X-Men: Manifest Destiny – Nightcrawler (One-Shot)
Writer: James Asmus
Pencils: Jorge Molina with Ardian Syaf
Inkers: Victor Olazaba with Vicente Cifuentes
Colorist: John Rauch
The “Manifest Destiny” minis and one shots continue, this time focusing on Nightcrawler. Feeling unneeded and slighted, Kurt Wagner accepts an invitation to return to the German town which tried to kill him all those years ago to attend a museum in his honor. Unfortunatly, its a trap, and while he was legitamtely asked by his biggest fan, he’s really been invited to stop a rampaging monster.
Now, I’d really like to say this is a fantastic story, but to be frank, it has no need for existence. It ends with Nightcrawler right back where he started, and is essentially a non-story. It is some quick Nightcrawler fun, and its really cool to see Kurt in his classic costume, but the story itself is really nothing spectacular. The most interesting character of the story, the monster that Kurt came to stop, gets an origin and a set up, but is dead by stories end.
The story attempted to be an exploration of who Nightcrawler is by pitting him against a man who is a monster like him, and by putting him back with the townspeople who tried to kill him once upon a time, but ultimatly its another case of nothing ventured and nothing gained. If you’re a big Nightcrawler fan, make sure you pick this up; otherwise, just pick up the current “X-Infernus” mini or the Uncanny X-Men ongoing and pray for a cameo.
Final Grade: C
