Not exactly prime cuts.
Last time Marvel published a comic called X-Men Prime, the franchise was transitioning from the highly enjoyable Age of Apocalypse crossover to the bloated, convoluted Onslaught era. Needless to say, the "Prime" name is not one X-fans tend to hold in high regard. But with the franchise now moving forward from one of its weakest, most underwhelming periods ever, the hope is that maybe the process will play out in reverse. Based solely on this issue, however, the future of the franchise remains uncertain.
Basically, X-Men Prime #1 offers the same basic story we see nearly every time the franchise goes through a transitional phase. The team is scattered and adrift following their war with the Inhumans. Kitty Pryde is returning to the fold after a long absence. Various team members are questioning whether the X-Men even have a place in the current Marvel Universe, which echoes (probably intentionally) questions readers have been voicing over the past few years. The X-Men need someone to guide them in this uncertain new world, and writers Marc Guggenheim, Cullen Bunn and Greg Pak attempt to make a strong case for Kitty.
They're successful in that much, at least. This issue does a nice job of exploring Kitty's history with the team and the way she seems to keep getting pulled back into the soap opera-fueled life of an X-Man. There's a nice sense of storytelling symmetry as the issue hearkens back to the early Claremont/Byrne era and it becomes clear the student has now become the master. The opening sequence is particularly strong, with Guggenheim and artist Ken Lashley following Kitty as she practices an old dance routine and silently reflects on the weird course her life. Lashley renders the majority of this issue, and while he captures the angular, '90s-influenced aesthetic Marvel is clearly striving for with ResurrXion, there's not a great deal of emotional weight to his pages. The opening pages are the exceptions, with Kitty's graceful body language leaving a much stronger impression than anything that follows.
If this issue is successful at maneuvering Kitty into becoming the face of the franchise, it accomplishes little else. The story tends to meander, doing little more than welcoming Kitty back into the fold and establishing where the X-Men are making their home this time. It's not entirely clear why this issue needs to exist at all, and why the main story couldn't simply have been told in the opening chapter of X-Men Gold.
This issue does also attempt to set the stage for Bunn's X-Men Blue and Pak's Weapon X through a handful of interlude scenes. Bunn shows that he has a strong handle on the Original Five X-Men, though it's not clear yet how X-Men Blue will blaze new ground in the wake of both volumes of All-New X-Men. The Weapon X scenes suffer from a sense of disconnect, as they really have no tie to the main plot and tend to abruptly cut in and out. Nor does Pak's off-kilter portrayal of Lady Deathstrike as a well-meaning anti-hero ring true. Ibraim Roberson's art is solid in these scenes, though, and hopefully we'll see more of his work on the actual Weapon X book.
The Verdict
X-Men Prime #1 includes some strong moments as it attempts to build a new status quo for the weary mutants. But those moments don't necessarily add up to a cohesive whole. This issue lacks the excitement and energy needed to revitalize a franchise that's been in sorry shape for the past couple years. If ResurrXion is truly going to fix the X-Men, it needs to be more daring than this.
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire