Joss Whedon

ALEJANDRO: "If you’re a fan of Kitty Pryde, this issue was made for you. If you don’t like Kitty, you’re about to."

RYAN: "This book came so close to beating Ultimate Spidey out for the top spot this week... so close, man..."

[Flips through issue]

RYAN: "...go back, make this book of the week. This is incredible. It opens with that crazy shot of Ord steamrolling through S.W.O.R.D. guards and-"

JUSTIN: "It’s better than that. Read the last few lines of the title page..."

"The alien captive from Breakworld, Ord, is paid a visit at his prison cell by Danger. The sentient Danger Room come-to-life tells Ord of the mutant that is destined to destroy his world. But what Ord plans to do with this information remains to be seen..."

JUSTIN: "Then you turn the page to see exactly what he does with the information..."

JUSTIN: "Yeah, he doesn’t take bad news well."

ZACH: "I don’t remember Ord being so big... I pictured him being Colossus-sized at most, but he’s huge here, like the Hulk."

ALEJANDRO: "Wolverine did fit his entire fist in his mouth the last time we saw him."

RYAN: "I’ve done that."

ALEJANDRO: "Then he pulls a Cap, jumps through a window and escapes via space shuttle. I aspire to exits like that."

RYAN: "Crazy stuff-and I love how Cassaday draws Ord, always with such presence-but immediately, the book shifts gears back to the Earth and the mess that’s become of the X-Men. After the Hellfire Club ambush and the traitorous turn of Emma Frost, we find Cyclops and Colossus down for the count and Wolverine’s stuck up in a tree, terrified and mentally reduced to his childhood self."

ZACH: "Victorian-era Wolverine is my favorite character in comics today. He talks like Little Nemo in Slumberland and gets chased around the X-mansion by a feral Beast. It should be a level in the next X-Men video game."

ALEJANDRO: "And how scary is the feral Beast...? Further proof that the Morrison Cat version is so much better than the classic blue ape Hank McCoy."

JUSTIN: "I can’t get enough of Victorian Era Wolverine’s dialogue when he’s hiding in that tree..."

"Oh Lord, I am heartily sorry for having offended thee and for any wrongs I have done in your sight including that dream I had about the chambermaid that spoilt my bed-linens but if you would please please make that moose creature not find me..."

JUSTIN: "Ha! He calls the Beast a "Moose Creature." This whole sequence is like a Dr. Seuss story for adults. I love his face in this panel..."

RYAN: "And when the childlike Wolverine is attacked by the Beast and is surprised by what instinctively pops out of his own hands..."

RYAN: "Quintessential Whedon! Then the story shifts to the Hellfire Club trying to get inside a mysterious, heavily guarded crate in the X-Mansion, which leads us to one of the coolest fights you’ll ever see in comics. Emma-telepathically sensing Kitty phasing behind a wall-walks up to it, stares at the mirror hanging on it and cockily asks if Kitty thinks she can really hide from her. Kitty’s response wins panel of the week hands-down."

PANEL OF THE WEEK Kitty decks the White Queen

RYAN: "But it doesn’t end! This whole issue is a continuous string of awesome dialogue, fantastic art and douche-chill fanboy moments! Check out more of this fight..."

RYAN: "Amazing! And it keeps going with even more crazy phase combat moves!"

[Pounds both fists on table]

RYAN: "I love Kitty Pryde!"

ALEJANDRO: "That’s the reaction I’ve seen from everyone who’s read this issue. It’s THE Kitty Pryde issue."

RYAN: "When Kitty first appeared way back in Uncanny #129, it was in a Hellfire Club story where White Queen was a dominating, evil presence and Kitty couldn’t even control her powers. This issue was a great full circle."

[Pounds table again]

RYAN: "Kitty Pryde!"

JUSTIN: "...that’d make a terrible battle cry."

RYAN: "Then-after Kitty takes out Emma Frost-mysterious Hellfire Club member "Perfection" reveals herself to be...another Emma Frost? Kitty’s reaction to the reveal was priceless..."

RYAN: "All that and then ANOTHER big reveal that Colossus is the mutant destined to destroy Breakworld...? Make mine Astonishing! "

To talk with the Thursday Morning Quarterback crew and share your opinions on Astonishing X-Men #16, click here!

ZACH: "If we’re done making people feel uncomfortable by how much we all are in love with Kitty Pryde, let’s move on to the comic that, once and for all, proves Iron Man is a dick."