This is a book about mutants living past the end of their world and into a new beginning. This is Ms. Marvel embracing her mutant life on the neon streets of the Lower East Side. This is Anole trying to keep his head above water. This is Wolverine in the shadows of Bushwick, protecting her own. This is Prodigy writing history as it happens and Sophie Cuckoo finding her own way. The news reports are bleak. The streets feel dangerous. There’s something lurking underground. Evil is coming from every direction. But they’re determined to make it. This is mutant community. This is mutant pride. This is NYX #1, written by Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly, drawn by Francesco Mortarino, colored by Raul Angulo and lettered by Joe Sabino.

Jake: Let’s take it from the top: NYX is a bold name for an X-Men series in 2024. While many of its From the Ashes counterparts carry the monumental weight of historic titles or the lofty status of its great heroes, NYX evokes memories of a series that treated mutants with the kind of sensitivity and compassion you’d find in poverty-porn reality TV shows of the early 2000s. This modern reincarnation represents an opportunity to reclaim the title and place mutants back at the center of their own story again.

Tony: I’ve never read the original NYX by Joe Quesada, Zeb Wells and Joshua Middleton. It just wasn’t my speed. It’s an early 2000s attempt at edgy, and I just never saw the appeal. I do understand the Majorie Liu-written sequel is significantly better, but since I didn’t see the appeal, why would I read the sequel?

That’s a long way of saying that it’s weird to see this title, of all the potential titles they could have brought back, being the one they bring for the young-mutants book of the era. Generation X is too associated with a specific set of characters, but why not something like Generation M? I dunno.

Jake: It would be very easy to damn this first issue with faint praise by saying it’s the best NYX #1 of all time. And (thankfully) that is true. But it’s much more than that. It’s the moment From the Ashes hit its straps for the first time.

Where X-Men #1 felt like a by-the-numbers mutant greatest hits tour and Phoenix #1 contained more than a trace of classic X-Men beats, this first issue feels if not new then at least fresh. Where NYX Vol. 1 made the reader a voyeur to the degradation and trauma of mutant life in New York, this new iteration invites the reader to explore an authentic, contemporary city with the irrepressible duo of Sophie Cuckoo and Kamala Khan. Francesco Mortarino’s art and Raul Angulo’s colors excel in conveying the luminescence and vivacity of a city that casts long shadows, giving NYX a clear and distinctive tone. Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly are ambitious in their storytelling approach, and even if the scope becomes a little unwieldy at times, it’s an intriguing first issue.

Tony: I think what I really liked about this first issue is that it’s clearly coming in with a direction and purpose. There’s a mission statement here — Lanzing and Kelly have a goal in mind with the characters, whether it’s protagonist or antagonist, the world and what they’re building. It’s one part post-Krakoa culture reconstruction, one part mystery and one part action.

We’ll get into it more, but I’d definitely say this is my favorite debut to date.

Empire State of Mind

Jake: At the center of the story we have new best friends Kamala and Sophie. After a chance meeting at Empire State University, Sophie takes Kamala under her wing and introduces her and the reader to mutant culture in New York. After a slightly awkward interaction with Professor Prodigy on the legacy of Krakoa (more on that later), the pair visit a Lower East Side bar and its bartender, Anole, where a fight immediately kicks off with anti-mutant bigots. After the pair are unceremoniously ejected from the venue AND an encounter with an extremely surly Wolverine AND a confrontation with not-so-new villain Hellion, Kamala’s and the reader’s eyes are wide open to the reality of the mutant experience in New York. 

Tony: I have to say it’s a very unique take on the “gathering the team” trope that we see too much in debut issues. You get your POV character (and who better for that than Kamala Khan), you establish the clear leads and some interpersonal dynamics and conflict, and build from there. 

Making Kamala the POV character here (and from solicits Laura Kinney next issue) makes it a better entry point. She’s got a strong, identifiable voice that’s very familiar to longtime fans of the character. She makes for the perfect entry point because she didn’t get to live on Krakoa, and she’s still grappling with her mutant identity, but also she’s a successful solo hero.

Jake: The narrative deployed here is simple but effective: It rapidly establishes the new setting, each character’s post-Krakoa state of mind, and introduces two new groups of villains. The problem is that it tries to cram too much in too soon. Most of the story choices work for me individually, but the issue feels cluttered with everything in the mix. 

The dynamic dialogue in the blossoming friendship between Kamala and Sophie is the highlight of the issue. They contrast each other beautifully, with Kamala being both a fish out of water in mutant New York and a vastly experienced superhero and Sophie a proud guide to mutant culture who is not quite as at ease as she’d like you to think. 

Tony: I really liked that. Sophie was the more assertive personality of the duo, until the bigots started throwing punches, then it shifted to Kamala the superhero. It was a fun little dynamic that I hope grows through the series.

