Broken Frontier

Young Iceman, Cyclops, Angel, Beast, and Marvel Girl are barely trained in their powers. So how will they handle a powerful, unknown entity?

What is it about the original five X-Men that keep drawing back writers and artists? The early years of this team have been told, retold, and spun off in many different issues and titles: X-Men: The Hidden Years, X-Men: Mythos and X-Men: Children of the Atom, just to name a few. Heck, the writers on the X-Men: Evolution animated series even wrote an episode specifically to feature these five characters simply because they were the original team from the comics! So what do writer Jeff Parker and this new series bring to the table? Well, to be honest...not much for modern fans but maybe a little something for newer, younger, or young at heart ones.

As Bobby Drake struggles to figure out his place in Xavier’s school, among the X-Men, and as a part of the world, he also gets a first hand lesson on what it means to pledge to be a hero. A mysterious, possibly alien entity is possessing plants and animals by turn – attacking people and the X-Men! What does this entity want and can or will the X-Men grant it?

To Jeff Parker’s credit, he has chosen to pen an all-new story, rather than just reimagine one of the X-Men’s previous tales. By framing the adventure using a letter written by Bobby Drake, Parker allows the readers to not just get to know Bobby in a very direct way, but also to see the other X-Men through his eyes. The biggest problem with the framing device is that it renders the story a bit uneven – seeming to jerk along from scene to scene, flashing back into the past at sudden moments.

In this issue Bobby is once again young, exuberant and insecure. While not really adding anything longtime fans have not seen, it is a nice touch and an entry point for new readers. Angel, on the other hand, really seems to be expanded on from his original characterization. Angel becomes much more of a free spirit trapped by his situation – a young man who only wants to be free to fly but has had the weight of the world hung from his wings. The character that comes off the worst here is Charles Xavier. The dialogue for him tends to be stiff and somewhat pedantic causing Xavier to come across as cold and even a bit superior rather than warm and paternal.

Artist Roger Cruz is a name I am unfamiliar with. His style is a bit hard to pin down – it takes elements from animation, a slight hint of manga, and the hard edges and angles popular in art of the late 1990’s. It does not really stand out as either bad or exceptionally good, instead it inhabits that middle ground of solid and serviceable. The look is slick and professional but the figures lack some grace and fluidity. Although his cribbing of some designs from the X-Men movies borders on the annoying instead of the cute I’m sure he and Parker were aiming for.

In the beginning were five teenagers, ranging in personality from tightly wrapped, hyper-mature to inexperience and impetuousness. The original ideas made for a perfect, easy, team matrix that allowed for dynamic stories. This really is what keeps bringing the writers back. X-Men: First Class is an all-ages book and it fills a niche since the Marvel Adventures all-ages line does not contain an X-Men title. The story here has a kind of sweet straightforwardness that hearkens back to a different school of writing. Older readers who are used to today’s more complex writing and story styles may find themselves unimpressed and bored. Younger readers or those who remember the days of Stan Lee and Roy Thomas on the title, though, may find a lot here to enjoy. Make no mistake, though, Parker is his own man and not a Stan Lee clone.

If you miss the days of the original five X-Men, if you like a more "old school" Marvel style, or if you know of a youngster who just might love the X-Men, then this title is for you and them. Welcome back, class is now in session.