Broken Frontier

Nowhere have the effects of M-Day been felt more deeply than at The Xavier Institute, where the remaining 198 mutants have come for refuge, safety, and time to figure out the next step for mutantkind.

For the 10% of mutants left in the world, M-Day has meant different things. For Magma, it means losing first the fellow mutant she loved, and then her sanity. For Mortimer Toynbee, better known as Toad, it means putting aside being a villain in the eyes of the world and becoming a hero to just one person in need. And for the awesomely powered Mister M, it means helping others—not those who lost their abilities, but those who haven’t. Slowly, those left, some 198 of them, begin making their way to The Xavier Institute. But will coming together make things easier for them, or harder than any of them ever imagined?

Is anyone out there talking about Decimation? The Marvel Hype Machine has already moved on to other upcoming events, and few comics readers I know have had much to say about the most important event in mutant history. I think I know why. Other than the events in X-Men: Deadly Genesis, not much has happened. Indeed, though the stories have been at least interesting and in a few instances quite good, I’ve come to two early conclusions—neither of them positive—about Decimation as a whole. First, despite the drastic decrease in numbers, it still feels like there are an awful lot of mutants running around. Second, and perhaps worse, Decimation—simply due to its structure—is beginning to feel less like an event and more like one huge epilogue.

Take X-Men: The 198, for instance. David Hine is a solid writer whose gift is making real people out of background or minor characters. But try as I might, I couldn’t find a story in issue #1. It didn’t even feel like a prologue. There are a couple of poignant vignettes and an interesting character study of Mister M, but as for story, well, perhaps Hine will save that for issue #2. But I suspect that the reason why there’s little if any story in X-Men: The 198 #1 is that the real story has already happened. Consequently, as M-Day is about as big a story as there could be, everything in its wake is a ripple effect. Sure, there are tons of somber moments and opportunities to see familiar characters in a different light. And perhaps what we’ve read thus far is just the calm before the storm. But even if it is, is there anything in any title other than Deadly Genesis for us to be can’t-wait-30-days excited about?

Unfortunately, that Decimation has lost some of its urgency, some of its sense of direction becomes apparent once one finishes The 198 #1. While Magma, Toad, Lorelei, and Mister M all have interesting stories in them, none of those stories made it to this issue; and because of that, it’s hard to see why The 198 has to begin from their perspective. In this way, this first issue fails to give a sense of what this series is about, where it’s going, and, most importantly, why we should care.

Much in the way that I don’t know what to make of Hine’s script, I just as honestly don’t know what to make of Jim Muniz as an artist. Some panels are gorgeous. His close frontal shots of Magma. The angle he takes on Lorelei after she’s been assaulted. Mister M putting some serious mutant mojo on a Sentinel. And some panels—those of former mutant Hanna Levy in particular—are appealing to the eye because they’re so eerie. When he’s on his game in this issue Muniz can capture the emotion of a moment while also pushing what little story there is forward. However, though clearly skilled, some of his other panels look awkward—the opening scene once Magma and Antonio fire-up—while others look hurried or even amateurish, such as his renderings of Emma Frost. Throughout the second half of the issue she looks like three different people, none of whom would be recognized as Frost were it not for the white get-up. When Muniz is off his game in this issue his images look static or lack a sense of proportion. Consequently, it’s hard to see how what could go so right in some panels and sequences can go just as wrong in others. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen artwork this uneven.

I’m hoping that X-Men: The 198 will surprise me, but thus far, one of Decimation’s central titles is also its weakest.