Benjamin Percy

Leinil Francis Yu

Gerry Duggan

Jonathan Hickman

Tini Howard

Dawn of X Vol. 1

Geoffrey Froggatt

After the foundations established in House of X/Powers of X, readers may find themselves intimidated by the amount of titles and where to go next. Dawn of X simplifies the suggested/preferred reading order by collecting the first entries in all six X-Men titles spinning out of the relaunch. The first title in this volume is the mainline X-Men title, and I thought it was satisfying and simple. I liked seeing Magneto grow to be loved by the children of Krakoa, and I loved seeing how characters were adjusting to the new normal. I liked seeing the Summer house, and I loved the tiny implication that Wolverine, Jean, and Cyclops are in a throuple, which is the best possible outcome of a love triangle storyline, especially one that has lasted for years. One thing that was jarring is that Scott’s extended family wasn’t really explained and the writers assumed most people would know them, but I didn’t. I didn’t realize Scott’s dad was alive and also a mutant. The ending showed the antagonists and their next move, and I liked how the writers are doing a good job at giving them a fleshed out characterization and not just making them cartoonishly evil just for the sake of it. Marauders was an interesting instalment, I liked the reintroduction of Kate Pryde and how she fits into the new normal. I loved how this volume showed off her cool phasing powers. Excalibur didn’t grip me as the other stories did. I thought the cast of characters was an interesting mix, and I liked the idea of a magic-based X-Men story, but the Camelot aspect didn’t grip me and I’m not a huge fan of that setting. New Mutants intrigued me as I’m beginning to love the “New Mutant” characters. Cypher has especially become my favourite ever since House of X/Powers of X, I love how he can speak every language and communicate with all living things, that’s such a cool power and I love his robotic arm. The characters were really colourful in this story, and I liked the artwork. The ending made me curious where the story would go from here. X-Force was a quick but effective read, the ending had a trope that we’ve seen before but I’m curious to see where it goes from here. One thing that I thought was strange was that Krakoa had so many defences and powerful mutants, but nobody thought to put a force field above the island? I thought that was an oversight or bad writing, but I guess they wouldn’t have much of a story if people couldn’t invade the island. I’m head canon is that building and maintaining an island nation is a lot of work and they’ve been too busy to truly finish everything. Fallen Angels had an interesting story, and it clarified some things from previous stories. For one thing, I’m not super familiar with Betsy Braddock and Psylocke’s body swapping storyline, so it was a little difficult for me to understand and keep clear in my head, and there are references to stories and events pre-House of X/Powers of X, so the weight of certain things didn’t hit as hard for me. Fallen Angels has potential, but I’m not a fan of the art style. Overall, all these stories have interesting premises and explore interesting ideas in the new world of X-Men.

Dawn of X Vol. 1

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