2.168 (533) X-Men vol 1 Legacy #244 ... Marvel ...

The storyline is interesting. It shines the spotlight on someone who is young and potentially a weak link in a physical fight situation and yet can prove to have uses. As the cover indicates this is none other than Blindfold. In fact, her near uselessness in a fight reminds us of Cypher (New Mutants) and Destiny (Freedom Force) although in terms of power, she is obviously more akin to Destiny

So Blindfold wears a blindfold as her eyes are "empty" and she is blind, literally. However, her ability gives her glimpses of future. Unfortunately it is not something she can control and zoom in. Hence, her interpretation can at times be hazy. This has been demonstrated several times in past issues to the point that even Cyclops pointed it out in this very issue

Now what made this issue interesting is that in the aftermath of some long drawn out story arc, here we see each of them licking their wounds in their own way. We also see how splintered the X members are at this point in time where friendship is barely tolerated and gone, more or less, is the sense of family. Too many secrets, too many hurts - that sort of thing. In the midst of all these, Blindfold is having a panic attack where she senses a presence is hiding among some of the mutants. Who? She does not know

And as she goes narrowing down the options, Rogue with the help of the more brainy X members actually found what it was and basically one of the little portals leftover from an earlier storyline has allowed monsters from that dimension to pop through to ours

While this is interesting, it is not monumental and if you have not read this, no big deal

I do have two primary gripes with the X teams at this juncture ... first is the fact that inspite of the many X-titles on the market, still there are way too many characters present to the point that it serves to distract from an enjoyment of the book. And here we are talking about the fact that we are loyal followers of the mutant titles for about 30 odd years! Although we have had periodic lapses, it is never even a full year and we are struggling to keep up. You can imagine new readers who casually buy this online ... it will not make them come back for more ... we are pretty sure

And next up is the artwork. Sorry I am sure artist (T) has his fans but by far and large, we are pretty sure it is not that many because it is either penciller or inker .... but one of them dropped the ball and while the storytelling chops are there, the visuals and layouts are not. We have so much white spaces that it feels ... well let's not go into more of it. You know what we mean. And if you don't, go take a peek at that cover

Ratings: 5/10 (mainly for the art)