The truth of Nightcrawler’s origin is revealed! Nightcrawler, dressed as the Uncanny Spider-Man, is on the streets pursuing Mystique. Find out what new secrets he learns in X-Men Blue: Origins #1 by Marvel Comics!
X-MEN BLUE: ORIGINS #1
Writer: Si Spurrier
Artist: Wilton Santos, Oren Junior, and Marcus To
Colorist: Ceci De La Cruz
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Editor: Sarah Brunstad
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $5.99
Release Date: November 29th, 2023
Previously in X-Men Blue: After the Hellfire Gala, Nightcrawler has been evading Orchis by taking on the identity of a new Spider-Man. He has seen a distraught Mystique trying to find her baby during his adventures. Now that he has finally caught up to her, he is determined to help her if she will let him.
X-Men Blue: Origins #1 finally has Uncanny Spider-Man and Mystique conversing. Mystique is very distraught, and when she tries to shoot Nightcrawler, he summons his hope sword and cuts the gun in half. The blade, though, begins to repair Mystique’s psyche and restores her mind to eventually tell the story. Mystique then reveals the truth behind Nightcrawler’s birth. She was indeed in love with Destiny, Irene Adler, but during this time, she married Baron Wagner while having an affair with Azazel. However, she now realizes that Destiny was always there during those moments. In fact, Destiny was her maid.
Irene told Mystique that she wanted a child, and we learn now that Mystique is more powerful than we realized. She impregnated Irene by taking on a form with aspects of Azazel and Baron Wagner. She was kicked out when Irene bore the child, and Irene went missing. Mystique hid Kurt while she took revenge on the town for the death of Destiny, but when she returned, Kurt was gone. She later learns that Irene set this all in motion because of a vision that she never intended to keep the child but was a pawn in the game. Mystique and Destiny then went to Professor X to erase her memory.
Out of all the retcons, I didn’t expect this one. And worse yet, I don’t really understand the significance of this story. X-Men Blue: Origins #1 lives on its shock value. You are surprised by the things being said here, and the story is told with some odd framing and an odd narrator. But usually, when retcons happen, it is to tell a larger story, and I fail to see what kind of story we will present here. Why is this significant? Is this an attempt for Kurt to connect to Destiny? Is it there to make Mystique more powerful, and this is a way to show it off? I don’t know; I’m on the fence about the choice. However, presenting Mystique as the father and Irene as the mother is an excellent idea. I think that ten years ago, this storyline would have been accepted, but now, in 2023, this doesn’t feel extremely out of the ordinary. But is an idea worth doing simply because the concept is fascinating? I’m not so sure.
The art is decent throughout the issue, but nothing really stands out on the page. But that is because Mystique doesn’t have a flashy power set. The backgrounds and characters worked, but nothing exceptionally took my breath away. However, I applaud the creative team for their overall consistency
I like the idea of X-Men Blue: Origins #1, but I don’t know if I agree. I’ll be interested to look at what happens after the Fall of X event and how this affects the overall storyline. With that in mind, this is a 4 out of 5 stars, and I’ll be looking at these characters with increased interest in 2024.
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X-Men Blue Origins #1
X-Men Origins: Blue #1 provides a new backstory for Nightcrawler that seems like a bold decision for little reason at this point in the game.
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Writing9
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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