New X-Men, Vol. 5

(Note: apparently the newest edition of the New X-Men series is numbered differently than the old ones. Vol 5 is the “Riot at Xavier's” story now, not the “Assault on Weapon Plus” one).

Since the beginning of the X-Men, the backdrop of Xavier's school has always been there. But it's always been little more than a backdrop, a place to gather a group of teenagers together and run them through the Danger Room between missions. Morrison really moves beyond that, and this volume focuses heavily on the student body of Xavier's, as students and as people rather than as potential superheroes.

Which brings us to young Mr. Quetin Quire, the “Kid Omega” that is central to the Riot at Xavier's. It's easy to see him as a villain, as a Magneto-in-training who will exist to oppose Xavier's dream. But really, he's just a kid, a teenager who is scared and shaken up, and who doesn't get any support from the adults in his life, the teachers that are too busy being X-Men to notice this kid flailing around until it's too late. Until he's formed a gang, and turned to drugs that have started destroying his mind and his X-gene. Until he's become a villain, someone to be punched at and hit with laser beams. Morrison's accomplished a sublime critique of the super-hero in this volume, one that's easy to overlook when focusing on the flashier aspects of mutant culture that he's created in the book.