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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Prisoner X a Pleasant Surprise, September 8, 2002
I am avid X-Men fan. Considering that my other experiences to the Mojoverse all involved the X-Babies, I was expecting, basically, a comedy book, something to make me laugh. Instead, I received a very dark and gritty tale.
In a nut shell, the book is about a reality show that shows life in a prison, something that seems even more likely than when the book was originally written. (Ok, the fact that the prison was located in space is less likely, but hey, that's what makes it an X-Book.)This reality program is building to a climax with its first live execution, the mutant Longshot. Not suprisingly, the prison is ultimately run by his arch-nemesis, the grotesque and insane Mojo. The X-Men ultimately learn about this, through a variety of sources, and find their way to the prison to rescue him before his big finale.
A note right now: some social issues Noceti goes into great detail about are video-game violence, TV reality shows, and humane treatment of prisoners. If you like your X-Men all action, this book may not be for you. On the other hand, tolerance and equality are supposed to be what the X-Men stand for, so it's nice to see it applied to something other than the tried and true humans vs. mutants. Prisoner X is also written in past tense: she sees, he walks, they talk, etc. It can be a bit jarring, but ultimately fits with the book's darker tone.
Characterwise, there are good and bad. First, the three villains are portrayed excellently. Mojo is insane, Spiral is callous and vengeful, Major Domo is sarcastic and inhuman. The heroes are more of a mixed bag. Wolverine is in character, as are Rogue, Gambit, and Longshot. Noceti does a particularly good job at looking into the relationships between Rogue and Longshot and Rogue and Gambit. Others are not so good. Phoenix is so-so, as is Beast. Storm, who is supposedly to be the team leader is disappointing. She doesn't lead, exactly, then every other X-Men just go off on their own and she docilely follows behind to pick up the pieces. Also disappointing was the absence of Dazzler, Longshot's maybe-wife. The book makes no reference to her by name and only one reference otherwise, a throw-away comment that may or may not be talking about her. Other than those qualms, this was a reasonably good book, albeit one with rather pointed morals. Give it a go.
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