Geek Review: All-New X-Men #1-5
Published: 12/21/2012 4:00 PM
Last Modified: 12/28/2012 1:52 PM
Brian Michael Bendis took the reigns of this new X-title a few months ago, and I've been following it closely because it features the original 5 X-Men who are displaced in time. Spoilers ahead.
It's all about perspective
Bendis took on the monumental task of bringing everything that has happened in the last several decades of the Marvel events into perspective. Specifically the perspective of the original five X-Men who's wide-eyed optimism made X-Men famous in the first place. Free from self-righteous exposition, jaded realities and what are no doubt numerous cases of post-traumatic stress disorders, the original X-Men provide a clean view of the utter devastation that has rocked the Marvel Universe in recent years.
Currently Xavier is dead along with Jean Grey, Banshee, Nightcrawler and a slew of others. The X-Mansion has been destroyed multiple times, Cyclops is a terrorist, joining Magneto and former villain Emma Frost.
So where do the old X-Men fit in? Beast, now dying, bring the original bright-eyed X-Men from the past into the future to talk some sense into Cyclops Guevara bin Laden. The original five, surprisingly, have minds of their own and are in many ways just as intelligent as the older, wiser X-Men.
Loose cannons
The thing that set the X-Men apart from other Marvel teams was their ability to skirt the rules whenever they needed to. Dirty tricks were never banned, and if they needed to get nasty during a mission, they would. However the precedent for this was set way back in the first runs of the X-Titles because of the constant morality plays of the team.
We see this come into play when the original five X-Men hijack the X-Jet and take it to confront old Cyclops, after Jean Grey uses her newfound telepathy to literally knock Wolverine unconscious. Jean's powers get a little out of hand when old Cyclops begins to creepily pine for her as soon as he sees her. Magneto's reactions are priceless as he demands to know the source of this apparent illusion.
In all the series is progressing very well in terms of pace and storytelling. The reactions of the characters are in line with their established personalities and reactions as written by others. It's an incredibly organic story that I haven't seen for a long time. No one is posturing, gloating or trying to be edgy. By their genuine reactions and humanistic progression of thought, we see them as people instead of suited-up crazy people (as they can be perceived when written by those of less talent).
It's a very genuine look at the progress of the X-Men and this series is a must-read.
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Written by
Michael Dambold
Scene Writer
