X-Men by Jed MacKay vol. 1: Homecoming

It was inevitable, after all.

When Jonathan Hickman radically redefined the “X-Men’s” place in the Marvel Universe it felt like a genuine breath of fresh air after years of doing the same ol’, same ol’.  It was such a dramatic change to their status quo that it felt like it couldn’t last forever and that the main narrative of the Krakoan Era would be a long walk back to that point.  That’s exactly what happened and the latest “X-Men” era begins with a mutant diaspora across the Marvel Universe even as some realize that they still need to have a public face.

Enter Scott Summers and his new team of X-Men.  Made up of familiar faces like Beast, Psylocke, Magik, Juggernaut, Quentin “Kid Omega” Quire, and Idie “Temper” Okonkwo, they’re here to protect mutants from a world that hates and fears them.  Specifically, they’re here to protect a newly emergent class of mutants from the remnants of Orchis, the United States government, and a new organization known as 3K which counts one of their most powerful foes as one of its members.  Magneto is also part of this new team as well, but the end of the previous era has hit him harder than most.

The big problem facing any “X-Men” title now is where do you go after mutants finally stepped up, took their place as a world power, and then had it all taken away from them?  “Adjectiveless’” answer to that is to have them go back and start being the superheroic face of mutanity.  Which is how we wind up with them taking on an offshoot of Orchis, Fourth School, determined to become the next step in evolution by consuming mutants in the first issue.  Subsequent issues have them facing off against an alien invasion in San Francisco, fending off a U.S. assault on their new home base in Alaska, and taking on a mutant murder streaming operation fronted by Trevor Fitzroy.  We also get smaller scale stories such as a psychic rescue operation involving a new mutant and a young girl who’s afraid that she might be one herself.

If you’re going to have a hope of enjoying any of this, then you’re going to have to accept that none of what this latest first volume of “X-Men” does is very new at all.  We’re back to playing a version of the hits that involves this team finding new mutants, dealing with superpowered threats, and their own internal dramas in ways that will feel familiar to anyone who’s been reading their adventures over the past few decades.  For anyone who was wanting new writer Jed MacKay to find a new angle on all of this then you’re out of luck and will likely have to wait until the next Hickman-level rebirth of the franchise to start reading it again.

I wasn’t really that optimistic about this run going into vol. 1 since what I’ve read from MacKay have been competent but not exciting superhero stories.  That’s more or less what we get here, but I did find myself enjoying it more as I went along.  The best part about it is that he’s not determined to put the Krakoan Era behind everyone and pretend that it didn’t happen.  All of the characters in the series (well… except for Beast) remember it and it’s very much present in their minds as they try to find a way forward.  There’s also a varying degree in how well it’s remembered, with characters like Temper lamenting its utopian moralizing after she was thrown in the Pit.

There’s also the fact that MacKay feels very well versed in “X-Men” history.  This manifests in the return of veteran villains like Trevor Fitzroy (and his boss) whose henchmen are made up of “X-Statix” baddies of all people.  As well as overt story references such as the classic Morrison/Quitely psychic rescue which gets its own spin featuring Kid Omega and Psylocke.  The writer’s knowledge of history also manifests quite well in his handling of the main cast, who feel very much like themselves but with the added weight of history.  This is best seen in how Beast deals with the actions of his previous incarnation and how Cyclops presents as a hardass reminiscent of his “Schism”/”Revolution”-era characterization but also struggles to keep it together while trying to be understanding of this team he’s trying to make work.

Illustrating all of this are Ryan Stegman and Netho Diaz, both doing quality work.  Stegman’s work really shines when he gets to showcase some action, such as when the team goes after the Fourth School or fends off some aliens in the opening issues.  The artist’s detailed approach also works well in the quieter scenes, such as the guided tour Beast gives to the local sheriff in the first issue while also providing some memorable visuals such as Magneto’s first appearance and the image of the Sentinel looming over the town at the end.  Diaz’s work is just as good, really.  He may not go in for the same level of detail as Stegman, but he’s as adept with the character and action in his issues.

This ultimately leaves us with a new vol. 1 of “X-Men” that’s honestly better than what I was expecting.  It’s not doing anything dramatically new, but it maintains continuity with the previous era and tries to interrogate it a bit as the characters move forward from that point.  MacKay also balances the cast quite well, making it feel like a real team book where everyone gets multiple moments to distinguish themselves.  While it’s not the cure for the post-Krakoan-Era-blues, “Homecoming” still manages to feel more like progress than a regression.