Tag Archives: nightcrawler

Bamf! Nightcrawler teleports into Mezco Toyz’s One:12 Collective

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Nightcrawler joins the One:12 Collective!

The teleporting mutant Nightcrawler is outfitted in an X-Men–issued combat suit featuring layered soft goods tailored specifically for him. Also included are multiple head portraits, interchangeable hands and feet, four cutlass sword styles, and a light-up One:12 Collective teleportation FX. Nightcrawler is ready to strike without warning—or vanish in BAMF!

Kurt Wagner, AKA Nightcrawler, possesses the ability to teleport through another dimension, leaving behind the unmistakable scent of sulfur. Nightcrawler is an incredible acrobat, a master swordsman, and a hand-to-hand combat expert who fights with grace, faith, and unwavering loyalty to his teammates.

Purchase: Mezco Toyz – Entertainment Earth

THE ONE:12 COLLECTIVE NIGHTCRAWLER FIGURE FEATURES:

  • One:12 Collective body with over 30 points of articulation
  • Three (3) interchangeable head portraits
  • Hand painted authentic detailing
  • Approximately 15.6cm (156mm) tall
  • Three (3) interchangeable tails

COSTUME:

  • Layered soft goods outfit
  • Wrist gauntlets
  • Boots

ACCESSORIES:

  • Three (3) interchangeable head portraits:
    • Default head
    • Smiling head
    • Yelling head
  • Four (4) cutlass swords (different styles)
  • One (1) standing smoke FX piece with two (2) light-up features
  • Interchangeable hands:
    • One (1) pair of fists (L&R)
    • One (1) pair of posing hands (L&R)
    • One (1) pair of holding hands (L&R)
  • Interchangeable feet:
    • One (1) pair of flat feet (L&R)
    • One (1) pair of posed feet (L&R)
    • One (1) pair of holding feet (L&R)

People’s History of the Marvel Universe, Week 21: X-Men Blue Origins and the Power of the Additive Retcon

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(WARNING: heavy spoilers for X-Men Blue Origins)

Introduction

If you’ve been a long-time X-Men reader, or you’re a listener of Jay & Miles or Cerebrocast or any number of other LGBT+ X-Men podcasts, you probably know the story about how Chris Claremont wrote Mystique and Destiny as a lesbian couple, but had to use obscure verbiage and subtextual coding to get past Jim Shooter’s blanket ban on LGBT+ characters in the Marvel Universe.

Likewise, you’re probably also familiar with the story that, when Chris Claremont came up with the idea that Raven Darkholme and Kurt Wagner were related (a plot point set up all the way back in Uncanny X-Men #142), he intended that Mystique was Nightcrawler’s father, having used her shapeshifting powers to take on a male body and impregnate (her one true love) Irene. This would have moved far beyond subtext – but it proved to be a bridge too far for Marvel editorial, and Claremont was never able to get it past S&P.

This lacuna in the backstories of Kurt and Raven – who was Kurt’s father? – would remain one of the enduring mysteries of the X-Men mythos…and if there’s one thing that comic writers like, it’s filling in these gaps with a retcon.

Enter the Draco

Before I get into the most infamous story in all of X-Men history, I want to talk about retcons a bit. As I’ve written before:

“As long as there have been comic books, there have been retcons. For all that they have acquired a bad reputation, retcons can be an incredibly useful tool in comics writing and shouldn’t be dismissed out of hand. Done right, retcons can add an enormous amount of depth and breadth to a character, making their worlds far richer than they were before. Instead, I would argue that retcons should be judged on the basis of whether they’re additive (bringing something new to the character by showing us a previously unknown aspect of their lives we never knew existed before) or subtractive (taking away something from the character that had previously been an important part of their identity), and how well those changes suit the character.”

For a good example of an additive retcon, I would point to Chris Claremont re-writing Magneto’s entire personality by revealing that he was a Jewish survivor of the Holocaust. As I have argued at some length, this transformed Magneto from a Doctor Doom knockoff into a complex and sympathetic character who could now work as a villain, anti-villain, anti-hero, or hero depending on the needs of the story.

