X-Vengers #1: Earth’s Mightiest Mutants

Issue #1 of X-Vengers by Jason Loo (Dazzler) brings together a mutant team of Avengers, or rather X-Vengers, as they are derisively labeled by the people they’d sacrifice their own lives to protect. It’s an interesting concept, but is it effective as the start of a new ongoing series? Short answer: Yes… mostly.

There are two central themes in X-Vengers #1. The first is change and the struggles that come with it, or in Variable Man’s case, the growing pains. The second theme at the core of the issue is internal conflict versus external conflict. Many of the world’s mightiest heroes are now mutants, but what does that mean? It means that their bodies have changed and that they have had to change their own minds with it to adjust to a new world and a new age.

How they deal with the changes to their own lives and identities differs from character to character, with some able to push forward through pure grit and determination, and others requiring the support system of their fellow Avengers. It’s impressive how Jason Loo is able to bring these two similar but unrelated themes together in a way that serves as a unique character arc for each of the X-Vengers in the Age of Revelation.

The artwork by Sergio Davila (Daredevil: Gang War) and Aure Jimenez (Werewolf by Night: Red Band), with colors by Rain Beredo (New Avengers), accentuates Loo’s writing with highly detailed pages and standout character designs. Civilian scenes, where the X-Vengers have to appease the public while simultaneously picking up the pieces of their own lives, are well drawn, with each member of the team visible and each of their unique mutations on full display. The art team is able to keep the central identity of each of the characters fully recognizable while also mutating them into something new for a new age.

When it comes to action, the issue moves at speeds the Quinjet can hope to keep up with. The action is chaotic and messy in the way that many good Avengers stories are. A fight against alien invaders turns into an all-out brawl in the skies above the Revelation Territories. A brawl with flashy explosions and writhing shards of metal that elevate the chaos of a superpowered battleground. Each member of this new team gets their moment to shine, however brief those moments may be. Variable Man (formerly Ant-Man) gets to play like a giant in a playground, while Shang-Chi gets to unleash bone-shattering kung fu. Water Widow (the mutated Black Widow) uses her powers in a way that complements her longtime role as the Avenger’s premier saboteur. And of course there are Hawkeye and Vision, who fill the same role they always have but with a few changes that some might even consider to be “upgrades.”

The only character who I’d say hasn’t changed is Cannonball. He’s still the same Kentucky goofball flying and fighting at hundreds of miles an hour as always. And that’s honestly a good thing. Cannonball serves as an anchor for the team, someone who hasn’t changed and is able to use their stability as a way to support the other members of the team like a pillar. Dani Moonstar functions in a similar role, but as the team’s leader and the heir to the captain’s shield, she has much bigger things on her plate. Like upholding the captain’s legacy, even in a world that doubts her very intentions, let alone her actual capabilities.

Moonstar’s struggles with insecurity and the weight of leadership are captured internally by Joe Sabino’s (Thor) fantastic letters, through which he manages to separate her internal monologue from the chaos of the action and the dialogue around her in a way that avoids feeling too detached from the larger narrative. This struggle works as a third throughline for the issue, bridging the gap between the problems of the past seen in previous Avengers runs and the problems of the present captured by the character themes mentioned above. All together, this bridge makes Moonstar the perfect leader for this new team of Avengers and highlights Loo’s writing skill brought to life through Joe Sabino’s letters.