2006-05-30 A brutal choice to make

I used to read superhero comics all the time, but I've moved away from them (mostly for lack of storage space and how much they cost more than anything else). I knew that some superheroes were making the transition to novel form, but I hadn't bothered to go find any and see what they were like. However, I stumbled across X-Men: Watchers on the Walls, by Christopher L. Bennett, at the library and thought "he's a Trek author I've talked to on the Star Trek boards, and I like the X-Men, so why not give this one a try?" After doing so, I'm glad I did. It's an interesting book, with only a couple of missteps which I'm not sure are Bennett's fault anyway.

It's a normal day at the Xavier Institute of Higher Learning, with a brand new batch of students finding out what they're in for. Unbeknownst to the rest of the world, these children are mutants, children born with an extraordinary power that makes them more than human. In a world where humanity treats mutants with fear and some loathing, Professor Xavier takes them in, trains them to use (or at least control) their powers, and how to live amongst humans. But the school is also home to the X-Men, mutant heroes who are also instructors at the school. On a training mission with Jean Grey, Professor Xavier happens upon a spaceship in distress, being chased and fired upon by another ship. The fugitive ship crashes and the X-Men are called to protect them. However, they may be more menace than prey. The form of life on that ship is deadly to most carbon-based life forms, and if they aren't dealt with, the whole of humanity could be destroyed. The X-Men must balance the safety of the Earth against the persecution of a people whose only crime is being born different; a sentiment that many humans share about mutants.

Bennett does a great job with the characters all X-Men fans know and love. All of them are recognizable, even as I kept on trying to figure out where in the comics continuity this novel was taking place. Bennett has said that he was told to create a stand-alone novel, but he was able to mix in a few references to ground the reader who is familiar with these things, and his characterization definitely fit my image of these heroes at the time (about five or so years ago). Wolverine is irascible but with a good heart. Rogue is extremely idealistic, taking the side of the fugitives often. I wanted to smack her a few times because of how much I disagreed with her, but she was definitely in character. The others are well-done too.

Make no mistake, this novel is definitely set in the comics universe, despite its release being timed to coincide with the new movie. In the movies, it seems like there are no other superheroes around at all, but in this one, many of them are mentioned. None of them are actually on screen, but there are plenty of mentions of the Fantastic Four (though oddly, not by name), Spider-Man, and myriad other Marvel heroes. A lot of mutants show up as well, including some who have worked with the X-Men before, such as Banshee. If you're not familiar with the comics universe, however, don't be alarmed. None of the references are strange enough that you won't know what Bennett's talking about.

Bennett writes an exciting tale, too. The plot is interesting and the resolution is definitely appropriate, though I have a bit of a problem with the main key to the resolution being a mutant who just happens to have come to Xavier's school very recently, and is introduced in this book. That's the only real fault with the plotting that I could find, and it's certainly a debatable point whether or not it detracts from the book. It did for me. Everything else is grand, though. The arguments from all sides just felt right and they were well-presented by Bennett. Rogue goes a bit too far over to the side of the fugitives, but she's always been a huge idealist, so I don't fault her for that. It was nice to see that it took other circumstances happening before others began to join her.

The writing in this book was great, except for one thing: I don't know if it's because it was two groups rather than two individuals fighting, but the standard fight scenes that every comic has to have just fell flat on their faces for me. I'm not sure that comic book fight scenes translate that well to the novel format, though I'd have to check out an individual's book (like a Spider-Man) before I figure that out. Whether it's Bennett's fault or a fault of the format, the two or three huge fight scenes left me cold, and I couldn't wait for them to be over. The description of one person's powers affecting another person almost felt like exposition in the middle of the battle. Unfortunately, the ultimate fight with the Sentinels was one of those instances. One thing that does lead me to guess that the problem is more the size of the fights is that when Bennett breaks the X-Men up into smaller groups, the scenes do work a little better. Not a lot, but some.

All in all, though, Watchers on the Walls is an excellent example of a superhero book done well. It brings up interesting philosophical points, provides good characterization, and tells an interesting story. If you like your X-Men, then it's definitely worth a read.

David Roy