- Written by: Eve L. Ewing
- Art by: Carmen Carnero
- Colors by: Nolan Woodard
- Letters by: VC’s Joe Sabino
- Cover art by: Carmen Carnero, Nolan Woodard
- Cover price: $4.99
- Release date: September 4, 2024
Exceptional X-Men #1, by Marvel Comics on 9/4/24, catches up with Kitty Pryde in Chicago as she tries to put her life as a superhero in the past with mixed results.
Is Exceptional X-Men #1 Good?
Let’s get down to business before you read another word. No, this is not the worst X-title out of Tom Brevoort’s From the Ashes era (that honor still belongs to NYX). Exceptional X-Men #1 by Eve L. Ewing is also not a particularly terrible comic, which already exceeds expectations based on how it was marketed. However, Exceptional X-Men #1 is a largely depressing, slow comic that clues you into Kitty Pryde’s post-Krakoa life in Chicago while planting a few seeds for the future, and that’s about it.
Exceptional X-Men #1 begins with a day-in-the-life look at Kitty Pryde as she endeavors to lay low and blend into the human population. She’s living in Chicago with her platonic roommate, Priti, and she tends bar at Lulu’s Tavern.
Eve L. Ewing sets up Kitty’s life well enough without too much exposition or lengthy narration boxes. You get the lay of the land in Kitty’s life, even if you’re missing the context as to how or why she chose to settle in Chicago.
What follows the setup is a steady, sleepy amount of narration expressing how sad Kitty is about her life. Kitty is sad that she’s no longer surrounded by her mutant family. She’s sad that the conflict with Orchis “forced” her to become a murderer (more on that in a second). She’s sad that she doesn’t feel like her life has any purpose, so all she does is work herself into exhaustion every day.
The preceding description lays out the majority of the tone and focus of this issue. Kitty is sad. Consequently, the vibe and tone through most of the issue is a depressing sadness as Kitty struggles to do anything without moping. That’s not to say Kitty should be rainbows and sunshine every minute, but you get more of the glum depression that infected so much of Gail Simone’s Uncanny X-Men, but more so. Also, Kitty’s sadness over being “forced” to become a killer sounds like revisionist hogwash, especially when we have multiple scenes of Kitty laying waste to low-level Orchis guards simply standing around. Snapping a guy’s neck when he never had a chance is a long way from being “forced” to do anything.
To shake off a wicked case of the Mondays, Kitty heads out to a local concert where she plans to meet her date. Unfortunately, Kitty’s date didn’t turn out because she showed up a day too early (D’Oh!), so she decided to check out a different concert by a group called Bunny Starlite Dreams (BDS). While she waits in line, she sees a girl get refused admittance by the bouncer. When the bouncer gives the girl a shove, she unleashes her mutant powers on the guard. The altercation escalates, and the bouncer pulls a gun, prompting Kitty to intervene and spirit the girl away.
Of course, Fate steps in to pull Kitty back into fighting for other mutants. Unfortunately, the scene comes off as too over-the-top to get readers on Kitty and the girl’s side. Should the bouncer have shoved the girl to get her to move along? No. Should the girl have unleashed metallic tentacles to attack the bouncer? No. Should the bouncer have defended himself from an attack that would scare the Hell out of anyone? 100% yes. If the goal was to garner sympathy, Ewing botched it.
After a phase-shifting game of Cat & Mouse through the surrounding buildings, Kitty and the girl get away. Kitty gives Trista Marshall her ID so that the girl has “collateral” if Kitty tries to kidnap her (not sure how that’s supposed to work). Later, the girl gets home to her loving grandmother, and Kitty sleeps off an exciting evening.
The issue concludes with Kitty finding an incredibly decorative gift box on her doorstep to brighten her day and Emma Frost making a psychic phone call.
What’s great about Exceptional X-Men #1? At this point, it’s impossible to say if Eve L. Ewing nailed Kitty’s character because Kitty’s undergone so many radical shifts of late. Still, Kitty is presented as a believable character who has been through the wringer. Her inner monologue feels somewhat authentic for a person wrestling with sadness and depression, and the brief bit of action is reasonably well done.
What’s not great about Exceptional X-Men #1? Again, the one action scene mentioned above, Trista Marshall’s rescue, didn’t do much to put the reader on Trista’s side because her overreaction escalated the scenario exponentially. Based on Trista’s mannerisms and manner of speech, you might surmise Trista is on the Autism spectrum or suffering from some form of relational dysfunction. There’s nothing wrong with having an Autistic character, but the Kitty that’s presented here isn’t ready for that kind of challenge. Given the X-Office’s difficulties with presenting believable characters of late, going down the Autism road feels like an invitation to disaster.
On the other hand, if Ewing didn’t intend to write Trista as an Autistic character, she’s written terribly. Oy!
Beyond the character work, Ewing’s plot is slow, lacks any wow moments, and doesn’t set you up for the purpose of this series. The first issue of any series should always give you some kind of major hook that pulls you in. Ewing slathers the plot with so much slow, depressing meandering that you’ll have no idea what’s going to happen, and you may not want to know if it’s more of the same.
Marvel comics are, first and foremost, superhero comics. I don’t know why modern Marvel writers don’t understand that.
How’s the Art? Carmen Carnero is a respected artist to me, and this issue is a pristine example of why. The figure work and facial acting are excellent. The panels are well done and complete, particularly the backgrounds (an increasingly rare occurrence these days), and the action scene is on point. Plus, Nolan Woodard’s coloring is solid. As a whole, the art team did a great job.
About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.
Follow @ComicalOpinions on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter
Final Thoughts
Exceptional X-Men #1 is not the worst or the best new X-title out of the From the Ashes era. Eve L. Ewing’s turn on an X-Men title gives you all you need to know about Kitty Pryde’s whereabouts with lots of emotion and introspection. That said, the issue lacks wow moments, the one action scene feels forced, and this first issue tells you almost nothing about where this series is headed or why it exists in the first place.
6.2/10
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