Review: X-MEN BATTLE OF THE ATOM #1
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Frank Cho with Stuart Immonen
Colorist: Marte Garcia
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna
After becoming the grand puba of the X-Men corner of the Marvel universe, Battle of the Atom will be Brian Michael Bendis’ first X-crossover. It revolves around concepts Bendis introduced in his All-New X-Men. The fact that the original X-Men from the past are in the present and ramifications from their decision to stay here.
X-Men from the future show up in the present with a warning: return the original X-Men back to their proper timeline to ensure the future is not lost.
What I Liked
Bendis does a good job making this new-reader friendly. Everything from Schism to the new status quo in All-New X-Men is laid out pretty early.
Since Bendis is also writing Uncanny X-Men, they are utilized here as well. I also appreciate that the encounter between the two teams was not mired in unnecessary drama. No arguing or politics….just both teams working together for a common goal.
Frank Cho‘s art is what I would expect in an X-book. Cho makes good use of splash pages to make certain scenes pop. None of his lines come across rushed or sloppy. Very clean work, which is aided by the colors from Marte Garcia. The transition from Cho to Stuart Immonen is flawless. Especially since the second part of the crossover is picked up in All-New X-Men.
What I Didn’t Like
It seems every Marvel event nowadays has to begin with some type of “spark”. Whether it be Civil War or Siege, something has to be a driving force for the crossover. Battle of the Atom is no different.
Plus, there are many displaced time travelers stuck in our time period in the Marvel universe. Why is it all of a sudden priority #1 that the original X-Men go back to the past?
Summary
This was a fine opening issue to the X-crossover. We got to meet all the relevant players, along with our third team from the future. Supposedly at the end of Battle of the Atom the status quo for the X-Men will be entirely different. One has to wonder will the original X-Men really be sent back to the past. And if they aren’t, what will the consequences be?
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
