Sons of X #1: Beating the Same Old Drum

Si Spurrier is better at endings than he is at beginnings or middles, and in consequence, this issue was stronger than anything in either Nightcrawlers or Legion of X. The fact that both books were, ultimately, nothing but set up for the coming event does little to redeem the fact that the writing, until this issue, was less than great. This issue provided resolution by tying off the themes whose strands had been drawn far too tight, and while it was a bit disconcerting to hear Nightcrawler, of all people, say that Hope is ‘stronger’ than faith, it functioned reasonably well as a story. Seriously though, the fact that every mention of faith within this series has been offensively negative (from constantly referring to Kurt as a ‘God botherer’ (*waves hand the entire plot of Nightcrawlers and Legion of X*) is deeply problematic. Christianity, Islam, and (in this issue) Buddhism all get basted with the same tarry brush. At least Spurrier is equal-opportunity in his disdain.

Anyway, Sons of X is, as per usual, David’s show. He got all of the introspective moments, and he got to play the hero. Spurrier writes Legion exceptionally well (even if we don’t necessarily need another story about an overly powerful straight, white guy with daddy issues when there are so many other voices we could be focusing on), but it was a bit upsetting to see that, once again, the women in Spurrier’s world are reduced to being defined by either the ‘mommy,’ the shrew, or the helpmeet archetypes.

Margali’s role is tightly bound to being a failed parent. Mother Righteous is a power-hungry, deeply manipulative femme fatale, and the other women (Pixie, The Black Knight, and most notably, Blindfold) exist solely to serve the men with whom they are associated. In order to prepare for this review, every issue leading back to Way of X was reread, and absolutely none of them have passed The Bechdel Test. None of them have. And that’s unusual for the current run of X-Books. Duggan and Gillen’s work manages it in almost every issue, to say nothing of Anders or Orlando, who both tend to have two women talking about a subject unrelated to men multiple times per story.

As for the rest, Nightcrawler quite literally had no voice until the very end, but his farewell speech to *redacted* at least felt somewhat true to the character. Spurrier hasn’t managed to write Kurt in a way that is even vaguely recognizable to fans of the character, so although the idea of him taking up the Spider-Man mantle is both exciting and a move that fits given what we know about the plot of the upcoming event, so much depends on getting the voice right and Spurrier absolutely hasn’t managed that trick. This final scene also served as a nice bookend to Jonathan Hickman’s set up in the X-Men issue, which introduced The Crucible. However, this issue did make the upcoming Fall of X seem both high stakes and exciting, so there’s trying to keep an open mind and looking forward to reviewing (with bated breath and fingers crossed) the first installment of Uncanny Spider-Man.

As for the art, well, Phil Noto’s work is better than eating a partially melted Lindt Chocolate after a hard day at work, and that’s a pleasure previously believed to be absolutely unequaled. His artwork elevated this story to a profound level, and the issue is recommended reading it solely for his contribution. There’s a painterly, considered quality to every panel that brings this world to life in a way that other artists (most highly skilled) can only dream about.