Everything old is All-New after the first X-Men arc of Brian Michael Bendis. In this week’s All-New X-Men #5 an original X-Man gets a makeover and two X-Women take charge.
Professor X was murdered by Cyclops. Scott, Magneto, Emma and Magik are recruiting new mutants for a revolution. A dying Beast went into the past to bring the original Scott, Jean, Warren, Bobby and Hank into the Marvel Now. Hank’s dream of inspiring Cyclops takes a dramatic twist in this chapter. In the finale of the first arc Beast is reborn, Jean Grey learns entire truth about her future history and Kitty Pryde takes on a new role with Xavier’s original teenage dream.
Bendis delivers drama, action, intrigue and humor but the most important element is heart. A psychic exchange between newly telepathic Jean and the older Beast shows the sense of love and loss these characters are feeling. The storytelling has inspired great moments of nostalgia while still moving the Children of the Atom forward. There’s just a sense of the writer’s love and awe of these classic characters, their history and their relationships. I think I was in a psychic rapport with Bendis and Stuart Immomen as I read this arc!
In these first five chapters Bendis has established the new mutant order with new leaders, new agendas, new mutants, new powers and the potential for exciting new directions. X-Men really is All-New.
By Editor