All-New X-Men #1

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Stuart Immonen

The X-Men have been one of my favourite teams in comic books but over the last few years have been very up and down and apart from Second Coming there haven't been any brilliant stories out of the main series'. I do however think that Kieron Gillen's latest run on Uncanny X-Men would have been a lot better if it hadn't been for Avengers Vs. X-Men as the first story with Mr. Sinister (Uncanny X-Men by Kieron Gillen Vol. 1) was brilliant.

Plot

This issue shows Cyclops and his X-Men team rounding up the new mutants that the government are dealing with. Wolverine's X-Men (Wolverine isn't in this issue) aren't happy with this and Iceman thinks they should stop Cyclops before he ruins everything they've worked for. Also Beast goes to the past to ask the younger versions of the original X-Men (Cyclops, Iceman, Beast, Angel, and Jean Grey) to help stop Cyclops in the present.

Review

I though this was a very good start and that Brian Michael Bendis has done a great job on this issue. I liked that he wrote the characters very differently and that he gave both Wolverine's and Cycops' X-Men the same amount of time throughout the issue. I also really enjoyed how he wrote the younger X-Men as you could tell that they were a lot younger than they are now and that they had a lot of different things occupying their lives. I also loved how Bendis handled both of the X-Men teams as you can tell they are very different and that both think that they are in the right and the other is wrong.

Stuart Immonen did some beautiful artwork throughout this issue and like always did a brilliant job. I especially liked the differences between the current X-Men and the younger X-Men as with the current X-Men you see very experienced individuals who are know exactly what they are doing and why, whereas with the younger X-Men you can see a lot of innocents in them which was nice to see. You can also tell from looking at them that they are very inexperienced and very different from their present counterparts.

I like the line up on Cyclops' team and that even though they are doing things for the right reasons (in their opinions) they are starting to become the villains in this series. I also like how besides Cyclops himself, his team have all been villains in the past (besides Danger who was manipulated by Unit) and that Cyclops is turning into the type of character Magneto used to be. I did however not like that we didn't get any explanation as to how Emma Frost escaped. I assume that after breaking Cyclops out of prison they did the same with Emma bu tit would have been nice to have mentioned it instead of having her in prison one minute and out the next.

The reaction from Wolverine's X-Men towards Cyclops's actions were brilliant. I especially enjoyed seeing Iceman's reaction as he originally agreed with Cyclops during AvX and is upset at what one of his oldest friends is doing. I also liked how this issue started with Beast in immense pain thinking that he's going to die. Although I hope that Beast won't die I think this is a nice showing that due to all these new mutants entering the world that some might have to leave for them to take their place. I would have also liked to have seen Wolverine in this issue as we see all of his team deciding what to do against Cyclops, whilst the person who's been against Cyclops since the start is nowhere to be seen. I hope that he is involved in future issue as it would be nice to see how he reacts to Cyclops' actions as well as the arrival of the younger X-Men.

It was very nice seeing the younger versions of the original X-Men and though that they were brilliantly introduced to the series. I would however have liked to have seen a bit more of them throughout this issue and thought they had to small a role. I am however looking forward to seeing more of them in further issues and what Bendis has planned for them. I will also be looking forward to seeing how all the other members of the X-Men whether Cyclops' group or Wolverine's group react to the arrival of the younger X-Men and how the younger X-Men will react to seeing older versions of themselves. I will especially be looking forward to seeing Cyclops and possibly Wolverine's (if he's in the series) reaction to Jean as they both loved her and has she has been dead in the Marvel Universe for some time now.

Final Verdict

A great start and hopefully this series will get better through time. Although a great starting of point it may be advised to read AvX, or AVX: Consequences prior as it should fill you in on anything you might be confused about.

Rating: 4/5