Age of X-Man: Prisoner X #1
Recap
Arrested for his crimes against society, Lucas Bishop finds himself in the Danger Room Prison Complex for rehabilitation. Here, he runs into numerous familiar faces-- faces of people he has never met before! As his true memories begin to flood to the surface, Bishop begins to learn the deepest, darkest secrets of the "Age of X-Man".
Review
Each mini-series in the “Age of X-Man” event has given readers a different segment of this false utopia to examine and as has been the case with each mini-series, the first issues have been dominantly primers for each segment. Prisoner X is no different in that regard. We meet the cast of non-conformists, including Beast, Honey Badger, Dani Moonstar, and Polaris and get to know the general structure of the prison and the altered personalities in this alternate reality.
We also see Shard, Bishop’s sister from the future (hologram in the present last time we saw her) and it bears noting that only Bishop seems to see her. Whether this is another echo from his past or some sort of deus ex machina remains to be seen. But the fact remains that Bishop is seeing reality crack through the utopic illusion which is the key to this series and the most threatening prospect for any utopia. The potential viability of another way, perhaps an even better way, is the very reason many utopia narratives find themselves devoid of fiction within the utopia as imagination is the gravedigger of oppression.
In a mirror of Ayala’s narrative structure of even beats and steady rhythms, the art of Peralta also reflects this necessity to conformity with its right angled panels and black, lifeless gutters. There are moments, though, in which panels overlap each other, disrupting the forced structure and allowing the danger in the periphery to bleed into the narrative. What appears controlled is perhaps not as controlled.
Final Thoughts
Age of X-Man: Prisoner X #1 starts, not with a bang, but a whisper. The prison of the mind appears the most clear and present danger.
Age of X-Man: Prisoner X #1: On the Genealogy of Morals
- Writing - 9/109/10
- Storyline - 7.5/107.5/10
- Art - 7/107/10
- Color - 8/108/10
- Cover Art - 8/108/10