What If…? X-Men #1 Is Everything a What If…? Comic Can be in One Fantastic Package (Review)

What If…? has been a venerable part of Marvel history for decades. While it got its greatest exposure because of the MCU (which is honestly pretty common nowadays), it’s been hooking comic readers for years. The House of Ideas does things its way and the multiverse was no different. What If…? was the Marvel way of doing multiverse comics, taking readers to some of their favorite events and showing just how different the world would be if things had happened differently. Over the years, we’ve gotten some fantastic stories from the various What If…? series, with Marvel returning to the well in 2026 with a new slate of What If…? stories, starring the X-Men, Thor, Spider-Man, Captain America, and more.

What If… Cassandra Nova Killed Charles Xavier #1 takes readers back to the brilliance that was New X-Men to show what would have happened if Nova had killed Charles in the womb. The issue is written by rising X-star Ashley Allen with art by the criminally underrated Sumit Kumar. I’ve been reading What If…? comics for decades now and this issue is one of the best I’ve ever read, to the extent that I want to see more of it. Cassandra Nova is an amazing villain and this issue shows how she could have twisted the world.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Pros	Cons
Allen is able to create a perfect subversion of the X-Men mythos in this exciting story
Kumar’s art is perfect; this is some of the best What If…? art I’ve ever seen
This is the ultimate version of Cassandra Nova and Marvel would be dumb not to bring her back

Allen Is Able to Create a Tantalizing New X-Men Earth

The X-Men have the best villains in comics and Nova doesn’t always get the credit she deserves. However, the character has always been one of the most interesting – and somewhat complicated – villains around. She’s clay for a writer like Allen, who is also proving that she’s more than it seems. Allen has been doing bang-up work on miniseries starring Magik and Moonstar and trusting her with a What If…? of this magnitude shows the trust Marvel has in her. This issue allows her to give us an entirely new vision of the X-Men, one that fits Nova’s most caustic view of the world, and she’s able to bring it to terrifying life adroitly.

Allen does a fantastic job with Nova. She’s the book’s main character – she’s the narrator, the spider at the center of the web – and Allen is able to present this new version to the readers perfectly. I think the best way to describe this Nova is that she’s the villain taken to the extreme. Defeating Xavier, and the power it gave her, has caused her to go mad and Allen is able to get that across. She’s a frightening presence, one who can pop out of anywhere at any time and kill anyone. Jean Grey and Emma Frost are the main heroes of the book and Allen mostly focuses on this version of Jean, digging into her past with Nova. However, she’s still able to get across who this version of Emma is. I’m not going to say that Allen gives us two beautifully fleshed out versions of these X-Men icons, but Allen is able to quickly and easily establish who they are. Allen is able to create an all-new world for the X-Men, one that has so much potential for the future. This is the hallmark of the best What If…? stories.

Kumar’s Art Has Reached A Whole New Level With This Issue

Sumit Kumar is the artist behind one of the best horror comics of the last decade, These Savage Shores. He’s worked at DC on several books, working more with These Savage Shores writer Ram V, and was the perfect artist to draw this story. I’ve loved his work every time that I’ve seen it and this issue has some of his best work ever, if not his best work. He’s able to establish a flawless visual tone for the comic. Allen is leaning into the scarier parts of this idea, and Kumar is able to use his experience with horror comics to bring that kind of tone to life. Props to colorist Sonia Oback; this is a very dark book, but she’s able to get just the right lighting for every shot in the book, keeping things dark but not dark enough where you can’t marvel at the art.

Right from the first age, you know you’re in for some fantastic art and by the time we get to the part with Cassandra killing Xavier in the womb, you’ll be hooked. I think my favorite parts of the book is Nova using her powers; Kumar is able to take these scenes of her putting her hands into people’s heads and making it look as horrific as it would feel. At one point, she tears Psylocke in half and steps out of her, a disgustingly gorgeous moment that gets paid off when Nova zips her back together. It’s little things like this that make the art in this issue look so amazing. The book’s action scenes are kinetic and detailed, and Kumar is able to capture the insanity and terror that is Nova in this story. I love this issue’s art and I want more of Kumar and Allen in this world.

I’m the kind of What If…? fan who always wants more from the best issues, and this is yet another one added to that list. Allen and Kumar are able to take an idea that could have went in some lame directions and make into something special, capturing the terror and horror of a world where Nova won. I really hope that this issue does great, so that Marvel will continue the story for us. This is the kind of alternate reality X-Men story we need, two creators taking an old concept and finding something new and fun.

What If… Cassandra Nova Killed Charles Xavier #1 is on sale now.

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