Huh. It’s been awhile since I’ve written a spoiler review. But because I’ve waited for Death of X # 1 for awhile its just apt that we need to do this, get my sentiments out and all that. Without further delay my Death of X # 1 Spoiler Review

Death of X # 1 is written by Charles Soule and Jeff Lemire with art by Aaron Kuder.

That being said, let me remind you that this review has MAJOR SPOILERS and that I have a bias for the X-Men. I kinda like the Inhumans but ever since they fucked up the Inhuman Royal family and split up Black Bolt and Medusa, I’ve lost interest.

So on with the show.

I like how the book wants to structurally show the sides of the coin. Soule and Lemire did a great work of showcasing what each faction/race/in Earth 616 was doing in different parts of the world, around the same time. Cyclops and his team of former “Uncanny X-Men” members and former students of the Charles Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters are responding to an SOS from Muir Island, where they have been researching… what were they researching there?

While halfway around the world Crystal and her team of Inhumans are following the Terrigen Cloud to Japan.

Light themes, dark themes. Life themes and death themes. I like where they were going with this.

So in Tokyo, a few people suddenly get cocoon’ed and it’s really up to Crystal’s team (and a very worthless Gorgon) to snag those cocoons and bring them to their ship so they’d be able to protect them before emerging as an Inhuman.

They did an OK job with the Crystal Inhuman book and while I haven’t read it or caught up to it, I’d say they were doing a nice job.

Still on the life and death themes, Cyclops finds death in Muir Island and its very depressing.

We also get to see the first signs of Cyclops getting sick from the Terrigen Cloud shortly after exposure. Though its a slow burn there’s a payoff. Also look at Goldballs, looking so glum. Kudos to Aaron Kuder and the rest of the art team for handing out a nice book artwise.

So. Right, death.

They weren’t very clear if Muir Island just had mutant staff or that there were humans. Maybe the former. Still, for the X-Men’s side of things, more death and a bit of foreshadowing if you think about it.

So my first red flag for the issue.

They fucking killed Jamie Madrox. The guy who made X-Factor interesting and great again and was, for awhile, the everyman mutant. To kill him off like that hurts. No huge sacrifice, no important mission. They just off him for the sole purpose of being the first casualty of the Terrigen Cloud’s lethal effects on mutants.

Second red flag for me, was making their intentions clear, they wanted Cyclops to die. How he died, this series will let us know. But its already showing us that it won’t be pretty.

While Cyclops being the King Mutant is a divisive topic among the comic book reading community and the fandom, we can’t deny that the X-Men looks a lot less cooler without Cyclops. There’s no proper representation for the mutants whenever all the heroes gather. Nothing. And in recent times it felt like they’ve been pushing Hank McCoy to fill that gap.

Just like Vince McMahon wanting fans to like Roman Reigns because he likes Reigns.

Anyway.

The mutant subplot ends with a realization from the characters and a motive. The Inhumans need to be accountable for what they’ve done to mutantkind. Theirs is a fight to protect their kind because they are dying and they want to live.

As mentioned earlier, the Inhumans’ angle for Death of X # 1 is about life and protecting their kind to thrive and live or… not die. This was the mission statement for Crystal’s team which was why they went head to head with these guys.

They fight not to die but to ensure life for their species although I’m not really sure why they just stop at a certain number of Inhumans generated by the clouds.

There’s a nice representation/ philosophical thing here in Death of X # 1 and that’s when the chips are down, when LIFE is giving you a hardtime, HOPE springs eternal. And for the case of Crystal, hope comes in the form of the same cocoon she and HYDRA have been fighting for.

The issue tends to drag for several panels, trying too much to move the story forward while establishing characters through exposition.

The ending though is clear, they have to fight to protect their kind.

Again, the art seems great. Nothing that has really WOWED me so much and the fact that the last page makes Crystal look like a guy. I read one review that was bitching about the art but for me, it looked fine.

Verdict

8/10

• Great juxtaposition between the Inhumans and Mutants
• Nice artwork by Aaron Kuder
• OK way to set parameters
• Lazy portrayal of conflict
• Colors and splash pages are nice
• We still don’t like the Inhumans that much