Bishop hates Cable. Cable hates Bishop. But the Children of the Vault have no use for either of them. Your Major Spoilers review of Children of the Vault #1 from Marvel Comics awaits!

CHILDREN OF THE VAULT #1

Writer: Deniz Camp
Artist: Luca Maresca
Colorist: Carlos Lopez
Letterer: VC’s Cory Petit
Editor: Sarah Brunstad
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: August 9, 2023

Previously in Children of the Vault: The Children of the Vault are back, and they are determined to be humanity’s salvation! But not everything is as it seems, and every utopia has its costs. What is the motivation behind these highly evolved beings gifting the world with their advanced technology? And how do Bishop and a now-Orchis-captured Cable figure into their plans?

AFTER THE DEATH OF THE DREAM

After being trapped in a simulated reality by Forge, the Children of the Vault awaken from their slumber, as the systems that kept them in check were destroyed when Krakoa fell. (This year’s Hellfire Gala was murder, y’all.) Rather than pick up where they left off, the Children of the Vault take a more modern tack: Rebranding! Dubbing themselves The Children of Tomorrow, they begin offering the fruits of their technological labors to humanity, building futuristic cities around the world. As they put their plan in motion, an Orchis black ops site sort of blows the heck up, thanks to future time-traveler and angry mutant Lucas Bishop. His target? Future time-traveler and angry mutant Nathan “Cable” Summers. With so many mutants dead (or seemingly dead, I’m still not 100% clear what the full story is there), Bishop needs backup, and the two X-Men make a break for one of Cable’s remaining safe houses. When they try to investigate what the Children are up to, Cable makes two discoveries:

It’s a psychic virus. And it’s literally EVERYWHERE.

THE SURVIVALISTS WHO HATE EACH OTHER

The end of the Krakoan era came fast, and this issue continues that speedy reconfiguration of the world, as the Children run rampant across the world. I rather like the ideas in play here, if it weren’t for the fact that we won’t actually see any of it affecting the other titles in the Marvel Universe. The driving part of this story is actually pretty strong stuff, as Bishop would never have sought out Cable if it weren’t already the point of no return, but having two nihilistic guys as the focal point of the story is kind of exhausting to me as a reader, especially in a world where Professor X accidentally killed 250,000 people a couple of issues ago. The art in this issue is rather pleasant, reminding me of the work of the late Steve Dillon, which goes well with the “last two cowboys” premise. The wild-and-crazy future tech also looks interesting, but the coloring isn’t quite as successful for me. The reliance on desaturated browns and greens makes even the best parts of the art somehow feel less dynamic in practice.

BOTTOM LINE: READING THIS FEELS LIKE WORK

My biggest complaint about Children of the Vault #1 is the dark, hopeless tone of it all, which makes it tough to actually sit down and work your way through the issue, but the thrust of the story has promise and the art (though ill-served by the coloring) has promise, earning 3 out of 5 stars overall. In a few years, when we look back on the “Fall of X” era, this could be one of the impressive high points of it all, depending on where this book goes from here.

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