Way of X
When Jonathan Hickman had Nightcrawler hit upon the idea of establishing a mutant religion, Si Spurrier seemed like the right writer to follow up on it. After all, he’s a writer who has thrived on finding unexpected stories to tell utilizing the characters owned by the Big Two. In a move that is both surprising and not surprising at all, Spurrier decided to use his time on this series to refute the idea of Nightcrawler setting up a mutant religion and to tackle a much bigger issue regarding Krakoa: What becomes of a society when it no longer has any need to fear death?
It’s something that’s weighing upon Nightcrawler’s mind as he infiltrates an Orchis stronghold with some younger mutants. One of whom dies during the operation, but it’s no problem as they’re resurrected with only the loss of the memories gained since their last backup. Still the casualness with which all Krakoan mutants regard death, and cheer for it in the Crucible, has started to weigh upon our protagonist’s mind, even though he’s not sure that the answer to this involves creating a mutant religion. A bigger problem soon presents itself as Professor X tells Nightcrawler that he’s aware of a sinister presence on the island. One that belongs to an Omega-level mutant who happens to be very good at hiding their presence from him.
The identity of this mutant won’t be a surprise to people who have some familiarity with Spurrier’s previous “X-Men” work. Neither will the identity of the real threat they face, if you’re capable of reading the “Issues Collected” bit on the back cover. What this series has to offer in terms of surprise is the long, winding, circuitous path it takes to get to its destination. That’s in the literal sense as we’ll go all over Krakoa, to Venice, to an Orchis lab in Saudi Arabia, to Arakko (Formerly Mars), and even to the headspace of mutanity itself.
It’s also in the figurative sense as the writer takes us into the headspaces of his sizable and eclectic cast. First among everyone is Nightcrawler, whose empathy is the story’s driving force. He’s always been concerned for his fellow mutants and now he gets to be concerned for their well-being as a whole. That may seem like an impossible task at first, when he’s not sure what or who the problem is, but he never stops trying to do the right thing and he comes up with some interesting solutions along the way. Like dropping a couple of mutants into low Arakkan orbit to get them to work out their problems.
The rest of the cast aren’t utilized to the same extent that Nighcrawler is, but most make a favorable impression. Particularly Fabian Cortez who is at a low point after having been dismissed from S.W.O.R.D. He was a perfectly hateable presence there and it would’ve been fine to see him continue to be so here. Except that Spurrier decides that he doesn’t want the character to be like that and sets about the hard, and ultimately successful work of getting us to care about him. You kind of wish that the same expense could have been made for new mutant Lost, whose presence and powers are key to the story, yet she never winds up being more than a cipher. Better care is shown to the enjoyably abrasive Dr. Nemesis, who is now using all of his head for science, and Stacy-X who has found an unexpected yet surprisingly appropriate place in Krakoa. As for this story’s special co-protagonist, I had thought that the writer had said all there was to know about them years ago. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that wasn’t the case.
There’s also a lot of saying here in this volume as well. While Spurrier hasn’t shied away from superhero spectacle in the past, it’s clearly not his primary interest. Instead, he’s more interested in seeing what makes his cast tick, which is why the story’s main threat is a psychic one rather than a physical one. Which is how we get Nightcrawler investigating a psychic modeling of Krakoa’s fall, finding out what happens to mutant lovers and the babies they produce on the island, and forcing two mutants to sit down and hash out their differences via conversation rather than fisticuffs.
It’s an approach that will likely frustrate anyone who likes their superhero comics to be told in a straightforward manner and not lead the reader around by their nose. I don’t mind this so much because I’ve come to trust Spurrier as a writer after reading so much of his work over the years. Yet, I’ll confess to being a little disappointed that this series didn’t seem to be the perfect fit for his sensibilities that I was expecting it to. Consider the amount of time he spends refuting Hickman’s notion of having Nightcrawler set up a mutant religion and retrofitting the story to be about something completely different while also digging into Krakoan life in general. The nature of the threat does keep the story focused, but it does take a bit of patience on the reader’s part to see how it all makes sense in the end.
Depending on your perspective, Bob Quinn was either lucky or cursed to have to draw all of this. Whatever the case was, he’s got a clean, straightforward style that’s appealing to look at and conveys the story and action well. He’s also willing to go weird when the story demands it, like when a couple of characters dive into a psychic hookup between mutants in order to get a lead on the threat facing the island. It’s solid work and it’s too bad that Quinn won’t be back for the follow-up to this series.
Yes, “Way of X” is a one-volume series and that implies it failed to find an audience. The fact that the first five issues tell a reasonably complete story and were followed up by a one-shot which wraps things up implies that Spurrier had longer-term plans for this series. That he’s writing the new series “Legion of X” implies that editorial’s reaction to this title was, “Si, we love the work that you do, but can you please, PLEASE tell the story in a way that will actually support an ongoing series?”
“Legion of X” has been pitched as the book about the mutants who keep the peace on Krakoa. That sounds like a straightforward enough setup; though, experience tells me that Spurrier will find a way to make it weird in a way that struggles against superhero convention. His and Quinn’s work on “Way of X” convinces me that’ll be a good thing, even if it only lasts for a volume as well.