Review - X Men Noir: Mark of Cain #3

Issue: X Men Noir: Mark of Cain #3
Writer: Fred Van Lente
Artist: Dennis Calero
Date Published: Feb 2010
Alpha Appearance: Alternate version of Puck
Period in Alpha Flight's history: N/A

OVERVIEW:

Previously, on X Men Noir: Mark Of Cain:
Puck has stolen the Gem of Cyttorack, but his pirate crew has been ripped off on the deal. Professor X, in prison, introduces the all-new, all-different X Men. (Note the lack of hyphen; deliberate.) Cain Marko has been murdered in the above prison - though he was no prisoner. Angel is a prisoner, and is now going slightly mad.

In this issue:
Angel escapes to Wolverine's ship, aided by a Spoiler. Wolverine's crew try to steal back the gem, only to find the All New All Different X Men got there first. Iron Man has a meeting with-- wait, that's an ad for Siege. It's getting hard to tell.REVIEW:
I've always found the premise of this series intriguing, but slightly pointless. The combination of Noir and Marvel Heroes is just so cool that my standing order for it is just one word: 'Noir'. The thing that makes this one a little pointless is the no powers thing; makes me ask 'what's X-Men about it?' (They use sociopaths as stand-ins for mutants. I'm sorry, but I have a hard time seeing sociopaths as victims of oppression.)

The no powers thing turned me off so much that only the fact that it was a limited series got me to buy it in the end.

I've been enjoying it. This and the earlier series are nice stories, going with the whole 'there are no heroes in noir' thing. It still seems in name only to call it X(-)Men, but it does tie in with the originals a bit.

The artwork is okay without being great, but it suits the tone. Others have found it hard to follow, but I don't have such a problem with that; it was worse in the first series, btw.

Puck is in here, but doesn't do a lot. The fact that he's tied in with the sociopaths implies that he's a mutant in 616, which he isn't; but this is alternate reality, let's be a little more forgiving, 'kay? They show respect for the character, using his 'midget' (a character calls him this, but we can believe the mistake was the character's, not Van Lente's) status to help their heist. Cute. (Actually, that was in #1.)

As a Christian, I found the portrayal of Nightcrawler hostile, but I would. It fit with the premise of the series, so is a little more forgivable than normal, but still...

We're still supposed to believe Cain Marko is dead; but honestly, do you?

It's overall a good issue, and sets up the next nicely.

RATING:
on its own:



For Alpha Flightness: