Marvels X #1
- WRITER
- Alex Ross, Jim Krueger
- Artist
- Well-Bee
- Letterer
- VC's Cory Petit
- Cover Artist
- Greg Horn, Well-Bee, John Paul Leon, Steve Ditko, Alex Ross, Edgar Delgado
- Publisher
- Marvel Comics
- Release Date
- 2020-01-08
One of the most tragic alternate futures for the Marvel Universe is Earth X, a fan-favorite world created by Alex Ross, Jim Krueger and John Paul Leon that appeared across a trilogy of miniseries. More than 20 years since the launch of the original miniseries, Ross and Krueger have reunited, and with artist Well-Bee, they're taking their post-apocalyptic vision of a world filled with superheroes back to the beginning in the new prequel miniseries Marvels X. The opening issue takes a more grounded perspective as the inciting tragedy unfolds, focusing on a street-level view of Armageddon.
Earth X began approximately a decade ahead of the Marvel Universe's relative present when Black Bolt unleashing the Terrigen Mists on Earth in the hope of stemming the planet's persecution of his people. Reed Richards' failed attempts to save the world led to a series of cataclysmic events, and society descended into chaos. Many iconic Marvel heroes and villains perished or significantly changed.
Marvels X #1 focuses on a young boy named David, a lifelong fan of the world's superheroes. His family finds itself caught in Earth X's devastating effects before he ventures out into this deadly, new world on his own.
Ross and Krueger's Earth X trilogy was always a melancholy love letter to the Marvel Universe, celebrating the core of the extensive cast of heroes as the world went to hell in a handbasket and allowing many to make their epic last stands. The appeal of the heroes is touched on immediately in the opening pages of the prequel, as David breathlessly recounts with (appropriately) child-like awe and enthusiasm why several of the heroes matter. This gives the character something to hold onto as bleak tragedy quickly sets in.
And there is no word more apt for what follows than bleak. The Earth X trilogy was always somber, like a requiem to the classic world of heroes. As David's family falls victim to the larger machinations of the story and suffer its immediate repercussions firsthand, that sense of post-apocalyptic nihilism escalates; the heroes in this issue are a setting rather than characters themselves. This will likely change as the miniseries progresses, but don't expect any caped figures to swoop in and save the day with this ground-level opener.
Well-Bee replaces original trilogy co-creator and artist Leon here, having previously collaborated with Krueger on their Cave Pictures Publishing comic series The No Ones. Well-Bee balances the post-apocalyptic action with a great amount of raw emotion and pathos, as David's world is completely upended around him. With Well-Bee's visuals, the setting could just as well be from an adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's The Road as an alternate future in the Marvel Universe. And with promises of greater things to come, it is admittedly enticing to see how Well-Bee will bring the early days of the Earth X world to life.
Marvels X is off to a somber, grounded start, following a common boy forced to endure and grow up in the harsh world of Earth X. While the previous trilogy of miniseries have never been feel-good comics, per se, this is an especially melancholy and elegiac reintroduction to Ross and Krueger's world.
Despite this, the creative team's affection for the characters is apparent right from the opening pages and it is always great to see Ross and Krueger working together again on a property they both clearly love. As the prequel's protagonist sets out into the world he has long admired from a distance, it is clear the creative team has set a deliberate pace as they revisit their post-apocalyptic universe, with plenty of interesting tales to craft within it yet.
Marvels X is available now.