The very first page of Wolverine and the X-Men #13 establishes an interesting detail about Warbird's past and personality. Then almost every single other page in the issue reiterates the same point, but more overtly, over and over again. It's a twist on the character which I actually like, but it did not need nearly this much time and space. So Warbird is secretly a sensitive artist, and because of her culture she's ashamed of that. It's not new ground, and nothing especially original is done with it in this instance, so without much else going on either, the issue ends up being a bit of a dud.
Not to mention that this was supposed to be the payoff for all the previous Gladiator build up. And it was, I guess, technically, but man...what a disappointing way to handle that. We barely see Gladiator, he doesn't do or say anything worthwhile, and then he gets pummeled into submission as a B-plot to Warbird's cheesy backstory. That was all just a bummer, because I've been looking forward to Gladiator finally showing up and blowing up, and now it looks like I'll never truly get to see that.
Also...does Warbird's costume always look so ridiculous? I need to go back and look into that, because it's entirely possible I just haven't noticed before, but if this is just Nick Bradshaw's own take on her design, then...for shame. The lack of defense for her vital organs (assuming they're in the same place as humans, which they may not be, and if so then just read that as "the lack of defense for her breasts") is outrageous, and the whole thing looks impractical and uncomfortable in favor of being sexy. No, sorry, not sexy. Slutty. It's a slutty fucking costume.
Other than that Bradshaw's work is steady but stiff. I guess that's a fair description of Jason Aaron's script, too. He has a single point he wants to make about a single character, and he makes it multiple times, but in a boring and straightforward fashion. Steady, yes, but oh so very stiff.
4.5/10
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