For a good example of a subtractive retcon, I would point to…the Draco. If you’re not familiar with this story, the TLDR is that it was revealed that Kurt’s father was Azazel – an evil ancient mutant with the same powers and the same appearance (albeit color-shifted) as Kurt, who claims to be the devil and is part of a tribe of demonic-looking mutants who were banished to the Brimstone Dimension, and who fathered Nightcrawler as part of a plot to end this banishment.

I don’t want to belabor Chuck Austen, because I think that Connor Goldsmith is right about his run actually being a camp cult classic in retrospect. However, I think we both agree that the Draco was a misfire, because of how the retcon undermined Kurt’s entire thematic purpose as established in Giant-Size X-Men that Nightcrawler was actually a noble and arguably saintly man who suffered from unjust prejudice due to the random accident that his mutation made him appear to be a demon, and because of how the retcon undermined the centrality of Mystique and Destiny’s relationship.

X-Men Blue Origins

This brings us to the Krakoan era. In HOXPOX and X-Men and Inferno, Jonathan Hickman had made Mystique and Destiny a crucial part of the story in a way that they hadn’t been in decades: they were the great nemeses of Moira X, they were the force that threatened to burn Krakoa to the ground by revealing the devil’s bargain that Xavier had struck with SInister (and Moira), they were the lens through which the potential futures of Krakoa were explored, and they ultimately reshaped the Quiet Council and the Five in incredibly consequential ways.

This throughline was furthered after Hickman’s departure, with Kieron Gillen exploring the backstories of Mystique and Destiny in Immortal X-Men and Sins of Sinister, and both Gillen and Si Spurrier exploring their relationship with Nightcrawler in AXE Judgement Day, Sins of Sinister, Way of X, Legion of X, Nightcrawlers, and Sons of X. One of the threads that wove through the interconnected fabric of these books was an increasing closeness between Kurt and Irene that needed an explanation. Many long-time readers began to anticipate that a retcon about Kurt’s parentage was coming – and then we got X-Men Blue: Origins.

In this one issue, Si Spurrier had the difficult assignment of figuring out a way to “fix” the Draco and restore Claremont’s intended backstory in a way that was surgical and elegant, that served the character arcs of Kurt, Raven, and Irene, and that dealt with complicated issues of trans and nonbinary representation, lesbian representation, disability representation, and the protean nature of the mutant metaphor. Thanks to help from Charlie Jane Anders and Steve Foxe, I think Spurrier succeeded tremendously.

I don’t want to go through the issue beat-by-beat, because you should all read it, but the major retcon is that Mystique turns out to be a near-Omega level shapeshifter, who can rewrite themselves on a molecular level. Raven transformed into a male body and impregnated Irene, using bits of Azazel and many other men’s DNA as her “pigments.” In addition to being a deeply felt desire on both their parts to have a family together, this was part of Irene’s plan to save them both (and the entire world) from Azazel’s schemes, a plan that required them to abandon Kurt as a scapegoat-savior (a la Robert Graves’ King Jesus), and to have Xavier wipe both their memories.

Now, I’m not the right person to write about what this story means on a representational level; I’ll leave it to my LGBT+ colleagues on the Cerebrocast discord and elsewhere to discuss the personal resonances the story had for them.

What I will say, however, is that I thought this issue threaded the needle of all of these competing imperatives very deftly. It “fixed” the Draco without completely negating it, it really deepened and complicated the characters and relationships of both Raven and Irene (by showing that, in a lot of ways, Destiny is the more ruthless and manipulative of the two), and it honored Kurt’s core identity as a man of hope and compassion (even if it did put him in a rather thankless ingénue role for much of the book).

It is the very acme of an additive retcon; nothing was lost, everything was gained.

I still think the baby Nightcrawler is just a bad bit, but then again I don’t really vibe with Spurrier’s comedic stylings.

X-Men Blue: Origins #1 clears up that whole Nightcrawler/Mystique connection

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X-Men Blue: Origins #1

You think you know how the beloved blue devil came into this troubled world? You think you know the tale of his mendacious mamma Mystique? You don’t! Mother and son reunite in a mold-shattering tale that exposes secrets held for decades and redefines both characters forever. X-Men Blue: Origins #1 dives into the history of Nightcrawler and Mystique, delivering the definitive “origin” and connection between the two settling decades of speculation.

