The X-Cellent vol. 2: Unsocial Media

X-Statix now know what their former leader, Zeitgeist, is up to.  He’s been causing gleeful chaos across the nation all in the name of building up his social media presence.  Why?  For the fortune?  For the fame?  For the lulz?  No, for the followers.  This is because he’s stolen a page from the Book of Vishanti that will allow him to ascend to godhood after he’s amassed a billion followers (on whatever the version of Twitter is in the Marvel Universe).  Though he may be leading a team of Z-listers who are arguably even more messed up than their counterparts in X-Statix, he’s still running rings around that team.  Even if they can get their act together, and that’s a big IF, will our favorite fame-obsessed mutants be able to do it while salvaging their tattered reputation on social media?

The problem with this volume isn’t its artist, Mike Allred, as the man couldn’t stop being effortlessly stylish if he tried.  No, this is another situation where we’re getting a version of its writer, Peter Milligan, who’s off his game once again.  While there are some interesting parts, like the robot Dox’s struggles with his new master, a lot of the conflicts and satire here wind up feeling tired.  This volume is keenly aware that people these days don’t put much stock in actual truth.  Yet, it doesn’t feel like doing anything beyond simply reminding us of this fact – save for the fact that this time it’s being done with teleporters, sentient eyeballs, and a guy who can vomit up acid on cue.

Maybe I’d feel better about this if it all went somewhere.  It doesn’t, as the ending is a gigantic cop-out on the part of the writer.  Sensing the end approaching, Milligan decides to retreat to the status quo and keep things intact in case Marvel decides to do another revival for the property a decade or so from now.  The writer should’ve taken his own advice in how he ended “X-Statix” the first time with a story that spotlighted the dangers of having a story go on for too long.  Even if it’s going by another name, vol. 2 of “The X-Cellent” makes a case that it’s time to put this series to rest for good now.