The following originally ran in the Weekly Planet 10/3/18.
What are heroes without their villains? Besides providing devious plots for our favorite supers to foil, bad guys can help underline why a hero is the way they are, and why we should like them in the first place. The likes of Batman and Spider-Man have deep rogues benches that have helped them achieve long-lasting popularity and uncountable adaptations. And with X-MEN BLACK, we’re going to lay out in full view just what mutants are up against.
BLACK is a five issue weekly anthology series. Each issue focuses in on one of the Xavier school’s classic antagonists. What makes them tick? Why do they get up to these dirty deeds? X-MEN BLACK is here to answer all your burning questions, and the ones you never thought to ask.
The series kicks off with the patron saint of X-Men himself *Chris Claremont* returning to the panel to write up a story on mutant kind’s greatest adversary (and advocate)… Magneto! Dating all the way back to Uncanny X-Men #1 in 1963, for almost sixty years the first and best name in beating up Xavier’s students has been Magneto. Over the years, his story and characterization has deepened and enriched. And once again the maestro of mutants manipulates the master of magnetism in what is sure to be a stunning issue.
But don’t get stalled out with excitement just yet. X-MEN BLACK still has a lot of villains to cover. Specifically, Mojo, Mystique, Juggernaut, and Emma Frost. A who’s who of comic talent will pass through this series before its done, including Comedy Bang Bang’s Scott Aukerman, Chris Bachalo, and Leah Williams. And each issue includes one piece of a massive story about the big bad man himself… Apocalypse! It’s a bounty of villainous delights.
X-MEN BLACK is a fun experiment that I’d love to see more of. It’s a celebration of comics history while still adding something new to the story. If you’re an X-fan old or new, or even simply a Magneto fan (and who isn’t a Magneto fan?), I think X-MEN BLACK might be the perfect story to sink your teeth into during the most haunting month of the year.
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