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A review by crookedtreehouse
Reign of X Vol. 1 by Leah Williams, Zeb Wells, Al Ewing, Jonathan Hickman
4.0
From the steaming pile of unreadable garbage that is [b:X-Men: X of Swords|52851829|X-Men X of Swords|Jonathan Hickman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1614787008l/52851829._SX50_.jpg|79034287], the X-books rise again with Reign Of X.
Like the beginning of [b:Dawn of X Vol. 1|48614029|Dawn of X Vol. 1|Jonathan Hickman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1578965794l/48614029._SY75_.jpg|73950337], we get little snippets of various mutant teams as they embark on the next evolution of their various quests. Unlike Dawn Of X, this isn't A Series Of Fresh Stories, we are still continuing the Dawn Of X storylines, we've just had one of the worst palate cleansers between courses.
S.W.O.R.D. is a great pivot point to start this series as Magneto is introduced by Abigail Brand to The Six, a group of mutants who team up to help each other teleport great distances for interstellar quests. We meet at least one mutant I wasn't familiar with (Wiz Kid) but also get to see some long-absent familiar faces show up in this Krakoan era. I'm excited to see more of Armor, Blink, Manifold, Gateway, Peepers, and Amelia Voght. And I loved the brief interactions between Magneto and Fabien Cortez. It's perhaps the most seamless and honest-seeming use of one of the auxiliary 1990s villains so far in the Krakoan era.
The X-Men issue deals with some of the fallout from X Of Swords, which I just can't care about. I do like that Cypher continues to be an important character in this era, but I feel like the whole Arrako mutant storyline is as needless and unexceptional as Hickman's Builders nonsense from his underwhelming Avengers run. Hickman is one of the greatest Idea Writers in 21st century comic books, and he's made some of my favorite comics, but his attempts at making new interstellar or interdimensional races and place them in Marvel continuity has been lackluster. This was the weakest issues in the collection. Not bad, but it felt like filler.
X-Factor's focus on solving murders in a species that's now mostly immortal continues to improve now that they're away from Mojoworld. There are some great character beats, even though there's some weird overlapping storytelling in the middle that doesn't quite land.
The final two issues in the collection are from Hellions. When the series first popped up in [b:Dawn of X Vol. 10|52851834|Dawn of X Vol. 10|Jonathan Hickman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1603897164l/52851834._SY75_.jpg|79034297], I noted that it had potential, but it hadn't won me over. I'm won over now. The Kwannon/Sinister dynamic and an update to an eternally annoying 80s villain are welcome changes to the status quo. I can't wait to see how this series unfolds.
If you enjoyed most of the Dawn Of X era books (it's an admittedly mixed bag), I think you'll continue to enjoy the series in this form.
Like the beginning of [b:Dawn of X Vol. 1|48614029|Dawn of X Vol. 1|Jonathan Hickman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1578965794l/48614029._SY75_.jpg|73950337], we get little snippets of various mutant teams as they embark on the next evolution of their various quests. Unlike Dawn Of X, this isn't A Series Of Fresh Stories, we are still continuing the Dawn Of X storylines, we've just had one of the worst palate cleansers between courses.
S.W.O.R.D. is a great pivot point to start this series as Magneto is introduced by Abigail Brand to The Six, a group of mutants who team up to help each other teleport great distances for interstellar quests. We meet at least one mutant I wasn't familiar with (Wiz Kid) but also get to see some long-absent familiar faces show up in this Krakoan era. I'm excited to see more of Armor, Blink, Manifold, Gateway, Peepers, and Amelia Voght. And I loved the brief interactions between Magneto and Fabien Cortez. It's perhaps the most seamless and honest-seeming use of one of the auxiliary 1990s villains so far in the Krakoan era.
The X-Men issue deals with some of the fallout from X Of Swords, which I just can't care about. I do like that Cypher continues to be an important character in this era, but I feel like the whole Arrako mutant storyline is as needless and unexceptional as Hickman's Builders nonsense from his underwhelming Avengers run. Hickman is one of the greatest Idea Writers in 21st century comic books, and he's made some of my favorite comics, but his attempts at making new interstellar or interdimensional races and place them in Marvel continuity has been lackluster. This was the weakest issues in the collection. Not bad, but it felt like filler.
X-Factor's focus on solving murders in a species that's now mostly immortal continues to improve now that they're away from Mojoworld. There are some great character beats, even though there's some weird overlapping storytelling in the middle that doesn't quite land.
The final two issues in the collection are from Hellions. When the series first popped up in [b:Dawn of X Vol. 10|52851834|Dawn of X Vol. 10|Jonathan Hickman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1603897164l/52851834._SY75_.jpg|79034297], I noted that it had potential, but it hadn't won me over. I'm won over now. The Kwannon/Sinister dynamic and an update to an eternally annoying 80s villain are welcome changes to the status quo. I can't wait to see how this series unfolds.
If you enjoyed most of the Dawn Of X era books (it's an admittedly mixed bag), I think you'll continue to enjoy the series in this form.