The 6 New X-Men Titles: 4 to Read and 2 to Ignore
The First Six X-Men reboot titles: X-men, Marauders, Excalibur, New Mutants, X-Force, and Fallen Angels.
I haven’t read the x-men since the mid 90’s (shortly after the Age of Apocalypse event) and with this reboot, I decided to give it a go again.
I read the first for issues of the six titles that have come out and I ranked them from the one I will continue to read to the ones I will stop reading.
Example of a “The story so far” page at the beginning of each issue, allowing a new reader to not be lost.
For those who are in a similar situation, there have been hundreds of storylines over the last twenty-five years, but other than not recognizing some of the characters, no one will be lost at all in the storyline.
Also, at the beginning of every issue, the comic has one page dedicated to a recap of previous issues, along with showing the reader what heroes are involved in the issue. This is extremely helpful for the new reader.
I really love the new graphic design of the reboot. I also love the informational interludes inserted between scenes in each issue. Some are very pertinent while others are fun. Either way, they add backstory.
New Mutants
To begin, Rod Reis’ art in the first two issues is very reminiscent of Bill Sienkiewicz’ art in the original run back in the mid 80’s.
Rod Reis’ Art in Issue 1
Bill Sienkiewicz art on Issue 18 of original New Mutants run back in 1984
Also, the script and banter is pretty fun in the first couple of issues where it follows the space arc.
Issues 3 and 4 take place back on earth in Nebraska with a different group of new mutants and also a different writer and different artist.
I am assuming that Ed Brisson is the primary writer for the series, but Jonothan Hickman (the creator and head writer of the X-men reboot) co-wrote issue one with Brisson. There are a few guesses here. Issue 1 first took place in Krakoa and halfway through jumped to having the group in space. Issue 2 completely took place in space and was solely written by Hickman, but 3 and 4 are solely written by Brisson.
Did Hickman cowrite the first issue with Brisson to ensure a smooth transition between the Hickman reboot limited series? If so, does this mean the space storyline holds a larger context for other series?
The Nebraska storyline shows some context of the politics behind pharmaceutical that the Mutant island nation of Krokoa has made with other countries.
If I go under the assumption that Hickman wrote the space parts of issue 1 which follows through into issue 2, I really enjoyed the character banter and the campiness of the settings. Issues 3 and 4 definitely felt like a different series due to the writing, artist, and cast change.
What I Like: the carefree atmosphere of the team adds to the theme of the delightful recklessness of youth.
What Needs Work: Deciding on a story arc and a core group of characters is going to be a challenge; especially if they are inferring by the issue 3 insert that it will follow 6 youth teams? Generation X, The New X-men, The Frost Academy, The Five, The Jean Grey School, and The New Mutants.
Also, the beginning of the Nebraska storyline did little for me. The space storyline is going in a really fun direction. Also other titles focus on the intercountry politics of the pharmaceutical industry, so this does not make the Nebraska storyline particularly unique. Issue 3 of X-men do it a similar and better way as they introduced HordeCulture antagonists. Inconsistency in the writers and artists is negative; especially when it is needed to draw in a readership in the first 4 issues.
Issue 1 of X-men
X-men
This is obviously the masthead title of the six new x-titles. By default, the major mutant protagonists star in the series. All four issues are written by Jonathan Hickman and art by Leinil Francis Yu.
We see a compassionately aggressive stance the mutants take on the stage of world politics. Insular but very protective of their culture. Because we are dealing with world events, it is paramount that the writing reflects that of a nuanced intercultural voice.
There are lots of setting of the stage with the first 3 issues, but issue 4 is where we see the beginning of a significant metaplot with the entire title.
Issue 4, monocultural conversation struggles with the writer. Magneto’s speech basically set up the entire reboot.
One significantly interesting observation is the interlude graphic. It is the blueprint of the Summer residence on the moon. The bedrooms of Wolverine, Jean Grey, and Cyclops are all connected. It would presume that the love triangle has finally evolved into an open and shared relationship.
