Ryan Reads Comics: X-Men (Vol. 3) #2

PREVIOUSLY ON X-MEN: Storm gave everyone a really good view of her boobs (heh) while she was flying; Rogue destroyed a train; Psylocke was actually allowed to wear actual clothes; Kitty used netspeak in spoken conversation --- twice; Jubilee failed to supply anything like a definitive answer to the whole "Are you still a vampire or not?" question; and Rachel . . . was, you know, there.
     Also, there was something about John Sublime (who?) having a twin sister even more ~seriously evil~ than he is, because six of the most badass X-Men in the history of ever need somebody to punch. Obviously.

(Look, I am more excited about this book than words can possibly explain, but, at the same time, I can't help throwing a little good-natured snark in its general direction. Particularly this issue. It's Part 2 of 3 of the first arc; I'm sure everything will eventually make brilliant, perfect sense, but for now . . . well, for now, it really feels like the second part of a three-part story, you know?)

Anyway.

I love this series so much that I'd really like to do full-blown recaps, and maybe I will someday, but today I just have a lot of questions & exclamations. So, whatever, let's go with that.

• What is up with Beast's hair?
• What is or was the deal with Karima Shapandar? Would I appreciate her more if I did a little research, or does the actual story tell us everything we really need to know about her? (Either way, her name is freaking awesome.)
• Is Pixie really as awesome as everybody seems to think? I mean, I understand that other people go into full-on flail when they see her in the background, but I've never read a story about her or heard anything that really made me want to read a story about her, soooo.
• What is the deal with John Sublime? Specifically, why do Rachel and Betsy bother interrogating him when they are both, you know, telepathic?
• IS JUBILEE STILL A VAMPIRE OR NOT?
• I'm just gonna say it: Kitty Pryde is freaking adorable, but the ponytail is not a good look for her.
• "I understand, there's no way of knowing how much of Karima still exists in there." Again, um, why does telepathy not work that way?
• Why does Rogue, who has superstrength, feel the need to joke with Kitty about how much Hank weighs? Why does Kitty, who knows that Rogue has superstrength, feel the need to help her carry Hank out of his lab?
• When is Storm going to use her powers to do anything other than fly?
• Obviously, I want to know what's going on with Jubilee's son (Shogo), but that's clearly pretty crucial to the plot.
• Aaaaaaand the issue ends three seconds before a bomb goes off! Nice. 

Here's a snippet from the end of the letters page: "But seriously, I think we want to let this team gel a bit before we start messing with it too much --- though there are so many awesome women to choose from, right? That said, the one thing I can say is that while dudes will certainly show up in this book, the guys have their own teams to mess with, right? I mean, how many teams can Wolverine really be on? (answer: a lot, but still not this one)" AND THERE WAS MUCH REJOICING.

NEXT TIME ON X-MEN:  Psylocke (who is still actually wearing actual clothes, while wielding a wicked-looking spear, while manifesting the focused totality of whatever) fights six or seven people at once. I approve. How many milliseconds until the next issue?