Jake: Sophie’s characterization is notably different here. She’s much more warm and outgoing than we’ve come to expect from a Cuckoo sister, which given the presence of her sisters on the new, Empath-led “Quiet Council” could cast some suspicion over her motivation, but it also could simply convey her desire to make a clean break from her sisters and forge a life for herself. Her sisters will undoubtedly complicate matters though, and I’d expect to see her and Kamala’s roles reversed when those trials begin.

Tony: I mean, it already was a little bit, so it’ll be interesting to see Sophie make Kamala come out of her shell, and to see Ms. Marvel help the Stepford Cuckoo be a better hero.

Jake: Kamala is largely striking out on her own here, enrolling in yet another college for yet another qualification that she may or may not attain before moving on to the next. Lanzing and Kelly capture her brilliantly, with the overawed enthusiasm of Kamala Khan belying the assuredness and boldness of Ms. Marvel. Her energy is infectious, and it’s great to see her eroding some of Sophie’s cynicism already: “Ms. Marvel. I get it now.”

Tony: And I have to say this — this is the best that Kamala has been written by a non-POC and by a non-woman since Mark Waid. Lanzing and Kelly nailed her characterization and her whole … everything. They didn’t get much into her faith or culture, which might be a good move for an already stuffed debut issue, but her personality, her dialogue, even how she got down to business as a superhero just was darn near perfect.

Krakoa, I love you but you’re bringing me down

Jake: NYX’s mission statement is to explore Krakoa’s legacy both for the mutants who lived through it and to the wider world. The core question is not simply “What is Krakoa’s legacy?” or even “What should it be?” but “Who does it belong to? Who gets to define it?”

The battle for ownership over the mutant dream is typically one fought between historical figures of great import atop asteroids or in council chambers. It’s both the nature of fictional status quo resets and real-life leaders to fail and move on quickly, but ideas live on in the hearts and minds of their followers a little longer. The idea of having this debate play out in microcosm, with the inheritors of the dream avowing revolution but repurposing and twisting the term “Quiet Council,” is great.

A council inspired by Krakoa’s notion that the worst possible people should be in charge is brilliant, as is the composition of this squad of shithead misfits. Empath’s sociopathy is as infuriating as it is fascinating here and, paired with Hellion’s political idealism, is sure to create friction moving forward. The Cuckoos have always been a little morally ambiguous, and seeing them divided is always interesting. How the group maneuvers their way through New York’s human power structures could be fascinating.

Tony: And that final-page reveal worked really well for me. A twisted and warped Quiet Council dominating the background of this new mutant culture is a great twist on the concepts we saw for the rest of the issue.

Jake: It’s when the issue begins exploring the more political themes through dialogue that it comes unstuck. Ms. Marvel’s encounter with The Krakoan (fka Hellion) is a good example of this. The snarling accusation that Kamala isn’t a true mutant because she “never sat at our feasts, danced in our jungles or worshiped at our church” poses the interesting question of who gets to participate in the conversation around mutant identity, but the scene is a little muddled in its execution.

Is Hellion really saying that Kamala is a traitor to her people because she missed the good times? I’d say not having any idea you’re a mutant and then … you know …dying are pretty good excuses! She also defended mutantkind the instant she found out she was one. This interaction feels a little forced to me, and I’m not sure Kamala was necessarily the best fit for the scene. The line also takes on a politically charged meaning given Kamala’s faith. It implies an expectation of assimilation to a hegemonic white Western lifestyle that feels very incongruous with the “Krakoa is for all mutants” maxim. 

This could very well be a conscious choice on Lanzing and Kelly’s part. It would certainly add an element of irony to The Krakoan’s radical pro-mutant politics, particularly given Hellion’s role as the mediocre white dude poster boy of Academy X. This doesn’t feel very Hellion to me. It would, however, be extremely consistent with Empath’s prejudices and mind control MO. I interpreted The Krakoan’s “Really man? You’re the thirstiest person I know” line on the penultimate page as evidence of The Krakoan’s agency. That said, Empath mind controlling him just makes more sense narratively, so this is what I’m going with even if it’s not 100% clear.

Tony: So here’s how it read to me. You’re right on both counts. Hellion is being clearly influenced by Empath (as are Sophie’s sisters), if not outright controlled. I don’t think these are Julian Keller’s words. He’s a little shit, but he’s a little shit that’s grown up a lot and figured a lot of shit out.

This feels very much like the sort of awful thing Empath would say. He’s a bigoted, domineering shithead, and that characterization fits in perfectly with what’s being said. Empath is going to be bigoted. He’s going to enforce his worldview. He’s going to drag down anyone that doesn’t match with what he wants. That’s just Empath.

And what a great counterpoint Empath is to everything else going on in this issue so far.

