New X-Men: Academy X, Vol. 2: Haunted

New X-Men: Academy X (Collected Editions)

by Nunzio DeFilippis (Writer), Christina Weir, Paco Medina (Artist)

Someone - or something - is haunting the halls of the Xavier Institute, and it's up to the X-Men-in-training to get to the bottom of it. Can the New Mutants find a way to bring peace to this tortured being before they become the tortured?

Plus: David Alleyne, a.k.a. Prodigy of the New Mutants, can absorb the skills and knowledge of anyone close by, but is doomed to forget everything as soon as they're gone. So what would happen if he could keep that knowledge instead of forgetting? He'd be the smartest kid in the world, right? Is it too much of a good thing?

Collecting: New X-Men: Academy X 7-11

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel, X Men, Graphic Novels Comics, Superheroes, Comic Book

144 pages, Paperback

First published July 6, 2005

About the author

Nunzio DeFilippis is married to Christina Weir; together they have written a large number of graphic novels. They have written superhero comics but also created original comics and graphic novels of many genres, from YA fantasy to sports to horror to crime drama.

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gotham Academy before there was a Gotham Academy. The stories are obviously geared towards younger audiences. I found them kind of clunky. The first half is about a mutant boy haunting the school while the last two issues give Prodigy a glimpse of his future if he's not careful. Outside of Matt Ryan, the art is iffy at best. Paco Medena gives everyone big honkin' noses.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 4 out of 5]

The "Haunted" storyline has continuing good characterization and OK action [6/10]. The story about David that ends the volume is quite nice [7+/10].

[Mitchell Friedman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lame writing with bad art. But not an all bad book. The characters had potential and I liked David's sister. But the art was super distracting. It was interesting to see Prodigy back when he was straight. I wonder if the writers had an inkling at that point. Or that he would lose his powers. Interesting but should have bee better. 2.5 of 5.

[a · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really need to stop reading these so damn fast...they're just too good, I'm inhaling these like a can of Pringles haha :D

[Todd · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Haunted storyline is a weird "well powers are a real thing, so supernatural stuff should be real too". I'm always suspicious of these stories because the writer never explains why ghosts are real now, but aren't seen other times. Of course there is a whole corner of the Marvel U that is dedicated to the supernatural, so it's not too much of a stretch. I liked the bits of character that we got. David's relationship with his sister, Nori's sad family story, Jay's depression. These were peppered throughout the story to be organic.

The "what-if" story isa cliché but still fun. I like the developing powers. The small but significant changes in characters.

[anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was bored with the Hunted storyline and the Prodigy one was too damn predictable.
So, all in all... Meh.

When will I see X-23?

[Alan Castree · Rating 3 out of 5]

The series is definitely getting better. The art can be a little all over the place (sometimes a little strange looking from over stylization) but the writing is consistently decent, some of the arcs are unique and enjoyable, and I also enjoy the teams that they’ve chosen for this run.

Book 2 ends on a cliffhanger that teases something pretty big in the next volume, something that has been hinted at since the beginning of this run, so I’m looking forward to seeing how it pans out.

[Trevor · Rating 3 out of 5]

So much teenaged angst...

[Matthew Ledrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sinfully boring. Just a dull story with dull washed out art. New X-Men: Academy X is one of those titles that makes me loathe my choice to read all the X-Men books. Every issue is vanilla and stagnant. This 5-part trade actually contains 2 stories, a never-frightening and often-cliched ghost story and a 'its all a dream' story so obvious that its all a dream from the get-go that it removes all tension and makes the read that follows tedious.

Just the worst.

[Earline · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know what it is about the New Mutants, but I like it! It's a lot of fun and is filled with tons of teenage drama and angst! plus how could I not like the idea of a haunted Xavier Institute?

[Solitairerose · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice mystery and good character development. There's nothing here that isn't in a bajillion other teen super-hero books, but it's done well with interesting characters.

