Not quite Extraordinary yet.
If Extraordinary X-Men is meant to be the new flagship title of the X-Men line, it’s not doing much to build enthusiasm for the state of the X-Men in All-New, All-Different Marvel. The series’ status quo merely cherry picks familiar elements from X-Men stories of yesteryear. Once again, mutants find themselves an endangered species, battling persecution at every turn and even dealing with another deadly pandemic. New writer Jeff Lemire hasn’t done enough in these first two issues to develop a unique voice and leave his mark on the franchise.
It would help if these early issues weren’t focusing so much attention on building the new X-Men lineup rather than diving into the current threats facing mutantkind. There’s little tangible sense of progression in this issue as Magik and Colossus continue their hunt for Nightcrawler, Jean wrestles over the question of whether to rejoin the team and Old Man Logan plays the cranky loner. It’s not as if any of the roster choices in this book are particularly unusual, so why spend so much time bringing the band together?
The one element this book has in its favor right now is Lemire’s solid characterization. The interaction between Illyana and her brother is a lot of fun. Lemire is making the most of their patched-up relationship post-Uncanny X-Men #600. His portrayal of Storm as the beleaguered leader struggling to hold everything together also works well, though the narrative captions could stand to be dialed back a bit. And though this issue only begins to touch on the dynamic between the young Jean Grey and the elderly Logan, that’s quickly shaping up to be one of the big draws of this series. The Logan/Jean dynamic has always been one of the most fascinating elements of the X-Men franchise. The fact that we’re seeing two radically different versions of the characters pick up where their late counterparts left off on;y makes it that much more fascinating.
As always, Humberto Ramos brings a very polarizing style to the series. His exaggerated character designs work well for some books and some types of stories, but not necessarily an X-Men comic where character drama and bigotry are more a focus than superhuman spectacle. Ramos’ exaggerated proportions and facial work simply don’t mesh well with the tone of the story. It doesn’t help that the various new costume designs are pretty much all a step down from how the characters were depicted prior to Secret Wars. There are a few outlandish scenes that play to his storytelling strengths, but for the most part this book seems to be crying out for a different visual approach.
Extraordinary X-Men has a ways to go before it lives up to that title. Too much about the book feels familiar and played-out in light of past X-Men stories. The plodding pace and unnecessary focus on rebuilding the team don’t help. However, Lemire’s characterization is strong enough that there’s hope the series will find its way once it moves beyond these initial conflicts and into something more exciting and unpredictable.
