Comics Corner: X-Men Blue 1-6

X-Men Blue

"X-Men Blue" is the counterpart to "X-Men Gold." In case you didn't know, Beast decided to bring the five teenage original X-Men to the present. This is the third series the five original X-Men have headlined and if you haven't been following them, allow me to catch you up. These aren't you father's OG X-Men. Cyclops found out about his older selves possession by the Phoenix Force and subsequent murder of Charles Xavier and vowed to be better. Iceman came out of the closet. Angel gained fire wings. Beast started dabbling in the occult. Marvel Girl gained a power up and did some morally ambiguous things in regards to using her powers to freely read minds and manipulate people. She's working on that. In the final issue of their previous series, the X-Men returned to their own time only to find that they were still there?

In the "X-Men Prime" one shot, the OG X-Men decided to appoint Jean their team leader and strike out on their own. This is where we find them when "X-Men Blue" begins.



"X-Men Blue" #1-3 - In the Blue teams debut arc, the OG X-Men acclimate to being on their own, adjust to their new base on the island nation of Madripoor, and most of all try to trust their old enemy turned ally, Magneto. That's a lot for time displaced teens to deal with but these also have to deal with the return of the Sentinels and their leader Bastion. But this time, things have changed.

Art by Jorge Molina

If "X-Men Gold" is rocking the nostalgia vibe, "X-Men Blue" is doing the exact opposite. Cullen Bunn is taking the original X-Men to places they've never been. He's changing up the team dynamics and nowhere is that more apparent by the promotion of Marvel Girl (Jean Grey) as team leader. It's refreshing to see her finally take charge after all these years and she runs with it. Her male charges fall in line and trust her and it's a really great thing to see. I love the interactions between Jean and Magneto. To use a tired analogy, it reminded me a lot of two lions circling each other.

Even the Sentinels that the Blue team deals with aren't your run-of-the-mill mutant killers. Their motivations will take you off guard and it's a nice set up for things to come. X-Men comics definitely play the long game and Bunn is taking advantage of that rich history.

Bunn's words wouldn't be nearly as compelling if they weren't coupled with the visuals of Jorge Molina. Molina brings a clean anime style to these issues and I especially love the expressiveness of his faces. There are some talky scenes, but they aren't boring due to Molina's evocative pencils.

Grade: A-

"X-Men Blue" #4-6 - The next mini arc finds the Blue team traveling North to deal with a Wendigo related disturbance. While there they team up with local sheriff Kira Lee and also find Jimmy Hudson, the Ultimate Universe son of Wolverine. He's not the only Ultimate U refugee they have to deal with. Miss Sinister has recruited Quicksilver, Armor, The Guradian and Mach II as her new Marauders. When the team returns to Madripoor with Hudson in tow they are confronted by a group of Madripoorian mutants called the Raksha, who are familiar with Wolverine's Lowtown alter ego, Patch.

The second arc of Blue feels a little overstuffed, rushed and disjointed. "X-Men Blue" ships twice a month, so that should give the stories room to breathe, but it feels like Bunn is really excited for what he has in store, so he feels the need to shove everything in. The X-Men's investigation turned recruitment trip could easily have used one more issue in order for it to be the best that it could be. With two, we barely get a chance to get a feel for who these alternate universe mutants are, especially if you aren't someone familiar with the Ultimate X-Men. Everything feels sped up. It's not that there aren't some great things there, because they are. I love Sheriff Kira Lee and her interactions with the team, especially her rebuffs to Angel's come ons. Bunn does a great job with the handling of Jimmy Hudson, highlighting how this Wolverine is different from his 616 counterpart.

The third issue feels like a lark, but it's a lark that I don't mind going along with. I'm all for the introduction of new characters and I'm a big fan of the Raksha and am hoping to see more of them as Bunn's run on this title continues. I enjoyed Jimmy decompressing and becoming acclimated to his new team and they to him. There's great tension to be mined from having a Wolverine on the team, especially since Wolverines and Jean Greys are a particularly combustible combo.

The twice monthly shipping schedule can reign havoc on the art for the books and that is unfortunately the case with these three issues. Julian Lopez handles the penciling duties for issues 4 and 5 while Ray-Anthony Height and Ramon Bachs double team issue 6. There's nothing particularly wrong with the art. It's serviceable and competent but it didn't wow me. I will say that when there are multiple pencilers on one issue the transition between the two can be jarring, but Height and Bachs styles really complement each other.

Grade: B

A really great start to "X-Men Blue." If you're interested in checking these issues out in collected form you can go to your local comic shop (Mayhem or Jay's in the Des Moines Metro area) or Amazon and pick up "X-Men Blue, Volume 1: Strangest."

Next up the Blue team joins Secret Empire and Beast's dabbling in magic comes back to haunt him.