All-New X-Men is one of the most high profile titles in the Marvel NOW! relaunch and features human writing machine Brian Michael Bendis and popular artist Stuart Immonen in the driving seats. The series follows the events of Avengers Vs. X-Men and Consequences, catching up with the X-Men in their rapidly changing world with new mutants popping every day while the terrorist fugitive Cyclops begins recruiting them for his revolution... So is the first volume any good? Well, yes and no. Beast goes back in time to retrieve the Scott Summers of yesteryear (along with the rest of the original X-Men) to confront present day Cyclops in an effort to remind him of his idealistic young self and hopefully return him to his old ways. Meanwhile Beast is undergoing the next phase of his mutation which might or might not kill him, and Cyclops, Magneto and Emma Frost find that their contact with the Phoenix Force has caused them to lose control of their powers. The books premise is pretty flimsy: Beast wants old Scott to meet new Scott because he thinks what? The idea is that somehow Scott, whom Beast acknowledges has changed hugely over the years, will suddenly realise, upon meeting his past self, that he has become a completely different person and will then somehow decide to change back to his old self. That is a hell of a long shot for Beast to take - change the space-time continuum for an encounter whose outcome is completely uncertain and potentially enormously damaging? Its more than a little irresponsible of Beast and a bit stupid. It seems like Beast represents old readers of the series whore perhaps looking at Cyclops today and bemoaning how warped he has become, literally being teammates with former villains Magneto and Emma Frost while becoming one himself. But I would argue differently, that Cyclops has undergone many changes to his personality that he has a character arc and that that is no bad thing. Fans might dislike the seemingly evil path Cyclops has chosen but I think it enriches the character, giving him more than simply the good boy scout one-dimensional character role hes been forced to play for so long and trying a new direction for him, giving him new things to do and developing him in more complex ways. Its also not a totally arbitrary choice (unlike introducing a time travel element) in that Cyclops is the way he is today because of the many different choices hes made over the years. In a weird way, Yesterdays X-Men is a good starting place for new readers as it literally has the classic, original X-Men as characters alongside their modern counterparts so you get a sense of their history and how the characters have evolved over time (which is also an ironic touch - to relaunch a series called All-New X-Men with the oldest versions of the X-Men!). This main story feels more like a sub-plot which is why it feels like very little happens in the book. Its never terribly boring as Bendis knows how to tell a story well, but it could be so much better than it actually is. Old X-Men meet New X-Men and a lot of talking ensues, some stuff involving Beast happens, some minor developments occur, theres a brief scuffle, and then the book is over. Its a little underwhelming. While I think the main intent behind introducing the Old into the New is more than a little contrived, it remains to be seen what effect it has on Cyclops. But the book is really not that bad a read. Bendis writes the characters well and, even though not much happens, I was never that bored with the book - it couldve been better but it certainly wasnt a bad X-Men book. Stuart Immonens art is excellent as always and the book looks great.
The title does what Marvel NOW! set out to do - not rebooting the series, but relaunching it and making it exciting and different by changing the dynamics of the characters. I just dont think theres enough going on in this first volume, its too slow - I wouldve liked to have seen more happen that what we got in this first volume. In the end, Yesterdays X-Men is an average X-Men book that shouldve been more impressive than it was.
All-New X-Men, Volume 1: Yesterdays X-Men by Brian Michael Bendis and Stuart Immonen, is out now in hardback at your local comics shop and online at Comixology and Marvel Unlimited