Once upon a time X-Men was written by a legend who worked under a regime who asserted that homosexuality did not exist in the Marvel universe but who were, as bigots often are, too dense to see queercoding happening right under their noses (like constantly). Later, the gap left by unfulfilled ambitions was by a writer who is also legendary, but in a bad way. And now that history has come to a point where we can say the quiet part loud, the task of reconciling Claremont's original intent with Austen's infamous replacement (and Lobdell's kind of incoherent Unlimited issue) falls to Si Spurrier, Wilton Santos & Marcus To.

Unfortunately, that leaves little room for anything but doing the tedious accounting necessary to square these disparate versions of Kurt's origin so that people won't get grumpy that the writers are ignoring a Chuck Austen story that everyone hates. But these exercises are a part of superhero comics that we'll never truly be rid of, and Spurrier, Santos & To spice it up as best they can.

Much of this comes down to the mysterious Bamf from Uncanny Spider-Man providing what the character himself describes as a Greek chorus, and your opinion of this story will definitely be driven by how much you do or do not like the character. Personally, I think he's the kind of idea that would be cute and clever in an issue of Generation X from 1994 (or even Morrison's Batman in 2009) but who's a bit tiresome and cliche in 2023, and a whole issue of him constantly talking is a recipe for irritation for me personally. Still, I'd rather have him livening up the bookkeeping than stick to pure infodumps.

How does the new origin work? Well, it's Frankensteined together from disparate parts, some long-awaited and some better forgotten, but they do a fairly solid job of hammering these things together to make something that will get up off the table and move as well as it needs to, giving us sapphic fans the origin we've been waiting for and giving us all permission to never ever mention Azazel again. I'm satisfied!

Tl;dr: As a comic, it's only a little more entertaining than just reading a plot summary online, but the team dives into a unenviably difficult assignment with style and vigor and style and come up with a workable Nightcrawler origin whose cumbersome-but-obligatory intricacies can be quietly excised by future writers. It's as good as it's going to be and maybe a little better, and that's the best you can ask for an exercise like this. Probably a 7 on its merits but I'll add a point out of respect for the difficulty, because this really was an impossible assignment. more

I can’t deny there are some pretty powerful panels in the issue, especially Mystique’s thoughts on what the true lines of binary division, but there are still some problematic elements. What was the team thinking using an annoying Bamf character as the narrator? Did Spurrier really feel like the issue needed a layer of humor to balance the poignant tone of the rest of the story? If so, he failed miserably because it was a terrible attempt at humor and completely took me out of the moment every time the character appeared.

The toxic portion of the comic book fandom will claim Spurrier went too far retconning canonical stories, but the reveal of Nightcrawler’s true parentage was always part of Claremont’s initial thoughts for all of the characters involved. So in reality, this was making the characters whole and I thought it was done really well.

Overall, Spurrier masterfully weaves together the threads of Nightcrawler, Mystique, and Destiny’s histories, exploring the intricate dynamics between Nightcrawler and Mystique and Mystique and Destiny. He captures the emotional resonance of these two different relationships, highlighting the love, betrayal, and lingering scars that define each character individually. more

Wow! What a absolute triumph of a book. I have been reading comic books since the early '90's and love it now more than ever. Stories like this steeped in emotion with beautiful character moments and heart really reinforce my love for these stories. What a amazing read this was I wish I could score it higher than 10

I really love the idea behind nightcrawlers lineage. There are just certain elements of the story that annoy me too much to really enjoy, especially with the price of the comic.

1: It is heavily reliant on the narration it left me feeling spoon-fed (Could there have been a way to make it less exposition dumpy?).

2: Certain dialogue felt flowery such as "...nihilism and the illusion of meaning."

3: There was a moment mystique points flaws of society and the essentialist perspective. To which, I didn't feel there was enough punch to it with the line she gives.

4: Very expressive art nothing felt static and that to me is a massive bonus! because the part which caught my eye is where she says "see me" revealing her identity while holding baby nightcrawler, capturing her in the moment at peace visually.

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I'm not buying any of this story. Reed was able to send eight hands into the Baxter Bldg to create and program the device without seeing what he was doing -- yet he couldn't have pulled the kids through the window? It just doesn't make any sense. It seems completely contrived just so the plot of the kids not being around could happen. Why is that important in a Fantastic Four book? They are about family, but they are also about exploration and maintaining the safety of our planet. Now, everyone hates them. Another deconstruction story for no reason whatsoever. Kind of disappointing. more

Huh. I really can't make up my mind about this one, and suspect my feelings will be clearer when I've read the full series. On the one hand, I loved the portrayal of Clark & Lois's romance, which is perfect end-to-end, on the other, the humor in the portrayal of the Justice League felt cynical in a post-Watchmen style that I've never been fond of. We'll see how I feel when I've got the whole story in front of me more

Russell, as thought provoking as ever. This feels like Superman.

Nailed it!