Title Page
By Paul Jenkins & Paolo Rivera
Synopsis: Three dying males lie strewn on the ground. Its night time but their withering bodies are illuminated by a floating car’s headlights. These men have been dealt with by Magneto, the mutant master of magnetism. As he tortures the youths, he tells anecdotes of bigots such as a girl who had discovered she was a mutant and thrown out of a moving car after being kidnapped. These men were the kidnappers. Magneto strangles one with barbed wire, then removes the iron from ones blood stream then focuses it into a nail where he stabs another with it. As the last one pleads, Magneto fires his makeshift nail as a bullet, execution style. The torture is over.
Meanwhile, in a more friendly setting, Charles Xavier is watching the news bout the executions. He realizes that the time has come for action. He gathers his students, Scott Summers (Cyclops), Bobby Drake (Iceman), Warren Worthington III (Angel), Hank McCoy (The Beast) and Jean Grey (at this time, Marvel Girl.) They change and prepare for a grueling workout session in the danger room. The setting is an ancient battleground and the team member who makes the best strategies and wins the war, wins the game. The X-Men appear to be doing okay until Jean notices something. Charles Xavier has just fainted.
Upon revival, Charles orders the Blackbird to be readies. There is no more time. Charles explains about Magneto on the way in the X-jet. They head to a government facility which has been totaled and warped. Suddenly there is an explosion! The X-Men rush to ground zero to find the rest of the American troops loosing a battle with Magneto himself, the master of Magnetism. The soldiers are quickly taking care of by Magneto. However, in the confusion, Magneto disappears. He is later seen looking in cabinets and lockers for top secret files. He is interrupted by his one time friend and constant enemy Charles Xavier.
Erik explains that desperate times call for desperate measures as Charles tries to calm him down and distract him. But this is no random attack. Erik has found information about a future plot against mutants slightly like the mutant registration act. In the facility, each mutant is being assigned ID numbers on behalf of their DNA. Erik has what he wants and he flies off, leaving the X-Men with the damage. As they all leave, Jean laments that maybe the X-Men have arrived on the global scene too late.
Review: Beautiful! The first thing that strikes you about this issue is how beautiful it is! The art by Paolo Rivera needs to be seen to be believed, showing perfectly the harshness of Magneto and the youth and individual features of the much younger X-class. This is so much of a new series about the original class like X-Men: First Class it’s a much more modern retelling. Paul Jenkins was born to write Magneto’s dialogue and the dialogue between Charles and Magneto is powerful, thought provoking and fascinating! The intro is one of the best I have ever seen, making any person wonder how man can be so cruel to fellow man. The only point this series fails on is the somewhat anti climax of the series. It seems a bit slow for a book with such a fast paced. But this series, especially the beautifully painted artwork by Rivera must be seen and enjoyed. A priceless addition to any X-collection.