Review: X-Men Red #1

An X-Men book that features a Brotherhood team?

X-Men Red #1
Marvel Comics
W: Al Ewing
A: Stefano Caselli, Federico Blee
$4.99 (Free On Marvel Unlimited)

What To Know
The X-Men are living on their own island, the mutant Krakoa. After bringing the Arakki mutants back to Earth, the Quiet Council determines the Arakki need a place of their own. For the grand finales of the Hellfire Gala, the mutants terraform Mars and turn it into a second mutant haven. Storm is the Regent of Arakko and won a seat on their Council.

Magneto has left the Quiet Council to retire. Abigail Brand is running SWORD in association with Krakoa, but is secretly working Orchis to take down the mutant nation.

This Issue
We start in a flashback to Storm battling a shapechanger that has taken on her form; not sure what or when that happened. The changer is basically calling Storm a fake and not really part of Arakko. The flashback was apparently a memory happening while Storm works with the Arakki to keep the peace.

We shift to an unknown Arakki who meets Magneto for the first time. Magneto is retiring to a secluded part of Arakko and builds his castle as he talks about his legacy.

We jump to Port Prometheus, Sunspot’s bar, where he’s drinking with Kobak Never-Held and talking about lost loves. An enraged Vulcan enters the bar assaulting a random Shi’ar. He’s upset that he’s not recognized as the leader of the Shi’ar. Sunspot intercedes and they fight; before it can finish, Thunderbird joins the fight. Brand and Cable enter the bar and everything calms down. They apprehend Vulcan, but Thunderbird has words with Cable about Warpath.

Brand approaches Storm about heading up an X-Men team for Arrako; Brand essentially says Storm needs to join to show she’s the Queen of the planet, which sets Storm off after Brand leaves.

Magneto continues to talk with Fisher King, who reveals he’s not a mutant, but was accepted by the Arakki because he fights. Their discussion is interrupted by Sunspot, who wants help from Magneto to find out what Brand is up to. Storm comes for the same reason, but to also recruit both for her answer to Brand’s X-Men…the New Brotherhood.

Thoughts
I really like where this book could go. Brand is such an unlikeable character that I love; her double and triple crossing is always entertaining. Add in the whole Arakko story and the potential team, and this could be a good replacement for what we lost in Hellions.

I think Magneto’s friendship with Fisher King will be something that allows Magneto to continue to evolve; while Magneto has softened as a character, the idea that he’ll consider a non-mutant an equal is interesting.

Al Ewing is such a good writer. He really knows the characters he writes; his Storm and Magneto fit in well with how they’ve been written the last few years. He also knows how to build a mystery; who was the shapeshifter and why does she say Storm doesn’t belong with the Arakki? What is Brand doing with her X-Men? What is Cable’s long-term plan? He also set out with a few different storylines that all came together by the end of the issue.

Rating
4.75 out of 5