Alpha and Omega Mutant Narrative: Astonishing X-men #1

The following is my review of Astonishing X-men #1, which was posted on PopMatters.com.

Even in a mythos as vast and diverse as the X-men, there's still a place for a definitive A-team of sorts. The makeup and purpose of that team may change over time, but its presence still carries a special impact. Whatever happens to them or whatever path they chart tends to affect the X-men mythos as a whole. Like a major summer blockbuster or the premier of a new Vince Gilligan show, it's an event that sets the bar for others to achieve.

Astonishing X-men has an established history of being that A-team. Under Joss Whedon and John Cassaday, it acts as the gold standard by which all other X-men comics were measured. In other eras, Chris Clarmeont's work on Uncanny X-men or or Scott Lobdell's work on X-men carry the same weight. Creating a series with such an impact is difficult to achieve, but the ingredients are fairly simple. It needs only a cast of top-tier, well-known characters. If they've been played by major actors in an X-men movie or get fans talking about more than who can lift Thor's hammer, they're a candidate.

After the latest round of relaunches that spun out of Marvel's ResurrXion effort, the X-men comics still lack that definitive A-list book. X-men Blue and X-men Gold contain major characters and prominent stories for the greater X-men narrative. However, they still lack a lead blocker of sorts to pave the way for the future of X-men.

Now, Charles Soule and Jim Chung, two of Marvel's most prominent talents, attempt to create that book with Astonishing X-men #1. They have all the ingredients, namely a strong cast full of familiar and prominent faces. They even have major stakes already in play with Marvel Legacy just on the horizon. It's not unreasonable to say that Astonishing X-men is the most critical X-men comic to come along since Secret Wars. The stakes are high and the margin for error is low, but Astonishing X-men #1 really rises to the occasion.

The story hits the ground running like a summer blockbuster movie, complete with a monster attack, random explosions, and snarky remarks from beautiful women. Short of including transforming robots, it's hard to imagine a series beginning with more style. That's not to say it's lacking of substance though. Soule and Chung don't rely too much on spectacle. The structure of the story is built on establishing the stakes and that's where Astonishing X-men #1 shines brightest.

The story doesn't try too hard to build off the events of another book. It does mention some recent events in the X-men comics, but it doesn't try too hard to act as a connecting point. If anything, it avoids the kinds of complicated tie-ins that tend to make some books too confusing. It's presented as a story that anyone can pick up, not be too lost, and be entertained. It's a simple formula, but one that proves potent.

Even those who haven't kept up with X-men comics in recent years won't be too confused. So long as they know that attacks by Shadowking are bad and giant psychic monsters in the middle of London are dangerous, they'll be able to follow the story. So long as they also like fast-paced action, high stakes, and Chung's colorful art, they'll enjoy that story as well.

On the surface, the plot isn't very groundbreaking. Shadowking, a well-known X-men enemy who has been while the mutant race overcame their latest extinction plot, is back in action and attacking psychics. With Charles Xavier dead, he doesn't go for the biggest, most powerful mind first. Instead, he attacks psychics who are isolated and ill-prepared, using them as preseason games, of sorts, to get himself ready for prime time. Then, he gets a little bolder and attacks Psylocke. The spectacle only escalates from there.

It's the kind of plot that can easily fall flat. With Chung's artwork, the visual appeal alone is usually enough to give it value. Soule, however, never lets the story become too devoid of substance. From the first few pages, he uses every opportunity to provide context and depth. He does this primarily through a mystery narrator who provides insight early on, helping to establish the setting and identify the characters involved. The identity of that narrator isn't revealed until the end, but he still serves an important purpose that helps make Astonishing X-men #1 feel like more than just a generic summer blockbuster.

Despite all the action, explosions, and snooty remarks made by Fantomex and Gambit, there's a sense that there's a larger vision for the story and the series. It's not just throwing together all these A-list X-men characters and expecting it to sell itself. That's a tempting trap that many X-men comics have fallen into over the years. Soule makes a clear effort to avoid that by setting up a larger conflict for the characters to take on.

