They were loved by their adoring fans. They were reviled by the harsh press. They lived, they loved, they fought and they died…a lot – all for the sake of fame. They were the X-Statix, a team of mutant celebrities fighting for a brighter world and an even brighter spotlight! But they’re old news now because there’s a new mutant team that will live harder, love harder, fight harder, and die a whole lot harder than those has-beens! Peter Milligan, Michael Allred, Laura Allred, and Nate Piekos return to introduce the best new superhero team you didn’t know you needed! Meet…THE X-CELLENT!
I love X-Statix. I’ve even got a page of it (with Princess Diana!) on my wall. It’s the first page of original comic art I ever bought. I came late to the series, during my return to reading monthly superhero comics. A certain online retailer of books (no, not that one) was running a buy two, get one free promotion on hardcovers, and I just added titles that looked fun. I was already a fan of the Allreds (and fill-in artist Darwyn Cooke) so I took a chance on the omnibus edition and fell in love.
Allred’s superclean pop line art was a joy to look at, married as it was to Laura Allred’s eye-popping colors. It told the story of a team of reality TV-inspired mutants. No longer feared and hated, but worshiped and stanned, the team was originally a replacement for X-Force, but the comics re-branded with a new #1 called X-Statix. The writing was cheeky, the satire sharp, and it was funny! And raunchy! And violent, but not in a grimdark self-serious way. It was goofy! The elimination rounds of reality television translated to the untimely deaths of team members, who were mourned for a brief news cycle, and then used as a promotional opportunity when the time came to replace them.
Flash forward to 2019, when the gang (both on the page and behind the scenes) reunited for Giant-Size X-Statix #1, including classic team members and the secret children of deceased members, reuniting to fight a group of evil counterparts, led by Zeitgeist, the original team leader who died after one issue. The final page promised a new series, titled The X-Cellent, “coming next year [in 2020]!” I was excited for the series to return. I was even more excited when House of X/Powers of X started coming out, promising a renewed and refreshed X-line, in a shiny new status quo for mutants. Surely this new X-Cellent series would be announced at any moment, telling the story of one corner of the Krakoan era. When ComicsXF (then Xavier Files) put out a call for people to review the new X-line, I eagerly put my name in for The X-Cellent.
Well, the X-line was announced. Then updated. Old titles were dropped, new titles added, whole phases of that vast story came and went, but no X-Cellent. The COVID-19 pandemic delayed titles, some of which still have yet to be published, but here we are, after two years of delays, at the launch of The X-Cellent.
And, well, X-Statix is back, for better or worse. The art is just as bright and eye-catching as in the original series. The new X-Statix team is largely the same as the old team, squabbling over who gets to have the spotlight, who can create behind-the-scenes drama in search of clout. They’ve moved from the early-2000s reality TV world to scripted reenactments of their superheroic adventures (mirroring the rise of Marvel’s ubiquitous cinematic universe). Their new nemeses, the eponymous team The X-Cellent are creatures of Web 2.0. They’re influencers with millions of followers, creating the currency of the social media age: content. And so the now-old media X-Statix tries to keep up with the more social-savvy X-Cellent.
But what does this comic have to say in 2022? Our relationship with social media has evolved since this comic was teased in 2019. We’re currently dealing with the aftermath of a failed coup attempt and a raging pandemic, both of which have been fueled by social media companies that thrive on conflict. We have old news media sources so eager to declare both sides equally valid that socialized medicine is declared just as radical and as valid as violent white nationalism. And it’s not the comic’s fault that it doesn’t comment on those things, because it was likely written and drawn before those events happened.
As it stands, The X-Cellent #1 is more X-Statix. It’s pretty much the same comic from the early 2000s. It’s a throwback: a comfortable blankie in bright pastels that reminds us of those heady days of the old celebrity X-Force days.
It could, with its premise, capture something of our current zeitgeist, and maybe it will when all is said and done. But as it stands, I think I’ve moved on.
