Fallen Angels #1 Featured Reviews 

“Fallen Angels” #1

By | November 15th, 2019
Posted in Reviews | % Comments

The House of Ideas is expanding Marvel’s X-Men comics into new series. Despite the strong initial start for Jonathan Hickman, R.B. Silva and Pepe Larraz’s “House of X” and “Powers of X” mini-series, the publisher is having trouble finding a through-line for the spin-off series. Titles like “Excalibur” and “Marauders” are having trouble finding a clear sense of direction in plot and tone separate from the core “X-Men” title. Enter “Fallen Angels” #1, a mysterious new title with a couple of intriguing X-Men anti-heroes. Up-and-comer Bryan Hill is responsible for the writing with Szymon Kudranski contributing to the art on the series. Will “Fallen Angels” #1 be able to enhance the world of X-Men or dilute the Krakoan goodness established by other creators on the comics?

Written by Bryan Hill
Penciled by Szymon Kudranski
Colored by Frank D’Armata
Lettered by VC’s Joe Sabino

THE DAWN DOES NOT BREAK FOR ALL! Psylocke finds herself in this new world of Mutantkind unsure of her place in it… but when a face from her past returns only to be killed, she seeks help from others who feel similar to get vengeance.

“Fallen Angels” #1 is a controversial title but it finds a dark, seedy corner of the X-Men Universe and expands upon the Krakoa premise. The issue is far from perfect and works best when it explores the politics within Krakoa. The politics of Krakoa were not first established by “Fallen Angels.” Instead of focusing on craft, Hill relishes in the tone and aesthetic of the world and script. There is some truly fascinating Krakoa iconography but the devil is in the details lacking from the issue. The title establishes a core plot thread in an extremely heavy-handed manner that doesn’t fall in line with the cerebral nature of the ‘Dawn of X’ comics so far.

Hill establishes the premise of the title with a cold open. While main X-Men writer Jonathan Hickman used the narrative to introduce post-modern ideas, Hill’s introduction of Apoth only serves the script from a plot perspective. For every misgiving introduced to the story, Hill does a solid job compensating with good ideas to follow them up. Hill’s introduction of Psylocke in the issue is intriguing, yet confusing. Eagle-eyed X-Men readers are going to be fascinated by the changes introduced to her character. It is extremely difficult for a new reader or X-Men fan to determine some of the differences and similarities between Elizabeth Braddock and Psylocke in the context of this one issue.

Hill’s script clearly shows that the villain of the title is Apoth but has trouble introducing the vessel of Apoth. Unfortunately, the artwork in the issue exposes some of those vague elements even further. When Szymon Kudranski exposes his figures and pencils into the light, it is too easy to see some of the blemishes in his artwork. Kudranki’s faces aren’t proportionate. His page layouts don’t follow a familiar story structure. There are a number of problems holding Kudranski’s storytelling back. However, both Kudranski and Hill excel in the darker scenes with Magneto and Mr. Sinister. In both of these moments, it is incredibly ominous to see these two figures clocked in shadows playing mind games with the protagonists.

This issue doesn’t serve the overall cast of characters in Hill’s characterization of these individuals as soldiers. Laura and Cable are both characters who have appeared to move beyond their stereotypical dark origins. The heroes appear to be interested in reforming their actions. Hill’s script doesn’t seem to recognize some of these recent character changes. Laura’s relationship with her sister Gabby has fundamentally changed Laura’s character. I hope Hill will introduce elements to honor Tom Taylor and David Lopez as well as Mariko Tamaki and Juan Cabal’s celebrated exploration of X-23. Hill’s final thesis on the characters appears to indicate that there are three individuals who have not reached their potential as superheroes. I hope that Hill will utilize these pages to show the trio doing good things. This is a group of heroes who have the potential to do incredible good. However, both Hill and Kudranski seem to be embracing the darker elements of these characters in a manner that doesn’t serve the overall story.

I’m incredibly happy to see Hill and Kudranski tell a narrative that serves to pit Cable, X-23, and Psylocke against a mutual villain. However, the forced story dynamics and ideas rushing these characters into conflict does not serve the story. The muddled script from Hill and uninspired art from Kudranski lack the execution harnessed by some of the confidence in the story. The violent tendencies and more aggressive moments almost come off as self-parody. Hill and Kudranski definitely have something interesting in these pages but lack the focus to find the truth behind the narrative. I have seen excellent writing from Hill in “Detective Comics” and solid art from Kudranski in his recent contributions to “Action Comics.” The creative team, cast, and premise clearly have loads of fascinating ideas. Marvel feels like they could be on the cusp of something special with “Fallen Angels,” but the creative team has not reached their potential.

Final Verdict: 5.4 – “Fallen Angels” #1 is unable to achieve the greatness of the premise and creative team.


Alexander Jones

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