Era #10, Part 20: Drop Dead Gorgeous (Mystique)

Grade: B

Professor Xavier's dream often requires help from the shadows, but when one of his secret agents is murdered on a mission, he is forced to ask Mystique to join his network of spies. Famed scribe Brian K. Vaughan (Y: The Last Man, Ex Machina, Runaways, Pride of Baghdad, Saga, and Paper Girls) gives one of the X-Men's most notorious villains her own title that is part X-Men and part James Bond. In addition to Professor X taking on the familiar M role, Forge joins the cast as Q, and a new character, the diminutive telepath Shortpack, is introduced as her "handler". In her first case, she must prevent the mutant international arms dealer Steinbeck from selling Russian Sentinel technology to the Cubans. 

The story actually works when you only consider it standing on its own. If you attempt to read it within the context of the current X-men storyline, there are some character inconsistencies (specifically how she addresses the many moral choices she must make in this arc). The espionage element works as each of the characters attempts to outplay each other through leverage maneuvering and double-crossing. They even work in the unresolved romantic tension between her and Forge (who obviously provides the gadgets she needs for her mission).

I enjoyed reading a new take on familiar characters, and new genre tropes introduced to shake things up. 

[6-stars] Mystique (2003) #1

[6-stars] Mystique (2003) #2

[6-stars] Mystique (2003) #3

[6-stars] Mystique (2003) #4

[6-stars] Mystique (2003) #5

[6-stars] Mystique (2003) #6

Collected in Mystique (Vol. 1): Dead Drop Gorgeous