Written by Si Spurrier, X-Men Blue: Origins #1 is a fairly straightforward comic. Mystique seeks out Nightcrawler who is now dressed as Spider-Man doing the heroic thing in New York and the two lay it all out on the table. For years there’s been speculation, rumors, confusion as to the connection between Nightcrawler and Mystique and this issue clears tha tup with the definitive take and answer. And it’s… kind of not surprising?

While Spurrier clears things up, the story overall isn’t as shocking/weird/new as one might expect. There’s some small details regarding Mystique’s mutation which sets up the character to have an even more interesting future, but the connection between her and Nightcrawler overall feels rather… anticlimactic.

There’s some emotional moments and in the end you feel bad for Mystique and the trauma she’s enduring but the issue really feels like it highlights the fact it’s taken so long to get here. This all should have been resolved years before. It also continues to highlight the fact that Professor X is kind of a bad guy in the big picture of things, continuing his slide over the years from visionary to borderline villain.

X-Men Blue: Origins #1 has some interesting aspects regarding Destiny and “fate.” That aspect hopefully will be explored in further storylines down the road as the implication on Nightcrawler and his role in events is pretty significant. Overall, it comes off as a concept that’s thrown out there but the reaction isn’t quite what you’d really expect and feels a bit subdued.

The art by Wilton Santos and Marcus To is solid. They’re joined by Oren Junior on ink, Ceci De La Cruz on color and Joe Caramagna on lettering. The comic looks great with some small bumps visually. You get the feeling of the emotion and confusion coming from Mystique but the visuals never quite give that overly dramatic moment where you really connect with the character and what she’s going through. It lays out the emotion but I never really connected with the emotional moments.

X-Men Blue: Origins #1 really is for those that care about the small details and need to know definitive origins. So far, its impact feels like what’s teased about Mystique’s power will have greater ramifications than the connection between her and Nightcrawler. Not a bad issue and some interesting history of the characters but overall what comes out of it, if anyhting, feels like it’ll matter more.

Story: Si Spurrier Art: Wilton Santos, Marcus To
Ink: Oren Junior Color: Ceci De La Cruz Letterer: Joe Caramagna Design Tom Muller, Jay Bowen
Story: 8.0 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8.0 Recommendation: Read

Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: Zeus Comics – Kindle

SDCC 2023: The truth behind Nightcrawler’s birth is revealed in X-Men Blue: Origins #1

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At the Designing the X-Men: A This Week in Marvel Special Event panel at San Diego Comic-Con to score a behind-the-scenes look at the current state of X-Men and get a tease at what’s next for the mutant mythos straight from Marvel Comics Editor-in Chief C.B. Cebulski, Senior Editor Jordan D. White, Editor Sarah Brunstad, and more! Amongst exciting teasers for the X-Men’s next era was the announcement of a brand-new one-shot that will shed light on a historic Marvel Comics mystery: X-Men Blue: Origins #1! Written by mind-bending X-Men scribe Si Spurrier and drawn by acclaimed artist Wilton Santos, X-Men Blue: Origins #1 will at long last provide the definitive origin story for Nightcrawler!

Since his earliest days with the X-Men under writer Chris Claremont, the circumstances of Nightcrawler’s birth has been the subject of rumors, half-truths, and heartbreak. Now, Spurrier, who’s guided the character through the Krakoan age as well his upcoming journey through Fall of X in Uncanny Spider-Man, clears away all the lies you’ve been told and delivers the truth about Mystique and Nightcrawler once and for all!

This is the one you can’t miss, True Believer! You think you know how the beloved blue devil came into this troubled world? You think you know the tale of his mendacious mamma Mystique? You don’t! Mother and son reunite in a mold-shattering tale that exposes secrets held for decades and redefines both characters forever!

Check out Francis Manapul’s cover below and don’t miss this collector’s item in the making when X-Men Blue: Origins #1 hits stands in November! 

X-Men Blue: Origins #1

Diamond Select Toys In Stores This Week: Nightcrawlers, Death Troopers and More!

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There’s more than just Star Wars products hitting comic shops across North America this week, there’s also some great Marvel items from Diamond Select Toys and Gentle Giant Ltd.! Read on for details, then find a store near you at comicshoplocator.com, or order online at diamondselecttoys.com and gentlegiantltd.com!

