The following originally ran in the Weekly Planet 8/15/18.
X-Men Blue is ending. Tales of Xavier’s original five X-Men and their adventures in the modern Marvel universe seem poised to come to a close. But how gruesome their fate is yet to be seen. This week, EXTERMINATION begins. If the glimpses we’ve been getting in X-books leading up to this event are any indication, things may get very dire indeed.
Teen Jean, Hank, Scott, Bobby, and Warren were originally pulled to the present in an endeavor to remind the adult Cyclops of his roots. And even after that particular Scott Summers passed on, the O5 have stuck around. I’d wager they’ve been here far longer than anyone expected them to be. And while there’s been no official word from Marvel as to whether a miniseries called “EXTERMINATION” and centered around these five is indeed their end, yeah, it really seems like it might be.
Love them or hate them, these five have made their mark. They’ve passed between hands as notable as Brian Michael Bendis, Dennis Hopeless, and Cullen Bunn. They’ve changed in profound ways from their original incarnations. Beast can do magic now. Iceman has come out of the closet. Warren got big, glowing heavenly wings to prevent his turning into archangel AND he dated Laura Kinney. Teen Jean got a personality (and a heck of an underrated spin-off book).
EXTERMINATION will all be overseen by Ed Brisson (Old Man Logan, Iron Fist) and illustrated by Pepe Larraz (Uncanny Avengers, Avengers: No Surrender). Brisson is particularly skilled at writing action-packed stories that never lose their heart. His Old Man Logan stories have been rock solid. Daring, but respectful and knowledgeable about the histories of the character. If he can bring even a fraction of that to these younger X-folks, this is going to be a
winner. Larraz is as good as anyone out there at drawing the big comic book action that the series promises. Avengers: No Surrender balanced to many disparate characters in far flung locales and Larraz was pitch perfect. We never lost how these characters felt. We never strayed away from their faces. That’s precisely what a cataclysmic event like EXTERMINATION requires.
I’m sure there are loads more surprises awaiting us in this five issue game-changer. I have some theories and I am agog that they might actually come true. This series is a must read for X-fansm and you should not miss EXTERMINATION #1 since it’s on our shelves right now!
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