“Become the Future!” That is the message that the insidious Children of the Vault wormed inside of humanity’s brains, forcing them towards a nonconsensual evolution that would have created a new age of Homo Novissima. Faced with the annihilation of both humanity and mutantkind, Children of the Vault sees the unlikely partnership of the X-Men’s Cable and Bishop in a war to stop the Children. The Children of the Vault trade paperback, from writer Deniz Camp and artists Luca Maresca and Carlos Lopez with letterer VC’s Cory Petit, is a near-perfect miniseries with gorgeous art, compelling action, and a historic partnership between two iconic heroes.
Children of the Vault is one of the X-Men’s Fall of X miniseries, alongside other books like Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant, Dark X-Men, and Uncanny Spider-Man. While many of the Fall of X limited series are enjoyable, Children of the Vault worked particularly well and received endless critical and fan acclaim. With Krakoa fallen to the forces of Orchis, Forge’s Project Black Box has failed, unleashing an army of post-humans on the world, right when the X-Men are most distracted and vulnerable to assault. Children of the Vault contains the most intimate exploration of the Children’s intentions and motivations to date and successfully deepens their limited past characterization.
Marvel Comics
In many ways, Children of the Vault works as therapy for Cable and Bishop, the reluctant pair of time-traveling warriors who spent years of their lives locked in murderous battle. Deniz Camp does a truly remarkable job of acknowledging the two heroes’ complex and violent past with each other, while also allowing them both to grow and forge into a real partnership (even though they still clearly dislike each other). Cable and Bishop will never be friends, but their experiences as traumatized war-weary time-travelers are uniquely similar in a way no one else in the Marvel Universe could fully understand, making the two oddly perfect for each other.
It is obvious that Camp has done an incredible amount of research, particularly around Cable and Bishop’s complex history, and uses this deep knowledge of the two characters to perfectly capture their voice and motivations, something that can be incredibly difficult with convoluted characters like Nathan and Lucas. Particular highlights are Camp’s brilliant use of Cable’s “What is, is” mantra, his creative T-O solution used in the final issue, and the nod to Hickman’s HOX/POX with the “hawkspox” virus. While at the end of the day, Children of the Vault is a mainline X-Men series, Camp does an astounding job of making it casual-reader friendly while also including deep cuts for established fans.
Marvel Comics
Children of the Vault works so well partly because while the Children are technically the outright villains of the series, there is a deep well of metaphor that ties the real-world evils of capitalism and the destructive nature of colonialism within the fictional Marvel Universe and the Children’s manipulative plans. One of the opening scenes of issue #1 sees a young boy in Northern Chile drinking from a lithium field, a very real issue that is taking place in South America, where local communities access to water is becoming a major concern because of the polluting lithium fields needed to forge “environment-friendly” electric batteries across the world.
Of course, the “Children of Tomorrow” save communities like the one this young boy is from by providing them with amazingly advanced technology that cleans the environment and provides haven and comfort. They are humanity’s saviors! However, the Children, just like all colonizers, do not give these “gifts” away for free, instead infecting the population of the world with a fascistic Mind Virus that convinces them the Children are flawless heroes, and will slowly evolve them into post-humans. It is a brutal but effective display of colonialism, capitalism, and authoritarianism working as one to create a forced dependence on the Children’s Message.
Marvel Comics
While Children of the Vault has important, timely, and evocative messaging – delivered with clarity but no heavy-handedness from Camp’s superb writing – there are also many engaging and vibrantly illustrated action scenes. From Bishop and Cable taking down scores of Orchis soldiers, to the two heroes siccing an army of Sentinels on The City, there is plenty of action for anyone worried about the balance the book finds between engagement and reflection. Luca Maresca’s art is stunning, with line work perfectly capturing emotion, movement, and the futuristic grift of the Children, while Carlos Lopez’s coloring makes every blast from Cable or Bishop’s guns pop off the page with staggering vibrancy.
It is hard to find complaints about Children of the Vault with such superb writing and breathtaking art throughout, and perhaps that is because the real issue is with Marvel editorial deciding to make this a miniseries. If this book were the first arc of a larger Cable & Bishop series, it would have given Camp a chance to dive even deeper into the Children, who have been an underlying threat to the X-Men for years. While the story didn’t feel rushed exactly, it would have been great if even more time were allotted to explore the Children’s society and characterization, and it would have also been exciting if one or two Children decided to stay behind on Earth, perhaps even joining the X-Men.
The X-Men’s Fall of X era is brutal and tragic, filled with hopelessness and a genocidal desolation that is hard to avoid. Yet Children of the Vault manages to work some smart humor (like that one perfect Josh Brolin gag) into a dark story. The ending is cleanly wrapped up, in contrast with the depressing never-ending war the X-Men are fighting against Orchis and Enigma, while still highlighting the tragic truth behind the Children’s lies. Deniz Camp’s writing is delightful, using Cable and Bishop’s contentious relationship to full effect, and the glimpses of real-world issues are incredibly impactful. Luca Maresca and Carlos Lopez’s art is remarkable, a true highlight of the Fall of X, and this trade paperback will be re-read simply to appreciate the dynamic art.
Children of the Vault is perfect for casual and established X-Men fans, and will long be considered one of the best books of the Fall of X.
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