Reviews 

“What If? X-Men” #1

By | October 5th, 2018
Posted in Reviews | % Comments

“What If? X-Men” is a fresh, exciting take on the X-Men. Bryan Edward Hill, Neil Edwards, and Giannis Milonogiannis work together to creates something that both echoes the traditional X-Men, while still creating something really unique. Read on for the rest of our thoughts, but be careful, as there are some spoilers ahead.

Written by Bryan Edward Hill
Illustrated by Neil Edwards and Giannis Milonogiannis
Colored by Rachelle Rosenberg
Lettered by VC’s Clayton Cowles

From the publisher that gave you OLD MAN LOGAN and HOUSE OF M… The X-Men as you never imagined! Welcome to the EXE/scape, a digital wonderland of business and pleasure accessible to anyone with the social (or monetary) capital for the bio-mods needed to log in… Or you can bypass all of that by being born carrying an .EXE/gene! But circumventing the login regulations is exactly what got the likes of Charles Xavier and his .EXE/men banned and driven underground in the first place… Free-roamers u/Domino and u/Cable have taken every dirty job there is on the ‘scape, but when a simple data scrubbing job turns bad, the life of bio-mod magnate Erik Lehnsherr hangs in the balance, and with it, their very society… It’s a whole new world of X-Men by Bryan Edward Hill (Detective Comics), Neil Edwards (Justice League) and Giannis Milonogiannis (Ghost in the Shell: Global Neural Network)!

The original X-Men are very much a product of their own time. The characters, like much of the early Marvel universe, originally got their powers as a result of radiation. It was an origin that was focused on the preoccupations of the time, wondering about what atomic bombs and radiation would do as time moved forward. “What If? X-Men” recreates the X-Men with the preoccupations of today. Instead of being worried about nuclear war, or the power of atomic bombs, “What If? X-Men” looks at a world focused on and powered by the internet.

This is a great idea for a series. The high concept, of X-Men created in a more digital age, and focused on a more digital world, is a great pitch. When I first read the solicit for this series, I could not have been more excited about where this issue might take this story. But, one of the problems that comes from the way Marvel is doing “What If?” series, there is only a single issue to create this entire world. It’s an extremely difficult task to create an entire world from scratch while also telling a satisfying story with only 22 pages. And, unfortunately, “What If? X-Men” doesn’t quite do it.

The world that Bryan Edward Hill has created in this issue is jam-packed full of ideas. One of the most fun parts of any alternate universe or “What If?” story is the way they slot existing characters into the new world, and this issue is no exception. Hill seems to have so many ideas for this new world. But because this is only a single issue, some of these ideas and the world building that Hill wants to do end up feeling a bit too exposition heavy. It seems like this idea, and Hills handling of it would almost be better suited for a small miniseries. As it is, there are too many ideas, but not quite enough space for all of them.

That being said, outside of the few moments where the issue gets very exposition heavy, this is a really fun, action packed issue. It involved Domino and Cable rescuing a captured Erik Lehnsherr. While the characters are a little thin, the way that Charles Xavier, Magneto, and even Domino have had their powers recreated in this cyberpunk, digital world is really interesting, and a whole lot of fun.

One of the best parts of the issue is the different ways that the normal and digital worlds are rendered. There are two artists on this issue, and their talents are split up between these two worlds. Neil Edwards handles all of the action taking place in the physical world, Giannis Milonogiannis is in charge of all of the sequences taking place in the digital world, while Rachel Rosenburg colored the issue, giving both the sequences inside and outside of the digital world a unified aesthetic.

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Edwards’ art is more detailed, a more traditional super hero style. It lends the sequences outside of the digital world a sense of normalcy and realism. Milonogiannis’ work is more cartoony, inspired by manga, with simple but expressive character faces. Both artists do a good job rendering their respective action sequences, and the difference between their two styles helps to sell the difference between the two worlds that are present in this issue. Each of the artist perfectly suit the worlds that they’re asked to draw, and the differences between their styles play into creating a world that feels very physical and real, and one that feels more like a digital cartoon. There are a few moments, toward the beginning of the issue where the script is a bit more exposition heavy, that Edwards work feels a bit stiff, but for the most part, these two artists, work together to create two different, but complimentary worlds.

As I said earlier, this is an issue that feels like it needs to be a mini-series. Either that, or some of the ideas that are crammed into this issue needed to be left on the cutting room floor. The issue ends with a few page long character descriptions of characters that are barely included in this issue. And I wouldn’t have minded spending a bit more time with this world, giving the story a bit more time for it to breath and a bit more time to really create the world that this issue gives us the smallest peek into. But this issue isn’t a miniseries. Instead, it is a flawed, if fun, single issue, full of ideas, but in some places lacking in execution.

Final Verdict: 7.0 – “What If? X-Men” is a great idea with a slightly flawed execution.


Reed Hinckley-Barnes

Despite his name and degree in English, Reed never actually figured out how to read. He has been faking it for the better part of twenty years, and is now too embarrassed to ask for help. Find him on Twitter

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