Multiple Man has thrived in acclaimed team books for a few decades now. Breaking out in the original 80’s “X-Factor” series, before leading the team in the mid-2000’s, Jamie Madrox has been charming, dangerous, and everlasting. Now, in the hands of indie-breakout writer Matt Rosenberg, artist Andy MacDonald, colorist Tamra Bonvillain and letterer Travis Lanham, we explore the alleged ‘death’ of Multiple Man. Will Madrox retain the same appeal in his own solo series?
Written by Matt Rosenberg
Illustrated by Andy MacDonald
Colored by Tamra Bonvillain
Lettered by Travis LanhamMATTHEW ROSENBERG & ANDY MACDONALD BRING MULTIPLE MAN BACK FROM THE DEAD…SORT OF…MAYBE? A handful of people’s favorite X-Man – Jamie Madrox – was alive for a while. Then he was dead. Now he’s not. But he will be again if he doesn’t kill himself trying to make sure he doesn’t die. It makes sense when you read it. Trust us. In his fight to not die, Jamie has stumbled across a threat even greater than his own death, but fixing it might make it worse. Can he save the world from himself? On top of all that, the X-Men are mad at him now, and a mysterious new group of foes is after him, too. We can’t tell you who they are, but they’re pretty great.
Something that was key in the Peter David “X-Factor” series was that Jamie Madrox was a humorous but complex character due to the nature of his powers. Rosenberg carries on this in style, bringing to Madrox the classical, morbid and deadpan humor that made him so popular back then. For the first few pages, the best way to describe the new Madrox Prime’s personality is that of a bored smirk. He’s constantly making light of his original Prime’s death, noting “That sucks”, he’s joking with Magik that he’s actually a ghost, and he casually tells people that he’s cured. To top it off, he decides to mess with time-travel in a bid to save himself. It’s this subtle, ongoing joke and constant sense of self-preservation that Rosenberg grant Madrox, which somehow makes him even more endearing, and makes us readers want to cherish his second chance too.
Outside of the character, Rosenberg has a great sense of the crazy storytelling scope of the X-Men that this comic almost feels like the essence of the team distilled down to a single issue. Rosenberg has packed it all in here – beloved characters returning post-mortem, popular X-People like Magik hanging out in the kitchen of the Mansion, time-travel, alternate-reality takes on characters, take a trope from the past few decades of X-Storytelling and it’s likely to pop up here. Yet it never feels forced, or overly explanatory. Rosenberg gets that a lot of this is fantastical, and doesn’t waste time trying to rationalize it, instead simply letting you roll with the punches. It might sound like the story is overstuffed because of this but because of how casually each aspect is brought up, there’s never too much time spent on the tropes, giving the narrative a pedal-to-the-metal pacing that keeps things exciting right to the last page. It gives this story a distinctly mutant-tinged tone, which will likely appeal to older fans, and will entice newer fans to the bizarre sciences of this corner of the Marvel Universe.
Something that I think works well, for the most part, is the minimalist use of setting. Aside from the New Mutants finding Jamie in the vault at the top end, this whole issue takes place entirely within the X-Mansion. This is where Rosenberg cleverly uses established continuity to his advantage. The Mansion here is a great storytelling device as it evokes a lot of themes among older readers and new. We first see it from Beast’s lab, and the pre-established idea that Beast serves as the staff medic of sorts tells us that we’re in a hospital/healing area without actually saying it. Then, we get the Mansion as a communal space, when we see X-Men ranging from Bishop to Kitty Pryde, and Archangel all appearing within the same relaxed space. Even though it is technically a closed area, Rosenberg plays up this idea that the Mansion is where anything can happen and anyone can be found, giving this comic a good sense of setting and scope.
Continued belowArt is handled by the ever-diverse Andy MacDonald, who strikes a fine line between animated/cartoonish sensibilities and traditional comic book inked style. It works well with the anything-goes surrealist style of the narrative, creating a visual style that doesn’t feel totally grounded to the real world but not entirely make believe either. I especially love how MacDonald draws Madrox. He has this almost innocent baby face about him, that works superbly with his deadpan humor, combining visual sequencing and scripting to make for grade A comedy. We’re introduced to it when Madrox lies awake in Beast’s room, transitioning to being thoughtful and gracious that he has his life back in one panel, to being casual and relaxed mid-sandwich the next, noting the death of the Prime Madrox. It works even better when we see Jamie meet Bishop in the library, before knocking Bishop out with a globe to the head. Madrox looks like he’s not comfortable with the act in the midst of performing it, and has an almost child-like earnestness that he’s really just doing this for his own preservation. Yet he still does it without hesitation before proceeding to steal Bishop’s time-travel device for his own needs. It’s clever visual humor that also functions as seamless storytelling.
MacDonald does some great action scenes but also excels in making quieter moments look believable. I love in the opening page we see Strong Guy effortlessly “RIIIPP” the vault’s door of its hinges, with MacDonald standing him hunched and almost looking bored. It’s also great seeing MacDonald’s dynamic fight choreography, especially in the last scene opening from the Deadpool-Madrox bursting through the window. We follow the action really smoothly through use of panel setup and camera angles, leading the eye naturally through the chaos of Deadpool-Madrox landing and bounding to the X-Men, Archangel taking flight before being shot and downed by Cable-Madrox. My favorite sequence, however, occurs simply when Jamie comes down from Beast’s room to meet Illyana. MacDonald uses body language superbly to make them feel human whilst conversing. When Jamie enters the room, he coyly points at Illyana like a gameshow host. Then, when they’re sitting together a few panels later, they’re not just static. MacDonald has Illyana leaning on a closed fist, while Jamie charismatically has one arm folded, one arm pointing with a sandwich in hand and chewing at the same time. It’s not big or dynamic, but it does wonders to make them feel believable and realistic.
Tamra Bonvillain handles coloring and delivers a vibrant, classical pop art palette to make this book stand out. The whole issue has this subtle dynamic of a classic X-Men orange vs blue palette, with the colors occasionally shifting in tone for certain scenes but always remaining in contrast by this length. It works great at evoking certain feelings for different scenes, and I love how changes in color palette ratio can change the aura of a room. In the opening, it’s predominantly darker oranges and golds, evoking a cave or vault, but the blue of Illyana’s sword draws the eye to a focal point near the characters’ faces. In Beast’s lab, it’s predominantly blue, giving a feeling of serenity and technology, while the yellow highlights the characters (save for Beast, of course). It’s a great way to give the book a distinct and consistent feel and look vibrant at the same time.
On paper, with so many tropes and ideas, “Multiple Man” #1 should be chaotic and messy. In execution, it still is. But Rosenberg, MacDonald, Bonvillain, and Lanham all apply strategic pacing, fantastic sequential/emotional work and a unique themed and varying color palette to give this comic a sense of pride and style. Madrox is back in the game, and it feels great.
Final Score: 9.0 – “Multiple Man” #1 gathers the best and weirdest X-Tropes and distills them into a fast-paced, manic and effortlessly hilarious debut.