Interesting Floor Plan #openrelationship
What I Like: the metaplot. This is taking the mutant story at a 30,000-foot view, allowing the reader to understand what is happening to mutants on the global stage.
It also never gets old to see new alliances form. Just watching Professor X, Magneto, and Apocalypse sitting down in the same room on the same side at the World Economic Forum is frankly just fun storytelling.
Consistency in the writer and artist is always good.
What Needs Work: dealing with global issues places the reader in multi-cultural situations. The presumption that one writer can objectively be a voice of so many different cultures is a monumental task that is rarely successful. The dialogue in issue 4 fell pretty flat to me. The story and plot was really fun, but the dialogue from the other country ambassadors did not fit their presumed cultural background.
Also, the main group of mutants is the more established characters, which can drift into boring and repetitive team dynamics. Even in situations where it is previous adversaries having a dialogue, it is hard for the reader to be surprised by what they say and how they react to each other.
Betsy Braddock is Captain Britain
Excalibur
The first four issues are written by Tini Howard and art is by Marcus To.
The setup of this series is explaining how mutants promote and support magic in the world, with Apocalypse being the unofficial mutant ambassador to magic.
The first story arc in the series is based on Krokoan gateways being created to other planes of existence and one of them is connected to the Otherworld and Morgan Le Fay is not happy about it at all. For the uninitiated of the Marvel Comics multiverse; the Otherworld is the subconscious of the British Iles. Mainly a world based on Arthurian Legend.
This is the heir to the original Excalibur series with Betsy Braddock taking on the mantle of Captain Britain from her brother and the group mainly consists of Gambit, Rogue, Rictor, and Jubilee.
I enjoyed seeing the reason for the group forming. They all did it for the love of someone else. Betsy for her brother, Jubilee for her son, and Gambit for Rogue. Also, Apocalypse is basically part of the team as well and he is the best-written character in the series so far. The writer and artist is consistent and it has one story arc. Unlike New Mutants and X-men which dropped multiple story arcs at once. This might be because Excalibur is made to be an insular team with storylines that will have little effect with larger meta plots.
What I Like: I love the characters on the core team. Betsy Braddock, Rogue, Gambit, Jubilee, and Apocalypse. I also like the premise. How does the rise of a mutant nation affect the magic of the world? Excalibur is a great specialty team in this aspect.
I am also happy to see consistency in the writer and artist.
What Needs Work: The conversations and the dynamics between the characters seem forced. The initial creation of the team had a weak premise. Also besides Apocalypse, the dialogue does not fit with characters who have literally been through thousands of battles. There is no maturity and wisdom in their characters. I love Gambit but he is frankly a whiner in this. So is Betsy, Rictor, and Jubilee. I’m surprised that Apocalypse is the consistent voice of sustained logic in the series.
Kitty Pryde the Pirate Queen
Marauders
Much like Excalibur, the group seemed to have formed by happenstance and not through deliberate recruitment… to a certain extent.
I love the concept. It begins with Kitty Pryde unable to use the Krakoan gateways, so she is recruited by the White Queen to help out mutants escape from other countries who do not recognize Krokoa as a sovereign nation. Emma Frost recruits Kitty Pryde and she, in turn, recruits Storm to join her. Iceman and Pyro join by happenstance. Later on, Bishop joins the group as well.
Where the X-men take on plots revolving around geo-political, the Marauders work on aspects of the global business world and smuggling, both human and pharmaceutical.
We have a consistent writer with Gerry Duggan on the first four issues. We do skip around with the artists, having 3 in the first 4 which is a bit disrupting.
What I Like: the entire premise of the series is fun. It is a great mix of cross-continental adventures with a mix of international business dramatics with corporate guile and intrigue. It’s a fun group of people too. With a mix of previous villains, heroes and neutral characters combined, the team is a microcosm of the larger population of Krakoa.
What Needs Work: they need to stick to one artist. Much like Excalibur, the team formation feels a bit forced and inauthentic.
Fallen Angels. Psylocke as a mentor
Fallen Angels
This is a pretty intimate team made up of only 3 folks. Psylocke (not Betsy Braddock), X 23, and Cable. The size of the team makes it much easier to delve into character backstory and development.
