In Marvel Comics Original X-Men #1, written by Christos Gage with art by Greg Land, the OG five get taken through time to confront themselves.
We reviewed the book on the Stack podcast. But in the interest of highlighting more about the title, here’s a summary of the conversation with our thoughts. And if you prefer the longer audio version, that’s below as well!
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Original X-Men #1 Review:
Back in the day, the original five X-Men were taken forward in time, then back in time, then had their memories wiped. In this issue, they get taken forward in time, have their memories returned, and confront themselves — leading directly into a new series, Weapon X-Men.
Host Justin Tyler kicked things off, noting that he initially felt like this was “a very thin little bit of continuity to try and park a story in… But as it went on, I really enjoyed this story. I liked the actual territory that Christos and Greg Land carved out here. And it felt like we got to some new emotional areas with the original X-Men as they met their future, failed selves.”
Alex Zalben was “a little bummed” to discover this was a one-shot and not an ongoing series, as he was initially excited to see how the team would tackle this point in continuity again. However, “Christos Gage has an old hand at this sort of thing. And [he] does a good job of finding out how to ground it in character.”
That said, while Zalben is usually a Greg Land defender, saying “he has very slick art,” the host felt that “his Jean Grey is all over the place in this.” Part of the issue was the color on the Phoenix costume, which Zalben found “inconsistent throughout the issue, which is a real bummer for me. But overall, in terms of the story, the interaction of the original X-Men with their older selves is fun.” And he also liked the place the issue ends up in, leading into the Weapon X-Men series.
Wrapping things up, Tyler once again emphasized how Gage “makes a meal of the emotional ins and outs of the original X-Men… Really well executed, almost zero issue for this upcoming [miniseries].”
Original X-Men #1 Official Synopsis:
THE OG 5 ON AN ALL-NEW ADVENTURE! Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Beast, Iceman and Angel – the first and greatest heroes to bear the X-Men name – once traveled into their own futures and reset the course of history. Now another multiversal mystery calls them forth. When the dust settles, one hero will remain, trapped in the world as we know it. With shocking surprise guests and heart-pounding twists and turns, Christos Gage and Greg Land kick off a story that will shake the whole MU!
