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Amazing X-Men #17 cover by Fornes and Rosenberg

"The Once and Future Juggernaut" (Part 3 of 4)

We have reached the pivotal action point around which this arc has been revolving: the return of the Juggernaut.

Under the guidance of writer Chris Yost, the previous two issues have seen all the potential candidates to become the new Juggernaut set off to heed the call of the ruby crystal of Cyttorak. The Amazing X-Men have also been alerted to this menace and arrived on a remote island in Thailand, at the temple dedicated to the same dark demon of destruction.

The first skirmishes have happened and a little blood drawn. So far this story arc has been a fun read, with some quick moments of comic timing and plenty of action. Amazing X-Men #17 is much of the same.

The issue feels like one good fight scene after another. Plenty of hits and snappy one-liners from the usual suspects of Storm, North Star, Iceman, and Rockslide. If you are expecting in-depth character development, your hopes will be dashed, because this issue focuses on the task at handkeeping up the intrigue about who will reach the ruby first and become the next Juggernaut.

Cyttorak's is pleased, his time has come.

With two former wielders of this awesome power along for the ride, Colossus turning up thanks to a Pixie and Cain Marko bursting on the scene in the last issue, the issue feels fast paced. Yost does well to play up the strengths of this conflict while keeping the possibility open for others to prevail and claim the prize.

Nightcrawler bampfs into action

Keeping pace with Yost's story, artist Jorge Fornes continues a solid run in this arc. There is some feeling of middle-issue syndrome, where the dip occurs, hopefully to rise back in the next issue. Fornes' use of expression emotion in the characters' faces is a delight, and he is a good artist for this type of action-packed story. As I re-read all the issues so far on this arc, the individual issues come together smoothly and would do well in a collected trade paperback.

In other aspects Fornes' art is a little patchy in its storytelling in this issue; stylistically the art is consistent with the previous two issues, but here we see some big jumps in action, with some distinct lack of linking elements between panels. This only happens less than a handful of times, but it is enough to distract the reader and pull him or her out of the story.

Cain Marko - the former Juggernaut.

Rachelle Rosenberg's colors are bright and vivid, but in comparison with the earlier arcs of this series, they have changed to suit the style and tone of Fornes. Rosenberg appears to enhance a lot of the character movement, as directed by Fornes' layouts, but the overall feel comes across a little static. There is some exaggerated impact in the fight scenes; bringing home a well-laid punch, for instance, feels as though it were intended to knock over a character, but the fluidity of motion doesn't carry consistently throughout the issue.

The panel arrangement that was engaging in the previous issue is toned down in issue #17. While they read well and clearly guide the story, due to the content of this issue I think that more could have been done to use the fighting to step outside the box a little more.

The X-Men fight on all sides

Given the proximity to "Secret Wars" and the lack of solicitation for Amazing X-Men in May this year, we could be among the final issues in this run. With one more part left to this story arc, it will be interesting to see what fate befalls the team and who becomes the new Juggernaut in the final issue.

As always, we want to hear what you thought about this issue. Make sure you leave a comment below or on our Facebook or Twitter and come back next time for the final issue of the "Once and Future Juggernaut."