The small town of Milford, New Hampshire, is rocked by a deadly supposed Mutant attack! How will the Mutants of Krakoa respond to such a devastating strike? With mutual aid of course! 

In preparation for the upcoming Fall Of X event, Marvel has been doing a series of Before the Fall one-shots. But what is the purpose of these one-shots? What are they setting up, and how will that affect the Fall Of X? X-Men: Before the Fall – Mutant First Strike #1 by Steve Orlando and Valentina Pinti is about showing the Mutants using their immense power for good, all the while the threats loom on the horizon. 

Through his work on various X-books, Steve Orlando has demonstrated an affinity for bringing back long-forgotten and underserved characters like Wicked, Nemesis, Brimstone Love, and even 90s Spider-Man villain Judas Traveler. Here is no different. This issue gives lots of forgotten characters moments of heroism during the humanitarian crisis. A lot of thought is given to the creative use of various powers. It’s interesting to see how the X-Men use their powers for aid instead of fighting some foe.

The art by Valentina Pinti and the colors by Frank William is serviceable. The expression work is good and the visualization of powers is creative. It doesn’t exactly blow me away, but everyone on the art side is doing a good job. I’m probably underselling it a little bit, but the fact of the matter is that the issue doesn’t have a lot of action. However, in those brief moments of action, I do think Pinti’s work shines. Overall it’s lively and expressive art and does everything it needs to do.

X-Men: Before the Fall – Mutant First Strike #1 isn’t an essential issue. That being said, it’s still a solid one. The issue doesn’t reveal much but it does give the Mutants one big heroic hurrah before the Fall Of X.

Story: Steve Orlando Art: Valentina Pinti
Color: Frank William Letterer: Travis Lanham Design: Tom Muller w/ Jay Bowen
Story: 8.0 Art: 7.5 Overall: 8.0 Recommendation: Read

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Purchase: Zeus Comics – Kindle