Marvel Animated-Style Gamora Statue

A Gentle Giant Ltd. release! The deadliest woman in the Galaxy is now the cutest! With two knives on her hips, this approximately 5-inch resin statue is based on the Marvel Comics variant cover artwork of Skottie Young and features detailed sculpting and paint applications. Limited to only 3,000 pieces, it comes packaged in a full-color box with a certificate of authenticity. Sculpted by Paul Harding! (Item #FEB211932, SRP: $49.99)

Marvel Animated-Style Nightcrawler Statue

A Gentle Giant Ltd. release! Bamf! Kurt Wagner appears in a cloud of smoke and brimstone in this all-new animated-style statue of Nightcrawler! Based on the Marvel Comics variant-cover artwork of Skottie Young, this approximately 5-inch statue of the X-Men’s teleporter captures him in joyful exuberance. Featuring artwork-accurate paint applications and limited to only 3,000 pieces, this statue comes packaged in a full-color box with a numbered certificate of authenticity. Sculpted by Casen Barnard! (Item #JUN212280, SRP: $49.99)

Marvel Captain America 1/7 Scale Resin Bust

A Diamond Select Toys release! Yield to the shield! Captain America bursts onto the scene like a Fourth of July firework, joining the all-new series of 1/7 scale Marvel Comics busts! Measuring approximately 6 inches tall, Cap holds his shield at the ready atop a pedestal base. Limited to only 3,000 pieces, it comes packaged in a full-color box with a numbered certificate of authenticity. Designed by Nelson Asencio, and sculpted by Juan Pitluk! (Item #MAY212109, SRP: $69.99)

Star Wars The Mandalorian Death Trooper 1/6 Scale Bust

A Gentle Giant Ltd. release! These stormtroopers are back in black! The Death Trooper is an elite stormtrooper, seen in Star Wars; Rogue One and The Mandalorian as well as numerous video games and comic books. Wearing all black, they strike a frightening appearance, and now they’re the newest 1/6 scale mini-bust from Gentle Giant Ltd.! Measuring approximately 7 inches tall, this resin bust features detailed sculpting and paint applications. Limited to only 2000 pieces, it comes packaged in a full color box with a numbered certificate of authenticity. Designed and sculpted by Gentle Giant Ltd.! (Item #MAY212115, SRP: $120.00)

Diamond Select Toys Coming in December: Gandalf, Bullseye, Sonic, and More!

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A new Previews is coming, and Diamond Select Toys is ready to reveal what’s in June’s edition of the jam-packed catalog! Busts from G.I. Joe, the Clone Wars and Marvel Comics; action figures from Marvel, Muppets and Lord of the Rings; dioramas from Marvel and Sonic the Hedgehog; and statues from Marvel and Star Wars! It’s the best of all worlds! Find a store near you at comicshoplocator.com, or order online at gentlegiantltd.com!

Legends in 3D G.I Joe Storm Shadow ½ Scale Bust

A Diamond Select Toys release! Because honor demanded it! It’s the first-ever G.I. Joe Legends in 3D bust, and it’s of Cobra’s resident ninja, Storm Shadow! This half-scale bust captures the katana-wielding villain in his trademark white outfit, complete with swords, arrows, throwing stars and more, and sits atop a sword-hilt pedestal. Limited to only 1,000 pieces, it comes packaged in a full-color box with a numbered certificate of authenticity. Designed by Joe Allard, sculpted by Salvador Gomes!

Bust     SRP: $200.00

Lord of the Rings Deluxe Action Figures Series 4 Asst.

A Diamond Select Toys release! The journey continues, with another series of detailed action figures based on the Lord of the Rings film trilogy! Gandalf the Grey makes his debut in the line, with his staff and his sword Glamdring, and the other figure in the assortment is a customizable Uruk-hai Orc, including multiple interchangeable heads and weapons. Each features over 16 points of articulation, and each comes packaged in a full-color window box. Designed by Eamon O’Donoghue, sculpted by Gentle Giant Studios!

Action Figures   SRP: $29.99/ea.