[TR Naus · Rating 3 out of 5]

This run collects two stories. In the first ("Haunted"), the New Mutants discover that the school is haunted, and in the second ("Too Much Information"), Dani Moonstar and Emma Frost remove the mental blocks that prevent David (Protegy) from permanently retaining the knowledge that his mutant gift allows him to "borrow" from others.

Students dealing with a haunted presence on school grounds is nothing particularly new for young adult fiction (or the X-Men). I appreciate that Nunzio DeFilippis & Christina Weir resolve a dangling X-Treme X-Men thread, and I liked watching David's sister spend some time on campus. While visiting, she provides a different perspective from the normal responses of hatred or exploitation. I was somebody who was a little envious of the fantastic things they can do and the camaraderie that they share.

"Too Much Information" was a great concept, but it played out in a way that felt out of character for David. His ability to temporarily absorb the knowledge from the minds of the people in close proximity certainly offers the perfect opportunity to explore the impact of not earning those skills. I am not sure that I followed the leap from "too smart, too fast" to "complete moral ambiguity".

[JCRD]

Dos arcos bastante majos. 'Haunted' me gusta más por el toque de terror y porque el siguiente, 'Too Much Information', tiene un giro que se hace bastante obvio al final de su primera mitad.

Lo importante es que son aventuras divertidas de estos chavalines y que tiene lo que uno esperaría de este tipo de historias, así que no me puedo quejar. Es curioso cómo Noriko es la que se ha ganado el favor del público y ha ido cobrando cada vez más protagonismo cuando esta etapa empezó con Sofía, pero es totalmente entendible porque Noriko mola. Dani sigue siendo una profe estupenda y me gusta la química que tiene tanto con sus alumnos como con Emma Frost, es muy guay verlas interactuar.

Y me da que lo que va a pasar con Rahne es lo que la llevará a Investigaciones X-Factor. En ese sentido es un personaje bastante curioso, porque rara vez es protagonista de nada y sin embargo aquí ha ido saltando de serie en serie prácticamente sin interrupciones durante una década. Aparece en New Mutants, se queda en el nuevo volumen de New X-Men, se va a Madrox y su continuación X-Factor, se pira a X-Force y vuelve a X-Factor otra vez. Menudo viaje ha tenido la pobre entre una cosa y otra.

[Myrmidon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Forse la parte meno interessante della run di DeFilippis, che continua ad essere discreta.
Nei primi numeri, in concomitanza all'arrivo della sorella minore di David Alleyne (Prodigy dei New Mutants jr), allo Xavier Institute si susseguono avvenimenti che hanno del soprannaturale... C'è forse uno spettro a infestare la scuola? Oppure si tratta di un mutante con un macabro senso dell'umorismo?
Negli ultimi due episodi, invece, David chiede aiuto a Dani in merito al suo potere mutante: il ragazzo, infatti, può "assorbire", telepaticamente e in modo involontario, le conoscenze e competenze dei soggetti a torno a lui, senza però essere in grado di conservarle una volta che questi si siano allontanati. Frustrato dalla cosa, in quanto lo costringe a dover faticare il doppio rispetto agli altri, David viene così portato da Emma Frost: la telepate lo avverte però che la ragione di questo limite dei suoi poteri sembrerebbe derivare da un blocco mentale inconscio, la cui causa è ignota, ma che lei potrebbe rimuovere, se lui lo desidera.
Sicuramente più intrigante della storia precedente (che ho trovato leggermente più confusa), nonostante il plot twist abbastanza scontato.

[C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Continuing the great x-read of 2017...
(I'm a little out of continuity order here due to a mix-up so I am reading this series up to House of M and then I will be back in place...)

I love coming of age stories. I love Mutant comics. So this series is pretty much written for me.

The problem is, Marvel is always making these series about the younger generations of X-Men. And I always get to know and love the characters. And then when the series ends, those characters more or less disappear off the face of the earth. I know that is going to happen to these characters, too, just as it did with my beloved New Mutants and Generation X... So knowing that going in, I feel like I am holding myself back from falling in love with these characters.

