X-Men First Class: Finals #3 - Marvel

I've been a proponent of this series since day one. It's a fun read. I like the feeling that it has, with the X-Men in their teens . . or at least early 20's. Plus, it's just a lot more upbeat than the regular series right now. However, having said that, this issue really fell kind of flat for me. This was really a kind-of in between issue for the story-line. The kids are getting close to their graduation and I think that Charles has decided to end the year with a little more practical training. He's been doing some planning in the Danger Room and has made the kids training sessions a bit harder . . more complicated. He's trying to push them to help them develop their skills. I really think that Charles biggest fear is sending these kids out into a world that their not prepared to face. Which is why he pushes them so hard, all of the time. Anyways, they face what appears to be some kind of metal Magneto apparition in the junkyard. And, Juggernaut seems to keep popping into their lives at the weirdest moments. Charles has just returned from Muir Island and he takes the kids into their memories to see if there's anything they can find out. Scott notices that Juggy seems to appear only when Jean is knocked unconscious . . or close to it. She was also the only one that couldn't affect the Magneto apparition. Therefor he's convinced that these events are popping out of Jean's own mind . . literally. Not a very big revelation there, but . . I guess at the time, it's something that hadn't happened yet. Anyways, that really was the gist of the whole book. I really feel kind of cheated. There was no build up . . no anticipation, and really not even a whole lot of drama. The action scenes were kind of blase'. I really just had a hard time getting in to it. Usually Jeff Parker's stories are a bit more exciting than this. Or at least comedic. But this one . . ho-hum! Amilcar Pinna's pencils were ok. Nothing fantastic . . nothing terrible. Roger Cruz' cover is ok, but . . it's kind of hard not to notice the bulge in Scott's pants. I don't think their uniforms should be that tight. Anyways, I hope the next issue is better. We'll see.