X-Men Gold
I've been an X-Man fan for over twenty years. I connected with them immediately when I first started watching "X-Men: The Animated Series" back in the fall of 1992. For a kid living in the country in Iowa who already knew that he wasn't like the other boys, there was something about a group of people hated and feared based solely on a genetic quirk they couldn't control that really hit home.
It wasn't a huge leap from the cartoon to the actual comics and I still remember the first X-Men comic I bought from a spinner rack in one of our local Hy-Vees. It was "Uncanny X-Men" #303 and it prominently featured Jean Grey, my favorite character from the show and still my favorite X-Man to date. What a great first comic to pick it up. It deals with the death of Colossus' (Piotr Rasputin) sister Illyana from the deadly to mutants Legacy Virus, an AIDS like disease with no cure at the time. There's no big action scenes, just a lot of talking and it was still enough to keep a ten year old's attention. The majority of time is spent between Jean and Jubilee, at the time the youngest X-Man, talking about the helplessness one feels when confronted with the death of a loved one. It's so good and if you are a comic fan or an X-Man fan, I'd really advise tracking down a copy.
Thanks for allowing me to wax poetic, but my point is that I've followed the X-Men pretty faithfully from then until now. Through the good (Grant Morrison's run, Joss Whedon's run), the bad (the majority of the '90's and early '00's) and the indifferent (the majority of the '00's). Marvel loves to reinvent and restart and the X-Men are not immune to that. After a war with the Inhumans, the less said about that the better, the X-Men went back to their roots. They split the team into two, Blue and Gold, a call back to the early '90's, put two prolific X-Women into leadership roles for the first time and let them loose.
In today's comics corner, we'll take a look at the first six issues of X-Men Gold.
"X-Men Prime" #1 - Whenever Marvel decides to do these big retools or soft reboots they like to kick things off with a special issue that sort of gives readers an overview of what to expect from the new series they will be launching. There is a framing device, in this case, Storm attempting to get Kitty Pryde back in the X-Men fold and then a series of vignettes giving people a taste of what's to come. There's nothing particularly wrong with this issue. It's just difficult for these issues to feel scattered. A lot of times, it's all based on the strength of the creative teams of the upcoming books. The framing devices work especially well for me. It's nice to see Kitty back in the X-Men fold and hilariously reacting to the changes in her absence particularly the X-Mansion being in Limbo. There is some nice awkwardness between her and Peter and a reminder that most X-Men comics are as much soap opera as they are superhero story. The set up for "X-Men Blue" is decent. I love the rapport between the time displaced original X-Men and their escape ploy is super clever. The weakest is by far the "Weapon X" segment that features Lady Deathstrike. She's not the most sympathetic character and the feeling you get reading it is more meh than must buy. Grade: B |
| Art by Adrian Syaf |
"X-Men Gold" #1-3" - "X-Men Gold" reminds me a lot of the X comics I started reading as a kid. There is a lot of nostalgia here and that could be to the book's detriment but writer Marc Guggenheim injects enough newness into the proceedings to off set this first arc feeling like a re-tread of things we've read before.
The Gold team consists of Kitty Pryde, Storm, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Old Man Logan and Prestige aka Rachel Grey. After moving the X-Mansion to the middle of Times Square, Kitty is determined to make the X-Men Avengers level heroes. It won't be easy. People are still hurling slurs at them on the street and a new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants is attempting to undermine them at every turn. As if that weren't bad enough, an anti-mutant talking head, Lydia Nance, is spewing hatred every chance she gets on any cable news show that will give her a platform.
Let's be clear. None of this is reinventing the wheel. The X-Men have attempted to legitimize themselves in the eyes of the public a number of times. They have faced the Brotherhood. They have stared down hateful humans. It's how Guggenheim re-imagines these things that make this first arc work. Before when the X-Men have tried to be heroes in the same vein as the Avengers, they have still been on the outskirts. The Avengers have a recognizable mansion within the city limits. Kitty moves the X-Mansion to Central Park to prove to people that the X-Men are a part of the city. It's nice to see Kitty be in a real position of leadership and I'm surprised it's taken this long.
Kitty's not demure. She has some great clap backs in these first few issues especially to anyone who wants to hurl a slur at someone who can hear them right after that person saved their life. Her confrontation with Nance at the end of the arc is wonderful and it makes you see Kitty in a new light. The new Brotherhood is serviceable. There are new incarnations of Avalanche and Pyro, Mesmero, former X-Man, Magma, and a weird looking demon guy. The inclusion of Magma gives the team a connection and makes things more personal and more willing to look for another way to defeat the Brotherhood aside from beating them to a pulp. Nance is a bigger issue. She's kind of a caricature at this point. She needs to be fleshed out a little more before she can really be taken seriously as any sort of threat.
Adrian Syaf pencils these first three issues and setting aside the controversies that arose when the issues debuted he does a serviceable job. His work really emphasizes the throw back feel and his action scenes have a nice sense of movement and composition. His facial work can look a little samesies but it's not as bad as some.
All in all, a decent debut arc for the newest team of X-Men.
Grade: B+
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| Art by RB Silva |
"X-Men Gold" #4-6 - Gambit's back in Guggenheim's second arc. The X-Men's resident thief thinks he's been contracted to steal an empty vial, but in reality it's full of nanites designed by Olivia Trask, granddaughter of Sentinel creator Bolivar Trask. When Gambit unleashes the nanites, they become a Sentinel that has a much broader definition of what a mutant is.
The second arc of "X-Men Gold" sort of throws you for a loop. Rather than stay with the team, you're with Gambit and very little explanation is given for where he's been or what's going on. Sentinels can be boring and one note. Making this Sentinel view anyone with any genetic abnormality as a mutant was an interesting way to change. Prestige gets a power upgrade in this arc, but it comes off as a touch too convenient and the inclusion of the Avengers just makes things feel extra cluttered when some streamlining may have been what was needed.
RB Silva takes over art duties for this arc. I prefer Silva's art to Syaf's. I enjoy the more animated pop art style to Syaf's more grittier visuals. It did what great comic art should do, keep readers engaged when the story itself is losing you. I'll forgive him Gambit's slouch beanie.
Grade: B
There you have it. If you're a Gold reader, I'd love to hear your thoughts on these first few issues. Try to limit comments to these issues since I wouldn't want to spoil anything in future arcs. Soon, I'll be taking a look at the first few issues of "X-Men Blue."
If you are interested in checking these out the first 6 issues of "X-Men Gold" and "X-Men Prime" are collected in the trade paperback "X-Men Gold, Volume One: Back to Basics." If you're a local reader, you can pick it up at Mayhem Collectibles or you can always go Amazon.
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