Jake: In any case, the scene descends into cliche by the end, with The Krakoan branding Kamala a traitor and screaming “Whose side are you on?” at her before disappearing into the night, leaving Kamala to defend herself alone against anti-mutant bigots. The scene eventually fizzles out, leaving everyone, including Kamala, a little nonplussed.

Stop spreading the news

Jake: The issue introduces some interesting new status quos for our cast of mutant hipsters that are worth mentioning. Firstly, Prodigy is now a professor and lecturer at Empire State, living in New York with new boyfriend Dante. He and Speed have broken up off panel, which I’m personally not losing sleep over. We are introduced to David mid-lecture, in which he passionately articulates the mission statement of the series. It’s a deft and powerful rebuke of Xavierism, arguing that Krakoa was a necessary response to not just prejudice but acts of genocide and violence against mutants by institutions ostensibly responsible for protecting them. Krakoan identity, he argues, lives on through the mutant diaspora and their cultural institutions and will now need to integrate with the human world. 

The speech is then interrupted by Sophie Cuckoo, who lambasts Prodigy for selling out to affirmative action by accepting a job at a human institution, becoming an observer of rather than participant in the mutant experience. The irony of a white woman interrupting a Black man talking about structural racism to accuse him of selling out almost has to be deliberate because it so powerfully highlights the underlying issues with the mutant metaphor. Even though Mortarino’s art makes it clear that Sophie is being performatively provocative (Her body language in the last panel is a dead giveaway), the difference between her actions here and the rest of the issue creates a dissonance within her character that’s really effective.

The fact is we learn more about Sophie than David from this scene. Once Sophie takes control, David is given no right of reply whatsoever other than warning her about her propriety and conduct, which only proves her point further. Now there’s surely a reason why the scene doesn’t arrive at a discursive or emotional conclusion, and you have to imagine that it will eventually, but it still leaves a bit of a bad taste in the mouth.

Tony: I think the only thing I have to add about this is that it’s VERY in character for a Frost to do this, and very in character for a teenager to do it in this way. Would Emma Frost of today EVER do something like this and go extremely Karen? No. But would Emma Frost at 19? I think so.

Jake: The only character I haven’t mentioned so far is Wolverine. This is deliberate because frankly I have no idea what’s going on there. She’s conspicuously out of character, being needlessly mean and threatening toward Kamala. If we’re supposed to wonder whether there’s something going on with Laura here, then mission accomplished I guess. If not, we might have a problem.

Tony: Yeah, I thought the same. Would it have been a problem if she had more page time? I think we’ll find out next issue. Lanzing and Kelly did say that each issue will have a different POV character, and from solicits, it seems pretty clear that’s Laura.

Laura Kinney felt more like Logan than like herself here. It wasn’t a regression — that would have meant turning her into a snarling, feral child. But it did feel distinctly like she was channeling her father more than her past.

Jake: I realize I’ve highlighted lots of examples of things that didn’t work in this issue, so let me be clear: This was a good first issue. While there were some elements that didn’t work, it laid down foundations for solid story concepts, exciting character beats and a fantastic sense of setting. I’m already anticipating the next issue with excitement.

Tony: Here it is for me: I thought this was a solid first issue and probably the best of the three From the Ashes issues we’ve gotten so far. I think Lanzing and Kelly came in with a purpose and a mission, and even if it didn’t totally land, it made the issue work.

As for the art, I generally like Mortarino’s figure work, paneling and layouts. He’s got a really good eye for movement, and his action was very good. I did not like how he drew faces, because I really felt that they did not have enough variety. Angulo’s colors, though, REALLY popped. It felt like a spiritual successor to Rico Renzi’s time on Spider-Gwen. And of course, Joe Sabino just did a great job on the letters.

In all a successful launch, with flaws, but it’s the one I think I’m most interested in seeing grow as well.

But MAN that title just stinks.

Mutant Underground

• Poor Anole and getting limbs amputated. Like … it can’t be fun.
• Also, Anole has totally hit the gym.
• Piggybacking on the faces being off — Prodigy looks about five years older than he should.
• Not enough Wolverine here. Let’s be real.
• First and last time any X-Men fan will ever say the previous statement.
• That last-page reveal just has so much meat on it. Seriously, pour over all the detail on it. It’s the best page Mortarino drew in the entire issue.

Buy NYX #1 here. (Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, ComicsXF may earn from qualifying purchases.)

Jake Murray

Jake Murray spends far too much time wondering if the New Mutants are OK. When he's not doing that, he can be found talking and writing about comics with anyone who will listen.

Tony Thornley

Tony Thornley is a geek dad, blogger, Spider-Man and Superman aficionado, X-Men guru, autism daddy, amateur novelist, and all around awesome guy. He’s also very humble.