in time with Evan and gets captured by sandtroopers. Doctor Strange gave Hank The Third Eye of Horus that lets one see into the 12th dimension, but that’s all he did in the first story arc. Angel, Wolverine, Cyclops and Iceman didn’t have any character development.

Where can I get it ?

Single issues – If you want physical issues I recommend that you go and buy All-New X-Men #7-11 at your local comic book Shop.  If you collect comics digitally I recommend that you buy them digitally from Comixology.  Single issues cost $3.99 a piece.

Volume – If you want a physical copy of All-New X-Men Volume 2 I recommended that you go to your local comic book Shop and ask the vendor to order you a copy. If you want a digital copy of All-New X-Men Volume 2 I recommend that you buy it from Comixology. All-New X-Men Volume 2 is priced at $19.99.

Conclusion

All-New X-Men Volume 2 has a great story arc, great artwork, and great character moments. I really enjoyed this book. The only two problems are the character development being limited to Toad, En Sabah Nur, and Evan.  The other issue with the comic is the misleading marketing. I highly recommend this book if your a X-Men fan