That's not to say those efforts are entirely seamless. There's not a lot of rhyme or reason as to how and why these particular X-men characters are where they are when explosions start going off. There are some small connections between characters here and there. However, the story never tries to overthink certain details. It provides just enough to make the more explosive, action-oriented elements more meaningful than a typical Sentinel attack on a Tuesday afternoon.

Soule and Chung have an rich batch of ingredients to work with in Astonishing X-men #1. They have plenty of chances to overuse one at the cost of the other, but they don't. They still manage to take each element, mold it into a story, and let it cook until it has the look, taste, and feel of an A-list blockbuster. The final result couldn't be more potent without casting Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart.

Even in an age where superhero blockbusters capture a huge chunk of the pop culture market, there's still a place for Astonishing X-men. The story is still unfolding, but if the final page is any indication, there's plenty of potential for astonishment.

Final Score: 9 out of 10

Civil War II: X-men #1 PREVIEW!

It's been a while since I singled out a preview on this blog. To be honest, I put a lot less stock in previews these days because they tend to be shitty teasers that rarely reflect the quality of a book. That's not just a problem Marvel has either. Pretty much all comics do that and like a trailer that gives away all the good parts, I think their value is overstated.

That said, some are worth staying sober for. We all know by now that Marvel has developed a new fetish for fucking over the X-men at every turn. Civil War II will likely contribute to that effort. At the rate it's going, the entire mutant race will need an extra asshole to accommodate the screw-job they'll endure. On the other side, I'm pretty sure the Inhumans will come off so glowing that they could all take a shit in a portopotty and make it smell like a chocolate factory. X-men fans just have to reside themselves to the fact that this is the new normal. Marvel will continue to fuck the X-men with an Inhuman-powered dick until Fox cough's up the rights some time in 2093.

So we can either whine about it or just sit back and enjoy the shit storm for what it is. Thankfully, the X-men comics still have writers like Cullen Bunn, Tom Taylor, and Jeff Lemire. They still seem to be putting a concerted effort to making the X-men comics awesome, despite Marvel's best efforts. While I'm sure it infuriate the lawyers, they do have a Civil War II tie-in book. It's coming out next week and I'm sure the entire mutant race will want to lube up their assholes accordingly.

CBR: Civil War II: X-men #1 Preview

So there are rich assholes in every group that will try to exploit the shit out of a bad situation. That makes sense. Being a mutant doesn't make anyone immune to being a total cunt. Looking at you, Hope fucking Summers.

Beyond rich assholes jerking off while other mutants suffer because of the Inhuman fart cloud, Magneto is once again showing that he can get shit done in ways that no pacifist can hope to match. It's a huge theme of Cullen Bunn's run on Uncanny X-men. I can only hope he'll take it way too fucking far here in Civil War II. That brings out the best in Magneto and the X-men as a whole. So even though I know this is going to end in a shit storm for mutants, I'm still going to grab a case of beer, sit back, and enjoy the show as best I can with an unsober mind. Nuff said!

Breaking Down A Prelude: Original Sin #0

The following is my review of Original Sin #0, which was posted on PopMatters.com.

Not long ago, the concept of an Issue #0 for a comic seemed about as absurd as an issue that had a decimal for a number. Yet in the past three years, Marvel and DC have done both. But beyond introducing a numbering system that’s more complex than first grade math, these issues have created an entirely new category of comic. They aren’t meant to be part of an arc. And most of the time, they have little impact on the ongoing series. It’s possible to completely skip over these issues and not miss a thing in the main series. That a relief in some ways because some series are complicated enough without decimals and the number 0 being added to the mix. But it also presents a major challenge. If these issues can be glossed over like an extra on Star Trek, how do these issues become meaningful?

