X-Men #4
B. Radtz
Recap
THEY KILL FOR KICKS & THEY KILL FOR CLICKS! "Hello, internet - it's your boy, Trevor Fitzroy! That's right, Trevor Fitzroy and the Upstarts, out there delivering the content you crave: livestreamed, bespoke, mutant murder in high-def! And best of all, you, the viewers, are the ones rating the kills! So smash that like button, hit subscribe and tell us who the number-one killer is!"
Review
Marvel’s X-line of books are fully underway being led by Jed MacKay’s X-Men. His run continues with this latest installment featuring Cyclops’ Alaskan team, as they continue their mission on searching and finding these newly activated mutants who are developing their powers much later in life, rather than at puberty like most mutants. We also see some familiar faces of characters we haven’t seen in quite some time, and a mystery is afoot.
Marvel’s current golden boy is currently shepherding arguably two of the biggest books, and the headliners of these franchises in comics, and he doesn’t seem to be slowing down. MacKay reboots the Upstarts, who have become a fame seeking entity lead by former Upstart, Trevor Fitzroy. Unfortunately the Upstarts are full of a bunch of odd looking losers, rather than giving us some familiar faces, like Shinobi Shaw, the Fenris Twins, or Siena Blaze. I’m a kid of the ’90s. One of the issues I remember buying was Uncanny X-Men #281, Fitzroy’s first appearance, so seeing him here was at first a joy to see. Unfortunately that didn’t last.
Fitzroy’s new ploy of being an internet darling terrorist organization that’s hunting down these “new” mutant activations seems to be the ploy of a bigger bad, who turns out to be the… the SUGAR MAN! Yes, folks. That is the Sugar Man. One of the original characters created during the Age of Apocalypse who proved to be so popular that he made the jump over to the 616. Like I said, I’m a kid of the ’90s, and the Age of Apocalypse is often considered one of the greatest stories ever told in comics, so seeing him here was a treat. It just invests me into this storyline all the more.
Joining Jed MacKay on this issue is artist Netho Diaz, who is an artist who I’m not all that familiar with his work, so I searched out his other stuff online, and I enjoyed what I saw. Unfortunately his work here didn’t wow me. I’m honestly shocked to say this, but Stegman has really set the bar high for me with regards to these characters. The Beast being the biggest departure for me. The current Beast is from a time in the past, specifically from around the time the Beast was a member of the Avengers, and Stegman really captures that George Perez feel when it comes to the Beast.
Final Thoughts
Jed MacKay’s X-Men has been a mixed bag since the From the ashes era began, but it’s all been quite enjoyable. While not a fan of the new Upstarts or their mission, seeing Fitzroy and the Sugar Man here helped me get over the fact that the Upstarts are full of a bunch of characters I don’t care for. I have hope the next chapter hooks me, because I’d hate to get disenchanted this early in the run.
X-Men #4: A Post-Apocalyptic TikTok
- Writing - 7.5/107.5/10
- Storyline - 7.5/107.5/10
- Art - 7/107/10
- Color - 8/108/10
- Cover Art - 7.5/107.5/10
