Predating the movie of the same name by about 5 years, this was a sort of all-ages, 8-issue mini-series focusing on the original 5 X-Men. Before a morally compromised Hank McCoy dragged them into our present day as a way to try and shame a wildly radicalized Scott Summers. Yeah, the years were not kind to any of them.
Of course, as it predates the movie and his creation as a character, there is a disappointing lack of a Mr. Sinister that looks like Kevin Bacon and dresses like a pimp. Seriously, with all the movie synergy Marvel does, why did they never make Mr. Sinister look more like Kevin Bacon?
Ahem, where was I? Right, the comic. I don't know precisely where in the early X-Men years this is set. It's definitely after Amazing Spider-Man #6, as issue 2 involves Xavier and the team going to check on his old buddy Curt Conners in Florida and the Lizard had already fought Spider-Man once by that point.
Parker doesn't spend a lot of time on the teens dealing with typical X-Men stuff. Magneto doesn't show up, the Juggernaut only does in some weird mental landscape created by Xavier's brain. Instead, they fight the Lizard, Iceman gets kidnapped by people who worship Ymir, so Thor shows up. Dr. Strange pops up as a follow-up to some adventure involving him, Jean, Scott and the Juggernaut. Warren and the Scarlet Witch have a tenuous romance as best they can given Wanda's overbearing brother. The last issue is a team-up with Gorilla Man, which Parker referenced in X-Men vs. Atlas.
All the stories are done-in-one, which is nice, and beyond trying to show their progression in control of their powers and ability to function without Xavier, Parker tries to broaden their personalities beyond what they got back in the '60s. Iceman gets played as the goofy kid most of the time, but Warren's actually the one who struggles the most to pay attention in class, as he wants to get outside a fly a lot. Jean's powers are maybe the most abstract, and the ones increasing the fastest, so her self-confidence and assertiveness tend to fluctuate a bit based on how things are going. Basic stuff, but it makes them feel like more well-rounded characters.
The Cruz/Olazaba/Staples art team handles all 8 issues. Cruz can handle the action sequences just fine, but he gets a lot of opportunity to show personality through how characters move or react to things. Very expressive style, works well for the more light-hearted elements. Staples tends to use sort of broad, brighter colors. Keeps things from looking too murky or grim all the time. This is before things went entirely to hell in these kids' lives. Save that for the moments when it's actually needed.
2 comments:
I did a double take for a minute about the Mr Sinister thing, and had to go and check on imdb. As it happens, everything you say still applies.
Kevin Bacon and his ridiculous outfits are the one part of that movie I will never forget.
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