Although it mostly revolves around Psylocke’s history and how she has recruited 2 younger mutants who feel more at home in combat and danger instead of the peaceful comfort and levity of Kroka’s social atmosphere. Psylocke recruited Cable and X 23 to accompany her on her quest to find Apoth, a new villain that has ties to Psylocke’s past.
The theme of free will and embracing yourself is heavy in the first 4 issues. Psylocke accepting her past and accepting the fact that she doesn’t belong on Krakoa. We see her take on a mentorship role for X 23 and beginning the same relationship, albeit a bit more passively for Cable.
What I Like: I love Kudranski’s cinematic and dark art style, Especially the way he frames his images. I do see he is more comfortable drawing some faces over others. For instance, Dazzler in issue 3 seemed a bit stiff, compared to the mastered expressions of Psylocke.
I also like the story’s concept based on an exploration of Psylocke’s past. I also like the role she is beginning to take as a mentor to younger mutants.
Compared to the writing of other characters in other titles, the inner monologue and struggles the characters are facing seem more genuine, compared to the sophomoric squabbles and griping inner monologues of the Excalibur characters.
Out of all the titles, this one has the least involvement with other title plots, making it a great ‘solo’ title to read.
What Needs Work: child violence is always hard to read and with the violent nature of the storyline this is the most adult-themed title out of the six.
The Krokoan CIA and Delta Force
X-Force
“and when you’re safe, you’re soft.”
“When you are safe you are soft.” Wolverine said that about Krakoa and it is reminiscent of the way Psylocke feels in Fallen Angels.
That little sentence basically sets up the entire series. There is no lull in the all four issues. Issue one ends with the assassination of Professor X. Issue 2 deals with the investigation of who carried out the assassination, and it follows back to a new human anti-mutant group called Xeno. It’s still early in the series, but there are hints to the group being tied to the Reavers.
By the time we get to issue 4, we formally have the Quiet Council set up their version of the Krokoan CIA and Delta Force to covertly protect the interests of Krakoa.
I see with some long-established characters, who have had character development done in exhaustion over the decades, and frankly become stale despite numerous reinventions of themselves.
But for some, it is how they interact with other characters in a different setting which makes for interesting reading. Wolverine is an example of this. He is a supporting character to the concept of why the X-force is formed, and where the X-men book falls short with the decision to choose their main characters to be heroes we have seen too much of, X-Force puts classically secondary and tertiary characters in the forefront and having folks like Wolverine in a support role.
What I Like: X-force takes the best of what I like in other titles and combines it well. The team is created in the shadow of the global political climate, but it has the covert adventure team feel of the Marauders.
I am also very happy to see there are a consistent writer and artist for the title so far. Benjamin Percy does really well in the plotline and the dialogue. I enjoy how he voices Wolverine and I think he has set up a very strong antagonist with Xeno.
What Needs Work: X-force is going to have to establish some significant storylines that are not relying on other title’s storylines. For example, the stories in Excalibur, New Mutants, and Fallen Angels are very independent of what is happening the masthead title of X-men. The very fact that Professor X is assassinated in the first issue of X-force now makes the series linked with the X-men title.
Conclusion
Out of the six titles, I am going to pick 4 that I will continue to read. Here are my rankings from “Will continue to read to least likely to read:
Marauders
X Force
X-men
Excalibur
Fallen Angels
New Mutants.
Ultimately if the New Mutants stuck with the storyline from the first two issues, it would probably be my number two pick, but it bounced around with artists, writers, and characters it was hard to get invested.
Fallen Angels was good, I always liked Psylocke, I like seeing her in a mentor role, but I’m not hooked on the storyline.
Excalibur is on a probationary period. It has my two favorite mutants in the title, and I love seeing Apocalypse as a protagonist, but the dialogue has got to significantly improve.
I’ll still read the X-men, because I feel like I’ll miss out on some higher plots.
I really love the team dynamics and story setups of Marauders and X-Force and I’m excited to see how it evolves.