The X-Men title has been going through huge changes recently and they seem to finally have found some peace. Find out how the X-men are managing their safe paradise in X-Men #1 by Marvel Comics!
X-MEN #1
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Artist; Leinil Francis Yu
Colorist: Leinil Francis Yu
Letterer: VC’s Clayton Cowles
Editor: Jordan D. White
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: October 16th, 2019
Previously on X-Men: After Powers of X wrapped up, mutants now have the safe-haven in Krakoa. Protecting this new safe haven is the X-Men with a roaster of heroes featuring Cyclops, Storm, and Magneto. Now that the island nation is created, the X-Men are tasked to rescue as many mutants as possible from Orchis and to protect the people from any threat.
CAN MUTANTS FIND PEACE?
The story begins with a flashback of Cyclops receiving his iconic sunglasses from Charles Xavier and reuniting the reader with that moment. In the present, Storm, Cyclops, Polaris, and Magneto are attacking the last Orchis stronghold to rescue children mutants that have been kidnapped. The last Orchis scientists try to stand up to the X-Men by regressing into gorillas but were quickly dispatched by Magneto. Amongst the prisoners was a human with massive atemporal development that teleports away quickly after being freed. The crew returns the children back to Krakoa where Magneto receives a hero’s welcome. Storm has proven to be pushing herself to her physical limit and Cyclops returns to the moon to his family home. Cyclops arrives home to see Jean Grey, Wolverine, Corsair, Havok, Vulcan, Prestige, and Cable as they have a family dinner filled with love and laughter. Meanwhile, the Orchis based near the sun wishes their dead well but seem to have a way to potentially bring them back to life.
X-MEN AND HAPPINESS
The comic book opens with what I expect with Storm and Cyclops blowing up some sentinels in the Orchis Stronghold. The story then becomes something much different. It becomes a story of people who are clearly happy and at peace. It is odd for me to visualize Cyclops so relaxed and at peace while also working side by side with Magneto. This is an incredible change of pace for what I would expect from my X-Men story. The mutant utopia seems to have finally been accomplished and I wonder how it will inevitably fall apart.
Despite the light-hearted dialogue; the artist style seems to have a realistic feel. Polaris makes a joke about her dad enjoying the publicity and popularity of his station but the artist drew all the faces as very stoic. When we see the Summer’s household, we view small light-hearted moments between the family but drawn with grim facial expressions. The art and the writing are good separately but they did not work together for me in this first issue.
SETTING UP SOMETHING GREATER
The story is setting up a lot of plot lines for future issues to pick up, making this a solid issue 1 for the series. Magneto still has his God complex that the people of Krakoa reinforce, Storm seems to be making mistakes due to exhaustion, and then a huge concept of family. My story telling philosophy in both tabletop roleplaying games and my own writing is that you need two sets of themes. The first theme has to be a plot for the story; for this issue it seems to be dwelling somewhere between family and community. The second themes need to be obstacles for characters to overcome. Storm here is pushing herself too far and I wouldn’t be surprised if her character theme is going to be her burning out and learning physical limits. With both set of themes being set up, I am looking forward to a positive experience with the rest of the series.
An interesting idea that is being set up starts with that initial flashback. Cyclops and Professor X has a conversation that emphasizes a point to make sure that you are seeing the world the way it really is. Don’t look at things through rose colored glasses. Ironic considering how Cyclops fully sees the world in a slightly reddish tint. There is a lot of foreshadowing coming from this one scene and we will see how it pays off.
BOTTOM LINE: I LOVE X-MEN AND THIS IS NO EXCEPTION
I was hesitant at first because it had the $5 dollar price tag, but I received about 40 pages of content in this book. Even though I was put off by the art style that contradicts the tone of the writing; the story was still great and worth a read. 4 out of 5 for X-Men #1 by Marvel Comics.
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X-Men #1
Even though I was put off by the art style that contradicts the tone of the writing; the story was still great and worth a read.
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Writing8
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Art8
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Coloring8
Christopher Rondeau is a storyteller based in Tulsa, OK. Finding himself with little work, he ended up creating a job as a Game Master full time on the internet. Chris spends most of his days reading everything he can, writing bad fiction, and watching old Digimon cartoons with his daughter. Sometimes you can find him Dungeon Mastering a podcast or streaming on twitch. Recently, he has completed his Master's degree with a focus on collaborative storytelling. Find out more at https://rondeaucreator.com