Marvel Animated Style Nightcrawler Statue

A Gentle Giant Ltd. release! Bamf! Kurt Wagner appears in a cloud of smoke and brimstone in this all-new animated-style statue of Nightcrawler! Based on the Marvel Comics variant-cover artwork of Skottie Young, this approximately 5-inch statue of the X-Men’s teleporter captures him in joyful exuberance. Featuring artwork-accurate paint applications and limited to only 3,000 pieces, this statue comes packaged in a full-color box with a numbered certificate of authenticity. Sculpted by Paul Harding!

Statue   SRP: $49.99

Marvel Gamerverse Gallery Spider-Man Miles Morales PVC Diorama

A Diamond Select Toys release! Swinging out of his hit video game, Miles Morales prepares to hurl a Venom Blast at his opponent in this all-new Gallery Diorama! Based on the game’s costume design, Miles leaps over one blast as he charges up another in this sculpture made of high-grade PVC, and featuring translucent materials that catch the light. With detailed sculpting and paint applications, it comes packaged in a full-color window box. Designed by Caesar, sculpted by Gentle Giant Studios.

Diorama            SRP: $49.99

Marvel Comic Gallery Iron Man Mark XV PVC Diorama

A Diamond Select Toys release! One of Iron Man’s classic 1990s armors makes its triumphant return in this all-new gallery Diorama! The Encephalo-Remote armor, classified as Model XV, stands amid the wreckage of an Ultron lab, firing a repulsor blast. Measuring approximately 9 inches tall, it is made of high-quality PVC and comes packaged in a full-color window box. Designed by Nelson X. Asencio, and hand-sculpted by Jean St. Jean!

Diorama            SRP: $49.99

Marvel Comic Gallery Iron Man Mark XV PVC Diorama

Marvel Comic Premier Collection Bullseye Resin Statue

A Diamond Select Toys release! Target acquired! Daredevil baddie bullseye gets the Premier Collection treatment with this all-new 9-inch statue! With one foot up on a Daredevil target and playing cards in both hands, Bullseye is ready to take out whoever he needs to in order to get into your collection. Limited to only 3,000 pieces, it comes packaged with a numbered certificate of authenticity in a full-color box. Designed by Caesar and Clayburn Moore, hand-sculpted by Clayburn Moore.

Statue   SRP: $175.00

Marvel Comic Venom 1/6 Scale Mini-Bust

A Gentle Giant Ltd. release! He wants to eat your brains! Rising from a swirling mass of alien symbiote, his tongue extended, Venom gets his own portrait sculpture in this 1/6 scale approximately 7-inch resin bust. Based on his Marvel Comics appearance, this limited-edition bust comes packaged in a full-color box with a certificate of authenticity. Only 2,000 pieces will be made! Designed by Nelson X. Asencio, sculpted by Juan Pitluk.

Bust     SRP: $120.00

Marvel Select Immortal Hulk Action Figure

A Diamond Select Toys release! The Hulk never dies! After his tremendous reception and immediate sell-out, the Immortal Hulk is coming back into inventory! Measuring approximately 9.75 inches tall with 16 points of articulation, this iconic character will become a centerpiece in any Marvel figure collection. With one set of alternate fists and an alternate Cosmic Hulk head, it comes packaged in the famous Select figure packaging, with side-panel artwork for shelf display. Designed by Yuri Tming, sculpted by Gentle Giant Studios. Previously offered as the Rampaging Hulk.

Action Figure     SRP: $29.99

Marvel Select Immortal Hulk Action Figure

Muppets Deluxe Action Figures Best of Series 3 Asst.

A Diamond Select Toys release! It’s time to play the music! Series 3 of the Best of the Muppets action figures features none other than the Electric Mayhem band! Dr. Teeth with Zoot, Floyd with Janice and Animal with his drum kit make up the three packs in this series, and each figure features their instrument as well as multiple points of articulation. Each figure or figure pair comes packaged in a full-color window box. Sculpted by Gentle Giant Studios!

Action Figures   SRP: $24.99/ea.

Muppets Deluxe Action Figures Best of Series 3 Asst.

Sonic the Hedgehog Movie Gallery PVC Diorama

A Diamond Select Toys release! This piece is sure to go fast! Based on the hit movie, this approximately 5-inch sculpture shows Sonic standing on one of Dr. Robotnik’s drones, about to take off in a burst of speed, lightning crackling around him. Sculpted in a 1/6 scale, this statue features detailed sculpting and paint details. Designed by Joe Allard, sculpted by Varner Studios.

