REVIEW - The First X-Men #1

"I know you're scared. I know you're hurting. I can help."

Set "many years ago" before the X-Men were a team, Wolverine embarks on a mission to protect young mutants from the government, along the way he gains some new recruits to help him with his cause. Much like X-Men First Class, The First X-Men aims to show us an X-Team before Charles built a school and started hiring the mutant population as teachers. Neal Adams and co-writer Christos Gage haven't failed at doing that, but they haven't done a great job.

With so much cannon behind the X-Men, it's hard to decide where this title fits or if it even fits at all. At this point in Wolverine's life, his sudden compassion for other mutants hardly coincides with his characteristic loner style. We are also meant to believe he went to a young self-fearing Xavier and asked him for help only to be pushed away? This and some other similar story beats stress my sense of believable continuity to the point where it partially hinders the issue's fun. Then there is the introduction for Magneto, not only does he sport a ridiculous mullet but the scene he is portrayed in is practically ripped from First Class.

Neal Adams' is known for his legendary art style and gorgeous pages, but his pencils here just don't hold up. His art goes from quite nice, to downright ridiculous in a matter of panels. Wolverine for the most part looks like a caveman and inert imagery fills the panel. It's a shame that a large selling point for a lot of readers will be Adams'name on the cover, but he just fails to deliver.

If you liked the idea of X-Men: First Class with its early time period and young characters then this title might be enjoyable. Like the movie, it is perhaps best to ignore the continuity established before it and focus on the entertaining characters struggling to complete their mission. If you're like me though and look for a little more something in an X-Title, you should give this one a miss.

2 Magneto mullets out of 5
 

-Nic Shaw