Review: AGE OF X-MAN MARVELOUS X-MEN #1 (OF 5)

STORY

In an alternate reality the world is perfectly at peace. Everyone is a mutant, there is parity everywhere, and everyone is absolutely alone. Marvelous X-Men presents a perfectly utopian tyranny maintained by the mutant X-Man. There are some hints along the way as to what has come to pass in this timeline. There is statue to Xavier and the first X-Men team, but all the other commemorative artworks show that it X-Man leading various incarnations of the team instead of Xavier. There are several mentions of bad times, of wars (presumably) with humans which seem to reflect the classic alternate reality future known as Days Of Futures Past. But here it seems that mutants one the day and somehow ensured that humanity all evolved to be mutants and to further the peace an event called the Resolution happened.

With a nod to the film Equilibrium where it is decided that emotion is responsible for all the strife in the world, here it has been decided that relationships, community, most interpersonal reactions including romance eventually led to nothing but trouble for the species. The X-Men here for instance don’t share a grand mansion be each live in their own individual home on their estate. Children are born in pods and raised in Cerebro nurseries. The X-Men appear to be the only defenders of this world of super powered individuals. Its an interesting take on a future that runs somewhere between John Byrne’s ideas of Krypton, Ann Rand’s Objectivism and Star Trek where humans just do their jobs to do a good job. Its compelling and I can see how some people could find this appealing thereby leading to this sort of society but the cost is enormous as humans as social creatures. And as one might expect, as in the film Demolition Man, there is a rising underground resistance who want to bring love and connection back into the world.

X-Man is the driving force behind this world, possibly this reality, as he explains even he had not been aware of how powerful he was until he met an alternate incarnation of himself years ago, and he is so to be willing to take certain questionable steps to maintain his presumed paradise. Can he maintain this world as he wants it when there are threats of civil unrest, manipulation of his team and even those among the X-Men questioning if this life is the only way to live. I can’t help but compare it to the most recent Secret Wars with God Emperor Doom trying to keep his world running smoothly.

ART

The art is serviceable for this book, that not to say its bad, its just not terribly exciting. Perhaps its my bias growing with comics from the 70s through the 90s. There is some dynamism in the art where its called for but this doesnt quite feel like a super hero comic to me. The story telling however is expertly handled, the action and situations are clearly defined and easy to follow, page layouts have a nice flow and the camera shots are pleasantly varied. All these elements keep the images from being boring as this comic is kind’ve a slice of mutant life. And honestly, that might just be the point. This world is about as mundane as a world of super powered beings can be but there is no more superhuman conflict. The art seems to represent this Pleasantville version of the X-Men.

FINAL THOUGHTS

An interesting facet in the Age Of X-Man storyline which is an obvious inversion of the Age Of Apocalypse. It should prove interesting to see where this all goes. 4 out of 5!

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REVIEW: AGE OF X-MAN MARVELOUS X-MEN #1 (OF 5)
Writer:Â Zac Thompson and Lonnie Nadler
Art:Â Marco Failla
Colors:Â Matt Milla