Oh well. I really dig Surge. (and I still love having Moonstar back/around...) (review of volumes one and two.)

[Alex Cahill]

This was a bit of a silly turn, but thankfully a short storyline.

Though the haunting was mediocre, the fact that it was a killed child that nobody had realised was missing was fucked.

David's visiting human sister had it right though - The school is so cool, what child wouldn't want to be a mutant?

SECOND STORY:

David's "What If" story was pretty obvious what was happening.
I'm never sure whether I like his character or not.

I thought it was funny that, 18 years in the future, all of the now-adult characters look exactly the same as they did in their teens except that one of them has a goatee. It felt like a wasted opportunity to update their designs.

Despite its silliness, I'm glad this one throwaway story actually had lasting and important impacts on David's character.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun read. It expanded upon the characters and stories built in the first trade paper back (TPB). I do think this one is better than the first. The Haunted arc was good, although I didn’t understand the background of the explosion that was the background for the arc. Thought the future dream arc was interesting, if not predictable. They explore death, but still nothing that isn’t PG-13 or adult themed. Fun Wolverine and The Hulk cameos. Overall would recommend, but need to read the first TPB to understand all of the characters and motives.

[Judith Groen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the book okay. The first story was better than the second. The second story had really terrible art and the characters looked way different than before. That was really annoying. The first story about the ghost boy was kinda meh, because the ghost idea is kinda lame. But the ending of the story was quite heartwarming.

[Lillian Francis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two stories in this TPB.
HAUNTED - the school is being haunted. The art in this is good, not great, but good, although there's a change of artist in the third issue.

TWO MUCH INFORMATION - David gets a glimpse of his future if he let's his peers run rampant. Another change of artist. I don't like Medina it's all too pronounced. Big feet. Big noses.

[Erik V · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ghosts and some timey wimey stuff, not my fave

[Mickey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ugh, sue me but I like X-Men books so much when they're teen focused. These are two fun stories and the characters continue to be enjoyable.

[Tor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Re-read!

[Madeline Rossell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Halfway through vol 2 the art changed in a way I'm not a fan of, but the writing of vol 2 is significantly better than vol 1. And a lot less problematic.

[Eduardo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorei esses dois arcos. O da assombração na escola foi bem divertido e o do David fez bastante sentido pra construção do personagem (eu saquei o twist um pouco antes, mas ainda assim, foi maneiro).

[Odo · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5-

[Lilli W. · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5. That was definitely... something. Dear Lord. The "Haunted" story was fine I guess, but the alternate future one was just ridiculous. This series is definitely something.

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

A ghost from Magneto's assault on the school haunts the students & Prodigy explores a dystopian future

[Adam Stone · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another mediocre entry into the Academy X title. The first story, focused on supernatural events at Xavier's School feels silly and in-line with some of Chris Claremont's ridiculous ghost or devil related stories. It's not out of place in the X-Men universe, it's just not a part of the universe that I enjoy.

The second storyline has an obvious middle-school level ending that you can see as soon as the story starts. It just isn't worth reading.

If you really love the cast of this generation of X-Men (Dani Moonstar, Wolfsbane, Elixir, Hellion, Icarus, Prodigy, Mercury, and...others) then you might enjoy this. Otherwise, you can probably skip this.

[Brad · Rating 3 out of 5]

There’s something satisfying about these light stories of young, not-all-that-well-developed mutants in the X-Men universe. New X-Men: Academy X seems like an attempt for Marvel to lure in manga readers. The main story, about the X-Mansion being haunted, is fun, because in a world where super-powered teenagers all hang out, why not throw in some ghosts?
The second story, about one of the New Mutants gaining an almost perfect intellect, is a fun, throw-away “what if?” story. I wish the writers did more with updating and enhancing the characters’ powers as they aged.

[J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series is pretty hit-or-miss. The first half of this book, the Haunting storyline, is pretty mediocre with a pretty seriously let-down of a revelation. The second half, though, is quite good, revolving around the value of earned versus stolen knowledge. So: half good, half bad.