Diorama            SRP: $49.99

Star Wars Clone Wars Wrecker 1/7 Scale Mini-Bust

A Gentle Giant Ltd. release! The bruiser of the Bad Batch is here! Wrecker, the biggest, strongest and loudest member of Clone Force 99, is now the latest animated-style 1/7 scale mini-bust from Gentle Giant Ltd. Measuring approximately 7 inches tall, this exclusive resin mini-bust shows Wrecker without his helmet, is limited to only 3,000 pieces and comes packaged in a full-color window box with a numbered certificate of authenticity. And look for the gentlegiantltd.com exclusive version with alternate helmeted head! Designed by Barry Bradfield, sculpted by Paul Harding!

Bust     SRP: $99.99     

Star Wars A New Hope Stormtrooper Milestones 1/6 Scale Statue

A Gentle Giant Ltd. release! The troopers are coming! This all-new 1/6 scale statue of an Imperial Stormtrooper stands approximately 12 inches tall and features interchangeable arms, so he can hold an E-11 blaster rifle or a DLT-19 heavy blaster rifle. Limited to only 1,000 pieces, it comes packaged in a full-color box with a numbered certificate of authenticity. Sculpted by Oluf W. Hartvigsen!

Statue   SRP: $250.00

Star Wars Rebels Kanan Jarrus 1/6 Scale Mini-Bust

A Gentle Giant Ltd. release! Become one with the Force! Spectre Cell member and Ghost second-in-command Kanan Jarrus joins the 1/6 scale line of mini-busts with this all-new sculpt of the Jedi Knight! Featuring interchangeable helmeted and unhelmeted heads, this detailed mini-bust is limited to only 2,000 pieces and comes packaged in a full-color box. Designed by Barry Bradfield, sculpted by Paul Harding!

Bust     SRP: $120.00

Last Day to Save with the Marvel Nightcrawler Sale!

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Nightcrawler takes center stage with this week’s debut of Way of X and you can find his earlier adventures with the Marvel Nightcrawler Sale! Today is the last day to save on the sale wrapping up on comiXology.

The sale features 139 releases. You can save up to 67% on collections and individual issues are just $0.99.

But hurry! The sale ends today.

Nightcrawler Vol. 1: Homecoming

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Review: Way of X #1

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Way of X #1

The elevator pitch is that Way of X is about Nightcrawler founding a mutant religion. However, Si Spurrier, Bob Quinn, and Java Tartaglia bring so much more to the table in a book that visually looks like an X-book, but is far from it. What they’re really doing is picking up some of the threads from Jonathan Hickman’s X-Men and exploring what life is like on Krakoa and what holds it together.

Utopias seem to be doomed to failure, and Nightcrawler has a nagging feeling about that when the book opens with Professor X telepathically calling to him in shadows surrounded by pictures of his exes. Looking into Charles Xavier the man and not just figurehead or cameo king is one of the myriad delights of Way of X #1, which goes down many amusing and thought-provoking rabbit holes of potential storylines until finally finding a real hook in its final scene.

Before showing long conversations between Nightcrawler and Dr. Nemesis about Dunbar’s number, belief, and psychedelics or data pages that are feel like riffs on Augustine of Hippo’s Confessions (Kurt is Catholic), Spurrier and Quinn set up Way of X with a team of mutants going on a mission.In keeping with the series’ premise, this mission is religious theme with Nightcrawler, DJ, Pixie, Loa, and Blink disrupting a “museum of hate” that the cloak and dagger mutant-extermination organization Orchis is using to convince people that mutants are dangerous and evil. It’s like that room in Kentucky’s Creation “Museum” that pins all evils, wars, and sicknesses of the world on people not believing that the world is 4,000 years old and was created in seven 24 hour days, but with panels from old X-Men comics. This is pretty messed up and is a commentary on how museums (Especially more respectable ones than the one mentioned in the previous sentence.) can codify narratives about countries and people, but Si Spurrier and Bob Quinn also connect it to Krakoan belief systems when Pixie takes a bullet in the head so she can be resurrected again. This really messes with Kurt’s own beliefs and gives Quinn an opportunity to draw one hell of a befuddled Nightcrawler.

