Following up Sins of Sinister: Dominion is an unenviable task, and X-Men: Before the Fall – Sons of X #1 shoulders this responsibility while serving as a finale to the Legion of X ongoing and setup for the upcoming series Uncanny Spider-Man. Not only does this issue adequately meet all these requirements, it naturally weaves them together and decisively introduces a sense of existential dread as the Fall of X approaches. Si Spurrier, Phil Noto, VC’s Clayton Cowles, and Sarah Brunstad were given a massive task with this modestly-sized one shot, and they delivered.
From the outset of the issue, Spurrier’s narration describes the war beat of the great fall that is coming for Krakoa, but it is one that the mutants cannot perceive due to the immediate crises of their own personal battles. Though this story shows that there is victory to be had for Nightcrawler, Legion, and their fellow Legionnaires, the price of these successes are high and the war has only just begun. As for the loser, Mother Righteous likely would reflect on these events as a curious setback if at all.
With Sins of Sinister moving into the rear view, some readers may find themselves surprised to find the Legion of X crew still caught in the middle of a mutant monster curse crisis, but this is where the story begins. While the general havoc caused by the spell is great propaganda for Orchis, even better for them is that the monsterized, broken Kurt Wagner has been made into their personal assassin. With Nimrod and Margali Szardos standing in between Nightcrawler and his friends, David Haller’s dream circuit with blindfold quickly reveals that Legion is in a state where he cannot win.
Enter Mother Righteous, equipped with a millennia of knowledge from her Sins of Sinister self and her identity as one of the Sinister Four concealed. Spurrier helped introduce the character and set her story on a slow burn during Legion of X, so it is only fitting that this finale lets Mother really establish herself as a threat moving forward. She can accomplish just about anything you need, just as long as Mother Righteous gets a thank you in return.
Of course, this issue shows the price of thanking Mother Righteous. To give her your gratitude is to have faith in her power to fulfill your needs, and that’s all she needs to get a hold on your soul. Margali Szardos learns this the hard way when Righteous sucks her dry, adding Margali’s power to the many other floating boons of magic that Mother keeps in her orbit. Legion nearly meets the same fate in dealing with Mother Righteous to defeat Nimrod and rescue Kurt, but a little fore-planning between him and Blindfold leaves the couple vanished from reality rather than consumed.
Noto’s art is a key part of the issue’s storytelling as well. Mileage may vary reader to reader, as his portraiture remains gorgeous but the coloring on the powers-heavy elements leaves a tad to be desired. Personal taste aside, Noto also gets the privilege of rendering the first of Weaponless Zsen’s paintings to the audience, and it captures the layers of feelings that are driving Kurt off of Krakoa and into Uncanny Spider-Man.
An off-shaded power signature is not enough of a flaw to hold back this banger of an issue. It captures Kurt’s journey in the Krakoan era thus far: a man who has dedicated himself to advocating for others’ autonomy, healing, and experiments in self-expression but he has neglected to truly offer the same to himself. His choice to leave Krakoa is heartbreaking, and the consequences of Nightcrawler’s choice will come into greater focus after reading Immortal X-Men #11 as well.
A one-of-a-kind one-shot, X-Men: Before the Fall – Sons of X #1 is full of heart and dedicated to the value of hope over toxic faith. Spurrier and Noto deftly tackle several storylines, each one worth its own issue of exploration. Dark times have come for mutantkind once more, but hope may just be able to guide them through.
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