New X-Men #44 - Marvel

This one starts out with a beautiful David Finch cover. He's been doing the covers on this whole story-line. And they are incredible. This issue's interior art is done by Humberto Ramos. And, being a huge fan of his, I'm thrilled to death to see him on this series. Overall, I liked the story. But . . . I think it was a bit forced. Nori, who finds out it's the Purifiers involvement that Scott has been keeping from them, gets a hard-on to go after them, and kick some butt. It doesn't take to much for her to whip up most of the team in to a frenzy. I know the main team is stretched a bit thin right now. But I'd think that they would have a tighter leash on the young one's than this. I mean, the ONE is watching them, and I'm pretty sure when the Professor talked to them, he could get a sense that they might try to go in the wrong direction. However, it appears that no one did anything to stop the over ambitious kids from heading out in to the fray. Jamie is stuck in a coma, while his dupes are out searching the future. We get a glimpse of the one that Layla tagged along with. They're 80 years in the future, in New York City. Our X-Men strike team have also found the location of the Marauders, in the Antarctica, and are ready to attack. Rictor, with the last issue of X-Factor, is already undercover in the Purifiers group. He got in last issue when they faked an altercation between himself and Wolfsbane. He did a pretty good job convincing them. And since he no longer registers as a mutant, they accepted him in to the fold. But in this issue, he finds out that their operation is much bigger than any of them realized. It involves hundreds of churches . . . just in the United States. But their movement is gaining momentum all across the globe. He also finds out that they've garnered the help of Deathstike and her team. But, on a good note, they do not have the infant. They're in search of it just as much as the X-Men. At the end of this issue though, after our team finds out that the baby is not present, they pretty much come to the conclusion with all the same information. The difference is, they find out by seeing Hellion eviscerated on the end of Deathstrike's claws. Wow! What an ending. The next chapter, in X-Men #205, promises a rematch between the X-Men and the Marauders. It also says that we'll finally have an answer to the question, "Who has the baby?"