It also sets up the overarching conflict between the violent ritual of the Crucible being the shared narrative of Krakoa or something more peaceful, which Kurt is still workshopping in the data pages of Way of X #1. As seen in other X-Books and succinctly explained by Exodus, the Crucible is a ritual where mutants who were de-powered by the Scarlet Witch fight to the death so they can be resurrected and re-powered. It’s primal and bloodthirsty, and Bob Quinn switches from his usual grids and tiers to more diagonal and chaotic layouts to show the discomfort that mutants like the aptly named Lost feel as they are forced to be a part of a violent struggle to get their abilities back.

Java Tartaglia also uses flat, stark colors to show how much of the crowd has embraced the Crucible as Krakoa’s proverbial theory of everything. However, he, Quinn, and Spurrier hint at another way when Lost calls Nightcrawler a “kindly one” an allusion to the Greek play Eumenides, which showed the vengeful Furies becoming the protective Kindly Ones.

But, originally “Kindly One” was a euphemism so the people of Athens could avoid the wrath of the Furies and still mention them by name so maybe Nightcrawler is seen as more of a malevolent force a la the mysterious Patchwork Man, who is a kind of a folk Bogeyman spirit in Krakoa rising up through campfire stories along with the more “orthodox” baddie Scarlet Witch. Unexplainable forces dart between the margins of Way of X #1 culminating in Si Spurrier and Bob Quinn’s big final page reveal that makes sense in both of the context of this issue and Spurrier’s larger body of X-Book work. Nightcrawler and Pixie darting around in a big action scene is interspersed with a spooky figure that even causes Professor X to cry out in the night and cut the bullshit for once in his conversations. It’s a figure that can’t be taken out with the blunt force of a strike team, hence, its appearance in the clever, intellectual X-Book whose protagonist is trying to find a belief system for Krakoa that isn’t centered around ritual combat as things come fun circle.

Way of X #1 is a true feast of a X-Book from Si Spurrier, Bob Quinn, and Java Tartaglia. It’s funny, sensitive, smart, and covers a range of emotions from hope to doubt and even confusion. (It’s definitely one you’ll have to read a few times to let it sink in.) Its 42 page length also let Spurrier and Quinn give an extended glimpse at the life of the mind, body, and soul of Krakoa, pick the brains and feelings of an idiosyncratic cast of characters, including Magneto, Professor X, Nightcrawler, and stealing the whole damn show, Dr. Nemesis, and also set up the initial plotline of the series.

Story: Si Spurrier Art: Bob Quinn
Colors: Java Tartaglia Letters: Clayton Cowles
Story: 8.8 Art: 8.0 Overall: 8.4 Recommendation: Buy

Marvel Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: comixology – Zeus Comics – TFAW

Nightcrawler Leads the Way in Way of X this April

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Since 2019’s House of X and Powers of X, writer Jonathan Hickman and a host of amazing creators have revolutionized the X-Men franchise. Now begins the Reign of X, the latest chapter in Hickman’s grand vision for mutantkind, and acclaimed writer Si Spurrier brings fans a groundbreaking new series: Way of X. Known for his high-concept storytelling on titles like X-Men Legacy and X-Force, Spurrier returns to the X-Men with a series that will explore some of the most pressing questions that have been raised in this thought-provoking new era. Led by Nightcrawler, a brand-new team of mutants will assemble to confront the dark mysteries of the X-Men’s new way of life.

Mutantkind has built a new Eden… but there are serpents in this garden. Some mutants struggle to fit in. Some mutants turn to violence and death. And the children whisper of the Patchwork Man, singing in their hearts…Only one mutant senses the looming shadows. Snared by questions of death, law and love, only Nightcrawler can fight for the soul of Krakoa. Only he – and the curious crew he assembles (including fan-favorites Dr. Nemesis, Pixie, and Blink) – can help mutants defeat their inner-darkness and find a new way to live. This is the WAY OF X.

Joining Spurrier to bring these unique mysteries to life will be rising star artist Bob Quinn and the first issue features a cover by Giuseppe Camuncoli.

Be there for this unmissable entry of Reign of X when Way of X hits stands this April.

Way of X #1
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