The key isn’t to add more complications to the story itself. The real strength of these issues is adding some emotional weight to the impact of the larger story. That’s the task set forth in Original Sin #0. In some respects, this issue has an even greater challenge than most elaborately numbered comics. The first issue of Marvel’s big summer blockbuster has already been spoiled, not unlike a movie trailer that reveals too much too soon. Uatu the Watcher is going to die. Somebody is going to murder him and take his eyes. So him being one of the main character in Original Sin #0 is a bit of problem. It must now get people excited for this event after they already read the spoilers on a message board.

And this issue accomplishes that by making the story personal on multiple fronts. Most of these personal elements come from the perspective of Nova. His life has already been documented, but this issue takes some time to offer a brief refresher course on all things Sam Alexander. It won’t tell anyone anything they can’t find on Wikipedia, but it does help create a more personal tone for the story as a whole. That tone is somewhat lost at times in an overly generic battle against some killer robot pretending to be an Aztec God. It’s one of those concepts that’s as ridiculous as it sounds. But it does help show that Sam Alexander is still a teenage boy with a very immature mentality. Yet it’s this mentality that leads him to confront Uatu the Watcher for an overdue conversation.

That alone doesn’t sound too daunting, but a conversation with Uatu the Watcher isn’t that different from a conversation with a statue. For most of his history, Uatu has acted either as a narrator for readers or a silent witness who only occasionally makes his presence known. He fits the definition of a flat, static character to the letter and he’s supposed to be that way. He’s never presented as anything else. However, Nova’s conversation, as one-sided as it is at times, helps give the Watcher a depth that he was never supposed to have. He finally shows a little personality. It’s not much, but it’s better than a statue.

For a brief moment, Nova gets to see things from the Watchers perspective. He gets to see the breadth of the people and events he observes. He even gets to see the very mechanisms that allow the Watcher to observe the alternate worlds that make up Marvel’s colorful What If line. The meaning isn’t apparent at first and this is where the one-sided conversation gets a little complicated. For all his cosmic powers of observation, the Watcher is painfully inefficient at making his point. But he does eventually make it in a very meaningful way.

This meaning is only fully conveyed when Uatu reveals the history of the Watchers. He shows Nova what happened when his race, led by Uatu’s father, attempted to use their superior knowledge to assist a civilization. And for a time they did. That civilization flourished. But eventually, that civilization used the knowledge and technology given by the Watchers to destroy themselves. It devastates the Watchers so much that Uatu’s father proclaims that the Watchers will never interfere with the development of a civilization again. It essentially lays the foundation for the strict code of non-intervention that the Watchers must uphold. It’s no longer just an excuse. There’s a reason why Uatu only watches and it’s a pretty good reason.

It’s also a reason that has played out on a smaller scale in the real world. There’s a reason why advanced technology seems like magic to primitive minds. By not understanding technology, it’s difficult to appreciate it. By not appreciating this technology, it’s much easier to be misused. The Watchers are somewhat akin to whoever invented the ski mask. They had the best of intentions. Whether it’s helping a civilization achieve greatness or protecting peoples’ heads from bitter cold, these endeavors are noble on paper. But when their fruits are misused, the damage can be pretty bad. The burden for whoever invented the ski mask is probably hard enough, but the Watchers must deal with the burden of full blown genocide.

To further add to this burden, Uatu also reveals that no matter how many realities he uncovers, he doesn’t find any of them that show his father’s endeavor succeeding. It shows that the abuse and misuse of knowledge is akin to the law of gravity. He cannot escape it. And given the stated premise of Original Sin, it paints a more dire picture for all those involved. Nova only got a taste of what the Watcher sees and he never got a chance to misuse it. What will happen when someone has that chance?

That’s the daunting question that readers are left to ask at the end of Original Sin #0. While the details tended to drag and were sometimes obscured by Nova’s immaturity, the emotional stakes are definitely raised by this story. It may not be necessary in the overall Original Sin event, but it gives a great deal of emotional weight to the story. It’s like adding chocolate sauce to a hot fudge sundae. It may get lost in the mix, but it still improves the overall product.

Final Score: 7 out of 10