X-Men Prime #1 Review and *SPOILERS* - Marvel Monday

Dive Into a New Beginning

Written By: Marc Guggenheim, Greg Pak, Cullen Bunn
Art By: Ken Lashley, Ibraim Roberson, Leonard Kirk, Guillermo Ortego, Morry Hollowell, Frank D’Armata, Michael Garland
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: March 29, 2016
Publisher: Marvel

*Non Spoilers and Score At The Bottom*

Well, now that Inhumans vs. X-Men is in the rearview mirror, we can finally look at what the future holds for these two groups. The X-Men have been fighting for survival for a long time now and I think a lot of us are wondering if the X-Men are going to be continuing down the same road or if things are really going to change massively. The X-Men are in a precarious position right now. Lot of our original cast are deceased, we have young versions of them from the past in the present, the school is in Limbo, and they just got out of a war with the Inhumans. However, Marvel seems to be doubling down with X-Men books now as so many have been announced. What does the future hold for these characters? Let’s jump right in and find out.

Our issue begins in Chicago where Kitty Pryde has taken some time to herself to practice her dancing. It’s been a while since she had this kind of time after her adventures in space with the Guardians of the Galaxy. Suddenly, she hears a tapping on the window of the building. She opens it up to see Storm flying in the air telling her that they need to talk. The two grab a cup of coffee and they catch up on what they’ve been doing recently. This is when Storm asks Kitty to return to the X-Men. Storm explains that after recent events, she has done some soul searching and she is asking Kitty to return to the X-Men because she will be leaving them.

We cut to the coast of Madripoor where a ship is about to dock. A group of migrant workers sit below deck in the dark when the door opens and a man walks in saying that some of them haven’t paid up yet. He grabs a young woman and begins to drag her out of the room, most likely to assault her. Several other works try to stop the man but he is clearly stronger than all of them. This is when one hiding among them cannot stop herself any longer. Lady Deathstrike bears her claws and kills the man before he can hurt anyone. Then, she flees the vessel and is confronted when she reaches the shore. A woman named Clara offers her a position with her organization. She wants Lady Deathstrike to kill other mutants for her. Lady Deathstrike plunges her claws into the woman’s body instead and begins to walk away when suddenly, a missile comes barreling toward her. It knocks her down and Clara gets up, seeming to be more resilient than she let on before. A helicopter lands and she takes Lady Deathstrike with her and we learn of her plan to do this with several other mutants.

We cut back to Kitty Pryde and Storm who have arrived at X-Haven. This is where Xavier’s school currently resides in Limbo. After talking with Storm some more, Kitty begins to explore the school once again. She goes to her old room and discovers that someone else has been living in it now. It’s none other than her ex-boyfriend Colossus. The two talk for a moment and Peter tells her that he hopes she decides to stay. After he leaves, Kitty continues to explore when she hears a baby crying. She finds Shogo crying and she picks him up to comfort him. Almost immediately, Jubilee rushes in with a bottle to take care of her son. Kitty remarks how big he’s grown and how weird it is to see Jubilee as a mom. However, with as much that has changed, some thing remain the same. She see a group of mutants playing basketball on the grounds and the scene is very reminiscent of several that we have seen over the years. A group of mutants playing basketball and arguing about not being allowed to use their powers during the game. Kitty then decides to go check out the Danger Room.

The Danger Room is currently being used by our time displaced young X-Men who are currently discussing their future while undergoing a training exercise. Jean Grey has become the new leader and seemingly wants to take them in a new direction. During the exercise, Angel comes to Jean’s rescue. This angers her because she could have handled it herself and she sees it as just because she is a girl. Angel tells her that’s not the reason but rather it’s because it’s her. It’s a line that makes not only Jean but Cyclops take a second to think about it. It’s revealed that Jean wants to find a way for her team to return to their time because currently they don’t belong in this world and their time is without the X-Men. This is when Kitty Pryde shows up and looks at the simulation and notices something is wrong. It becomes apparent that the young X-Men just left a hologram of their simulation so that they could tell whoever found it that they were leaving.

Later, Kitty meets up with Magik, her best friend. It is during this conversation that Kitty reveals that she thinks she has found a way that she could contribute to the X-Men. However, she is going to need Magik’s help in order to pull it off. Kitty brings the X-Men together and gives them a speech about their future and how things have changed so much. She wants to lead the X-Men back to where they used to be. Back to being the superheroes that we all know and love. However, she tells them that they can’t do that from Limbo. They need to be a part of the world, right in the middle of things. We cut to Kitty and Storm talking once again. Storm is in wonder of what Kitty has done and tells Kitty that she is officially the one in charge. Kitty tells her that her first act as leader is ordering Storm to stay. While she may not be the leader anymore, Storm is an important part to their people and they can’t do this without her. With the turn of a page we see the new location of the Xavier school. It is smack dab in the middle of Central Park in New York City. This is where the issue leaves us.

This issue attempts to catch new readers up with where the X-Men have been in the past and give us a new idea of where they’re going in the future and I’m happy to say that it does so very well. It’s mainly focused on Kitty Pryde and the future of the X-Men Gold title but we get scenes that set up X-Men Blue and Weapon X. That said, the issue isn’t particularly exciting but the dialogue is well written and the art is pretty damn good. However, the issue isn’t really meant to be one of the most exciting issues that you’ve ever read. Like I said, it’s about bringing in a new audience and I believe that it did that very well. I haven’t been reading the X-Men comics during All-New, All-Different Marvel but I find myself in a position that I don’t feel like I’m going to be lost if I pick up these books.

Bits and Pieces

This issue is able to accomplish catching everyone up for the upcoming X-Men titles. Granted, issues like these are rarely very exciting or memorable but everyone who reads this book should feel prepared to pick up one of the upcoming X-Men titles and having read this issue, I think that’s the case. The art is beautiful and the dialogue is really nice and flows very nicely. This issue won’t wow you, but it will get you prepared for the future. 

7.5/10