The Fall Of X’s Most Interesting, But Flawed, Debut: Reviewing ‘Realm Of X’ #1
by Tony Thornley
At the height of the Hellfire Gala’s mutant massacre, Orchis forced hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of mutants through compromised Krakoan gates, scattering them across the Marvel Universe. Realm of X #1 begins to explore what’s next.
A ragtag team of X-Men enters the Ten Realms from Torunn Gronbekk, Diogene Neves, Rain Beredo, and Clayton Cowles.
Illyana Rasputin and Dani Moonstar once had their lives changed forever when they were thrust into and scattered across the World Tree. Now they find themselves back in Vanaheim, in the middle of a brutal war. Now they must team with Typhoid Mary, Marrow, Dust and Curse to protect the mutants that arrived with them and stop a terrifying prophecy that may bring destruction to the entire World Tree.
This issue is a pretty interesting duality. I really enjoyed the plot. Magik and Moonstar, two of the best B-list X-Men, leading an oddball team of mutants in an Asgardian Wars semi-sequel is a hell of a hook. The group Gronbekk chose is fascinating and frankly deserves the spotlight. The deeper concept of battling one’s destiny is a great hook too.
Where this issue falls short is in the script. Many of the character voices are off- Magik is a shrinking violet, who’s completely out of character. She wouldn’t fall apart just because she’s powerless. Typhoid is overly vampy, and Marrow is seemingly British (and if not British, entirely too eloquent). Not everyone is off though- Curse is nearly pitch perfect, and Dani is just right.
The art is another area where the issue struggles. Neves’ layouts are good- figures move the page just right to make the action exciting, and they set the scene of what Vanaheim is like incredibly well. His figure work is rough though. Faces are too similar to one another and vary panel to panel, with several characters unrecognizable, and the Vanir are all the same. Beredo’s colors are uniformly bright, with little depth to them. It’s not bad, but it’s extremely generic.
Realm of X #1 is available now from Marvel Comics.
Overview
It’s disappointing to find such a promising book that had such weak execution. There’s definite promise though, so I hope to see it swing the right direction.
