Dead X-Men #1 Review: A Well-Framed Farewell to This X-Era

The Fall of X is well underway, a massive line-spanning venture bringing the mutant-filled era of Jonathan Hickman to a close. The latest entry to the event, if you can call something this massive that, is Dead X-Men #1. Dead X-Men takes a handful of the lesser known mutants Marvel has in its stable and throws them in a plot that’s seemingly impossible to break, yet this introductory issue goes to great lengths to try.

The thing of the House of X/Powers of X-era is that Hickman came in with a fury and made the most Hickman-ian property shrouded in Marvel’s most well-known intellectual property. More often than not, most of the stories weren’t friendly to new readers because of the depth of the tale and the knowledge required to understand how each of the intricately-crafted pieces fit together. Now, it seems as if the mold is starting to be broken as seen in Dead X-Men.

Sure, there’s a lot going on here – almost too much at points. Still, the script from Steve Foxe lays out exactly what readers need to know in a fashion easy enough to follow that one can pick up Dead X-Men #1 and hop right in. On the flip side, there’s still plenty of the Hickman-ian mutant glory to excite current fans of all things HoX/PoX.

The story here clips by alarmingly fast, largely thanks in part to it’s nature as a time-jumping multiversal adventure. It’s quick and even though it features an ensemble, characters all largely get their own time to shine. When it comes to the art, Scharf, Chang, and Carratu’s linework blends together most excellently, a testament to the colors provided by Frank Martin.

Dead X-Men #1 is simultaneously a great hopping on point for someone looking to catch a final glimpse of this current X-Men era, while also being faithful to the past few years of mutant storytelling. It helps reinforce the idea of the X-Men being Marvel’s most elaborate and extensive house of characters, hopping genres without missing a single beat along the way.

Published by Marvel Comics

On January 31, 2024

Written by Steve Foxe

Art by Jonas Scharf, Bernard Chang, and Vincenzo Carratù

Colors by Frank Martin

Letters by Cory Petit

Cover by Lucas Werneck