The Battle of the Atom continues with Chapter 4 in Uncanny X-Men #12, and I was leery about where the story would be going. Typically, the third or fourth chapter is when you start telling the true strength of a crossover event. Marvel did surprise me enough to make Uncanny X-Men #12 my Pick of the Week!
The Middle of a Crossover Event
The middle of a crossover event is typically the most difficult to write (in my opinion). Granted, I have never written one myself, but the middle is when the most challenges present themselves. Creators go into the vent knowing how it starts, and knowing how it is going to end. Typically, the events start out with something huge, have something huge at the end, and lul through a good portion of the middle. That is why I was worried about the middle of Battle of the Atom.
The Challenges of the Middle
In the middle of the crossover event, such as Battle of the Atom, you not only have to progress the main story, you have to introduce new subplots and address subplots which will running through the title before the crossover began. At the same time, you typically have to get away from some of the action and focus on the relationships between characters and discuss how the characters are feeling about what is going on. There is where many readers are lost because they want the action.
Uncanny X-Men #12
Battle of the Atom has been a fantastic crossover so well. I would go as far as to say that it is one of the top crossovers Marvel has had in years. Uncanny X-Men #12 did take a step back from the non-stop inundation of new ideas to focus on the emotions of the characters – but did not disappoint. The ending of the issue (remember that I hate spoilers), will have many X-Men fans talking today about what type of showdown will happen in the next installment. This is a fight which has been on many of our wishlists for a long time.
