Our blue-skinned beauty is back for round three in Unnatural, the third collection of her solo series. Now written by Sean McKeever, the book takes Mystique on a mission to save fellow mutants from illegal experimentation.

As if having mutants used as guinea pigs wasn't bad enough, it's all being done in the name of skin care -- a vain and empty excuse for the death and disfigurement it causes. And, it turns out, some of the genetic material forming the basis of the experiments was cloned from Mystique herself -- without her knowledge.

This book-length mission puts Mystique -- an unwilling heroine at best -- in direct opposition with her X-superiors when she takes matters into her own hands. For, while Charles Xavier and his X-Men operate within certain boundaries of law, Mystique is a criminal with no qualms about killing to achieve her ends.

While Unnatural isn't quite as good a read as the two previous volumes, written by Brian K. Vaughan, McKeever puts together a solid story that has moral quandaries, diverse agendas and unresolved threads leading to the next book. It's a good, solid chapter in the tale of Mystique's brief flirtation with fighting for the good guys.

by Tom Knapp
Rambles.NET
3 February 2007