All-New X-Men #1: Marvel NOW!
*SPOILER FREE REVIEW*
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Pencils: Stuart Immonen
Brian Michael Bendis, who has been the architect of The Avengers line of titles for close to 10 years, is now the overlord of the X-Men franchise. Growing up I collected the X-Men comics, so I will always favor them over the Avengers. With “No More Mutants” finally coming to an end, I’m excited to see what Bendis has in store for mutants.
All-New X-Men comes on the heels of Avengers vs. X-Men and AvX Consequences. Cyclops, while possessed by the Phoenix Force, killed Professor X and went to jail. At the end of AvX Consequences, Cyclops broke out of jail with the help of Magneto and Magik. It has already been revealed in solicits and interviews that the original X-Men (Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Beast, Iceman and Angel) travel from the past to our present. In this first issue, readers find out how that happens, along with some new introductions.
What I Liked
Every panel and paged seemed to brim with importance. I will have to get used to the writing style (i.e. talking talking talking) that has come to personify Bendis comics. If it is anything like issue one I can live with it. No one’s voice was out-of-character and no one’s word balloons took up precious real estate.
The new development with Beast is a nice addition as well. It is very similar to what is going on in Fantastic Four. Ironic that both titles are being released at the same time. Hopefully this means Beast will be a focal point to All-New X-Men.
With new mutants manifesting their powers at the end of Avengers vs. X-Men, that means we get the introduction to new characters. I always enjoy seeing what powers are created when new mutants pop up. More mutants are never a bad thing in my book.
What I Didn’t Like
Last time we saw Emma Frost, she was in jail in AvX Consequences. Now we saw how Cyclops escaped, but nothing for Emma. It is safe to assume Cyclops and Magneto broke her out of jail too, but it would have been nice to have it captured in a comic.
This is more an overall X-Men question, but is Iceman unable to transform back to his human form? Seeing him in his ice form wearing shorts was just odd. I’m sure I have some catching up to do. As much as Wolverine is in every single Marvel comic released a month, oddly he is missing here. The story really does not need him at this time however.
Word is All-New X-Men will be coming out bi-weekly in the beginning. This is more than we can say for Uncanny Avengers. For those who don’t know, Uncanny Avengers looks to be going to a release schedule of every six weeks because of issues with the creative team (i.e. John Cassaday, the artist for Uncanny Avengers, can’t keep a monthly schedule). This is a really bad look for the Marvel NOW!’s “flagship title”. All-New X-Men feels like it should be the flagship title. Especially when there will be close to six issues out before Uncanny Avengers can get to three.
In closing, I highly recommend All-New X-Men to anyone looking to jump into the new Marvel NOW!. Bendis has big things planned for Marvel’s mutants and you will not want to miss it.
This review is written in partnership with Pop Culture Network. They can be found at their website http://www.popculturenetwork.com/
Timdogg
#ComicBookChronicles @CBChron founder. Editor-in-Chief of @thekliqnation. Comic book reviewer, podcaster #RABBLERABBLE
