Brian Michael Bendis is one of a handful of writers who can turn an issue of just characters interacting for the first time into an issue fraught with suspense, intrigue, and danger. There is no reason why this issue shouldn’t be steeped in slowly churned character moments but here, where our favorite cast members from two different universes butt heads for the first time, nothing could be further from the truth.

This installment, more so than the first in the arc, sets the mood for the readers rather exquisitely. Being time-displaced has got to be one hell of a headache. One has to figure it’s a bit surreal to walk around New York City, on a block that you’ve walked through on hundreds of occasions, and notice that the buildings, the smells, and even the signage are different. It would be like being alien to a whole new world. Take into consideration that even the language, though it’s contemporary English, sounds different. Now take that same feeling and apply it to entering a parallel universe. Here the characters are presented with a city that has experienced some of the same things as the city they know, only in a different pattern. No one knows who they are, not even those who probably should.

All-New X-Men #32 is about these very sensations. When the X-Men end up in the Ultimate Universe it places them in extremely dangerous and all-together unfamiliar settings that they have little training on how to handle. This sensation leaves the characters and reader with zero hope for these mutant super-teens to ever make it back home, whenever that is. Bendis separates his team in ways that feel hopeless and overwhelmed but damn is it fun to read.

There can be little disagreement that when dialogue can inform and entertain, it can be a sign of a great comic. Bendis, Asrar, and Garcia are a triple-tag-team-threat in this regard. Each team member gets two pages to showcase what sort of trouble they are in and how they deal with their circumstances. Quite honestly, it is stunning to see this creative team pull off such great storytelling in two pages and nine to twelve panels for each situation.

Arar and Gracia grace the pages of this comic with a beautiful two page spread of Miles’ life as Spider-Man when Jean peers into his mind. It may very well be the best art on the Marvel shelf this week. An alluring and illuminating black-and-white montage of Miles’ life story, with only the reds to highlight and impress upon the audience just how important this moment is. The panel use is cleverly disguised to resemble an X-logo and possibly even a spider-web if you stare at it long enough. Quite frankly you probably will stare at it that long, it is just beautiful. The assortment of panels compiles a short-but-sweet summary of Miles’ character and his origins for any uninformed readers. The very next panel of Jean’s contorted, bewildered, and panic-stricken face is a wonderfully placed emotional hook to reel our characters back into the moment.

Emotions are what Bendis loves toying with. He wants the readers to care about what happens to his characters. To do this he has to make the situation seem as desperate as he can. Trapping his characters hundreds of miles apart from one another in a parallel universe will do that. Then taking away their ride home really solidifies the crucible these kids are in for.

Thankfully, Bendis has a funny-bone as well, which he likes to flex. Frequently this series has had tongue-in-cheek moments, which the title alone should suggest. Few writers can incorporate humor into pages the way Bendis does in this issue. Often characters can sound similar as they take witty jabs at villains. Everyone is wise cracking or being smart alecks, but not everyone is Spider-Man. Bendis understands that. Here, characters react to pressure in realistic ways. It’s nice to know that these are just kids under those uniforms and tights. They have no idea what’s happening. Though it’s probably the dramatic irony on the reader’s behalf for being more aware than the characters of what’s occurring. All of these interactions produce a nervous chuckle and a needed comedic break.

These are X-Men, remember. Sure they’re teenagers, but they’re mutant teenagers. Like most teens, they tend to question authority (as the Professor has no doubt instilled the ideal of questioning right and wrong upon his X-pupils) and when they are faced with a scary scenario they react reasonably, or as reasonably as we would hope. X-Books bring characters by the dozens and with that comes handling disparate personalities. Nothing will showcase disparate personalities better than five pubescent mutants separated in time and space.

This is not necessarily the best hopping-on issue, but if you are exclusively an X-Reader, this issue gives an impressive series summary of Miles Morales, the Ultimate Spider-Man. For Spider-Readers, the character moments featured with these specific X-Folk are the best you could ask for in terms of introduction and summary. There couldn’t be a better cast to stumble into Miles’ path than these five.