X-Vengers #1 Proves This X-Men Event Is Only Good for Anyone but the X-Men (Review)

“Age of Revelation“‘s first month is closing out and it’s been extremely uneven, something that X-Men fans have gotten used to since Tom Brevoort took over the X-Men office with “From the Ashes”. “Age of Revelation” is an event that no one asked for, and some fans are using as a time out from the X-Men books. X-Vengers #1 takes us into this dark future with the new version of the Avengers, telling a cool story that builds up one of the most underrated Marvel heroes of all time. It’s proving something I’ve noticed about this event — the non-X-Men books are the good ones.

“Age of Revelation” has an uphill battle, and from what I’ve read, it’s losing that battle. It’s a somewhat interesting premise and there are some fun ideas at times, but it’s just a rehash of several X-stories we’ve gotten before. I’m old enough to remember “Age of Apocalypse” and one of my favorite books was X-Universe, a book that dealt with the non-mutant heroes. X-Vengers feels like that book. It gives readers a very cool Avengers roster, drops some natural seeming exposition, and finished up with some excellent action, before a shocking ending sets the book’s story into motion.

The issue focuses on Dani Moonstar, who has become the team’s Captain America, and she’s awesome. Dani is one of those characters that has been around for ages, and has always been really great but has never actually gotten the chance to live up to her potential. Seeing her at the head of the Avengers, and learning that a dying Cap choose her to lead the team, is exactly what the doctor ordered for this character. Jason Loo nails this new version of Dani, and she’s the main reason why this book is great to read. It’s a joy to spend so much time with Dani. The rest of the cast is great too, mixing some underrated members of the Avengers with a couple of the legends of the team. It’s a wonderful cast for a fun book.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Pros	Cons
Making Dani Moonstar the focus gives one of the most underrated mutants the perfect spotlight	The art is basic without a lot of stylistic flair
Fun fight scene against the Kree that drives the narrative	The last page could have been laid out better; the ending doesn’t seem as important because of panel size
The exposition feels natural

X-Vengers #1’s Main Weakness Is the Basic Art

If there’s any weakness to this book, it’s the art. Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s not bad art; the action scene is well laid out, the detail is consistent, and the character designs are fine, but there’s really no style to it, and it doesn’t really sell the emotional stakes of the book. Penciler Sergio Davila and inker Aure Jimenez are perfectly fine artists, but their lack of any kind of style really doesn’t do this book any favors. This could have been a flawless comic if the art was better, and it reveals one of the biggest problems with Marvel and their approach to art in 2025.

Marvel has been bringing in loads of international artists, which is good, but these international artists don’t always get their jobs because of their skill, but because of their price. Anyone who follows the comic industry has heard about Marvel’s frugality when it comes to paying talent, and that’s the main reason they’ve began to bring in so many international artists; the dollar goes further elsewhere. Davila and Jimenez obviously have to start somewhere and hopefully they’ll get better, but for now, they give readers some rather basic art that does the job without wowing them. It’s also hard to connect to the emotional stakes of the story because of the art.

“The Age of Revelation” hasn’t impressed me for the most part, but I’ve found that the books that don’t really have anything to do with the X-Men are the best books. Seeing how non-mutant heroes have to deal with wild mutant events is a lot of fun. X-Vengers #1 is great for fans of both Dani Moonstar and the Avengers, telling a cool, action-packed story that will definitely make some people stick around for the rest of the book. The only problem is the art, which isn’t bad but just too basic to give the comic any flair.

X-Avengers #1 is on sale now.

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