Xavier has enlisted the help of mutants who died at the Hellfire Gala. Check out their adventure in Dead X-Men #1 by Marvel Comics!

DEAD X-MEN #1

Writer: Steve Foxe  
Artist: Jonas Scharf, Bernard Chang, and Vincenzo Carratu  
Colorist: Frank Martin  
Letterer: Cory Petit  
Editor: Jordan White  
Publisher: Marvel Comics  
Cover Price: $4.99  
Release Date: January 31st, 2024 

Previously in X-Men: Moira helped create the nation of Krakoa through the information she accumulated from her previous lives. When the Quiet Council finds out, Mystique depowers her and forces her to flee. To save her life from the cancer in her body, Moira uploaded her mind to a machine body and turned against Krakoa. On top of that, Mister Sinister made an “engine” of Moira clones that allowed him to reset timelines, something the original Nathaniel Essex, now named Enigma, used to claim Dominion status. Now Xavier makes a last-ditch effort to save mutantkind.

Dead X-Men #1 starts with Prodigy, Jubilee, Dazzler, Frency, and Cannonball heading into an alternative reality. They are pulled out quickly when they realize the Moira is already part machine. Back in Krakoa, Rachel Summers mentions how difficult it is to send them to and from different multiverses and notes there is only one more to check. If this Moira isn’t human, all is lost. Here, we start to learn the nuance of the mission. Xavier picked Rachel to form a team, and she chose these five. Prodigy’s failsafes are gone, and he absorbs all information while he is protected by the rest of the team. His goal is to find a Moira who is not cybernetic to reveal when Xavier can go and end her to ensure that none of the previous events ever happened.

They head into a new timeline riddled by a war between Orbis Stellaris and Earth. Now, Abigail Brand leads what is left of the X-Men. Abigail’s X-Men start to fight a battle against Orbis’s forces while the Dead X-Men look for Moira, which Prodigy can find and get the information he is looking for. They leave Abigail Brand in the hands of this version’s power-crazy Moira.

I need a large board with pins and yarn to track what is happening. I have read all of the X-Men comics in the last six months (thank you for the review copies) and still don’t quite get it. I am following the plot lines, I understand the Dominion thing, but I don’t know how the X-Men or Xavier plans to fix anything. On one hand, we have a team preparing for war against Orchis as they gather allies and deal with the trial of Cyclops. On the other hand, Xavier is here trying to mess with the timeline. If we reset the timeline, then the different storyline doesn’t matter, and what is the point of even telling that one?

On top of that, the other story is frankly more interesting because there is a physical goal to connect to. Saving Cyclops and leading the X-Men is more accessible to process than stealing a mental map of Moira from another Moira timeline. So, I don’t get what this book is trying to accomplish.

But looking strictly at this book, some unique plot elements exist here. Using Prodigy in this manner did keep my interest, but the story lacked strong characterization. Everyone is too desperate to see nuance. And I get it. I understand why they are feeling that way, but we need to change the tone away from hopeless occasionally to engage the reader’s attention. And because of that, I couldn’t appreciate the idea of Prodigy’s responsibility and potential sacrifice. The art is consistent, but there wasn’t anything that struck me as outstanding. Sometimes, the X-Men’s yellow costumes were placed on a yellow background, causing both elements to merge. Good work overall with the premise the creative team had to deal with.

Is this just me? Am I missing something? Some continuity errors in this event are difficult to follow, and I don’t know what to take literally or at face value. I loved the last few years of X-Men, but I’m struggling to get on board with the finale of the Krakoan Age. Considering that, I think Dead X-Men #1 is a 3.5 out of 5. Technically, it is okay, but I am struggling with the role of this comic in the event as a whole.

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Dead X-Men #1

70%

70%

Not Sure

Dead X-Men #1 presents a complicated concept that isn't easily digestible, and the creative team is doing their best within the boundaries they have to work within.

• Writing

  7
• Art

  8
• Coloring

  6
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