Marvel has a lot of great superhero teams, but perhaps none more iconic than the X-Men. So when Marvel launches a brand new X-Men comic series, it’s kind of a big deal. Especially when this new series stars Cyclops and Magneto working together to protect the newly established Mutant home island of Krakoa.
That’s exactly what’s happening in “X-Men #1,” the first issue of the new series from writer Jonathan Hickman, who is also currently writing the “House of X” and “Powers of X” series. It’s a good time to be a fan of X-Men comics.
I will say, if you’re planning on jumping right into this new X-Men series without any prior reading, you will likely be a bit lost. A lot has been laid out for this series by the “House of X” and “Powers of X” series and this first issue doesn’t really provide any context before getting into the story.
With that being said, this takes the massive story feel of those two series and make it a lot more personal. This first issue focuses closely on Cyclops as he and his team work to secure the safety of Krakoa and Mutantkind. There’s plenty of action from Storm and a bit of a closer look at Magneto, but Cyclops is really the main character of this issue.
I’ve personally always been a fan of Cyclops as a character and the leader of the X-Men. I’m aware however, that he is far from the most popular member of the superhero team. So, if you’re looking for a bunch of slashing Wolverine action, this won’t be your favorite comic.
That’s not to say there’s not a fair amount of action though. The issue kicks off with Storm an Cyclops on a mission to rescue a bunch of captive Mutant children from Orchis, an organization made up of brilliant human minds dedicated to protecting the human race from doomsday. There’s plenty of lightning, laser blasts and even a fight with an army of gorillas.
While this issue takes the big picture feel of those other series and brings it down to much smaller feel, it still seems to be building up something big. This is far from the first time we’ve seen Magneto and the X-Men work together, and I think we all know it rarely ends up going well in the end.
There seem to be some seeds of that sort planted again here. Orchis may be the obvious threat on these pages, but I would keep an eye on the situation with Magneto going forward as well.
Overall, “X-Men #1” is a fun new issue and potentially the start of another great X-Men story. Like I said, if you aren’t caught up on “House of X” and “Powers of X,” you may want to do that first before jumping into this one. Otherwise, you’ll just have to piece it all together yourself (which is certainly possible). Hickman has another great piece of the overall X-Men story here. I’m excited to see where it goes.
“X-Men #1” is available now.