Doctor Doom is collecting all his discarded doombots, whole or in pieces.  The kind of doombot that happens to live with a team of teenage superheroes.  Your Major Spoilers review of Runaways #1 awaits!

RUNAWAYS #1

Writer: Rainbow Rowell
Artist: Elena Casagrande
Colorist: Dee Cunniffe
Letterer: VC’s Travis Lanham
Editor: Michelle Marchese
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: June 11th, 2025

Previously in Runaways: After finding out their parents were all supervillains, Nico, Karolina, Molly, Chase, Gert, and Alex came together to form The Runaways.  Since then, Alex died, Chase was sent to the future, Karolina is in space, Nico lost her magical staff, and a Doombot, a cyborg named Victor, and an elder god named Gib have joined their team.

DOOMBOT DREAMS OF ELECTRIC GOULASH

Runaways #1 starts with a montage of various Doombots around the world being hunted down and captured by a trio of other Doombots.  In L.A. at The Runaways HQ, dubbed The Hostel, Nico arrives home from her day job at a grocery store.  Inside, Doombot is making goulash for everyone while Victor tries to come up with an actual first name for him.  The mood is pretty dour, and Nico decides to train rather than eat.  She’s followed by Gert, who tries to boost her spirits by saying that even without her magic staff, she’s the leader of the team.  As they continue talking, they’re suddenly interrupted by the trio of Doombot-hunting Doombots, who have come to claim their brethren.  The team squares off with them, when another new arrival draws everyone’s attention.

ALL OVER THE PLACE

Runaways is an interesting title in that it periodically disappears for chunks of time, with its characters not making a lot of appearances elsewhere, but then when it comes back, it just sort of picks things up where they left off.  This creates some issues where number one issues don’t feel like number ones, nor does it feel like The Runaways ever grow or change.  This underlies a lot of the problems with Runaways #1.  A major chunk of this book is centered around the individual and collective angst everyone seems to be afflicted by.  Yet, a lot of this angst is based on events that have happened in the past, which isn’t really explained here with any sort of useful context. Also, this emphasis on how sad everyone is here makes it so the humor that is sprinkled throughout is out of place.  The thing The Runaways has always done well and continues to do here is to ground the characters in real-world situations.  The fact that the main drama throughout the middle of the issue revolves around something as simple as getting everyone to sit down to eat dinner is something that feels very in the spirit of these characters, also the little touches of things like Nico having a day job are nice additions.

EVERYONE’S SAD

To be fair, the story in Runaways #1 doesn’t give the artists the opportunity to depict the characters in a lot of different ways, with everyone just being kind of sad and depressed.  That being said, there’s a distinct lack of variation in how the sadness is depicted.  It basically boils down to them looking down, and their lips disappearing. Just about everyone gets their chance to make this expression. It doesn’t make the visuals in this issue bad by any means, but it happens enough that it’s very noticeable.

BOTTOM LINE: NOT A STRONG OPENER

Runaways #1 doesn’t so much burst onto the scene but rather it kind of just shuffles its feet drowsily.  While appropriate considering the characters and content of the issue, it doesn’t make for a really enjoyable read.  There are some charming moments here, and some of the themes of found family and togetherness that have been hallmarks of this title in its various incarnations are still here, it just doesn’t have a compelling plot to shuttle these themes along. 3 out of 5 stars.

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Runaways #1

60%

60%

Want to Watch Teens Be Sad?

Runaways #1 is a slow-moving comic book that doesn’t feel like a number one issue of a new series. Rather it feels much more concerned with events from the past and how the characters are still really really sad about them.

• Writing

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• Art

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• Coloring

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