Prisoner X #2 Explores The Harsh Reality Of Prison Life
by Tony Thornley
Prisoner X #2 is two very interesting things. They might seem contradictory at first, but when you look deep at the story the creative team is trying to tell, you see the deeper connections.
Vita Ayala, German Peralta, Mike Spicer and Joe Sabino show us more of the Danger Room in this issue, as well as exploring the characters who have found their way here.
Bishop continues to try to understand the Danger Room, questioning his fellow inmates. He learns that several of these other mutants may be more than they appear to be. However, the prison itself also is significantly more than it appears to be, and it truly may live up to its name…
Ayala tells two different stories here and they really throw us for a loop in both. In the first half of the issue, we see that the characters we might have thought were so far out of character in the first issue of the mini- Beast and Polaris in particular- are actually so much closer to those we love than we thought. In that, they also explore how profoundly broken they are by their circumstance.
Then the issue transitions into a frightening surreal thriller. Bishop finds himself facing an opponent that Ayala makes familiar, but are clearly wholly alien and frightening. It’s a short, but effective sequence, that reminds the readers and the character how dire and horrifying his condition is.
Peralta and Spicer take Ayala’s script and put the emotion and the frights on the page. Peralta’s take on the Beast shows us a broken but noble man playing a part for his survival, and his choreography in the fight between Bishop and Beast is clear, exciting and draws the reader clearly through the page. Spicer’s colors are more subdued through the issue until Bishop is confronted by Shard, and then he explodes with bright colors, which makes the surreal nature of that sequence even more frightening.
The Age of X-Man event isn’t setting the sales charts on fire, and that’s a huge shame. This series and its sisters are some of the best X-Men stories we’ve gotten in years. Pick it up today!
Prisoner X #2 is available now from Marvel Comics.
