Customer Reviews

X-Men: Children of the Atom #1

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Joe Casey and Steve "The Dude" Rude set out to tell the story of how those uncanny franchise-builders, the X-Men got together in the first place. Set just a few years ago, "Children of the Atom" features Professor Xavier setting up shop in a troubled high school, thanks to a helpful FBI agent. Anti-mutant gangs are on the rise, and a number of familiar youngsters are in danger. Shadows of Columbine definitely drape this book in darkness, but so, too, do other teen issues.

First, the flaws. In true comic book fashion, there's little subtlety to the villians this go around. Viewing an episode of "Jerry Springer" about racists would have sufficed for research. It would've added some depth if Casey had done more to indicate his young skinheads were as much at risk from their own hate as the young mutants are. The X-teens encounter skinheads who speak in a kind of adult-writer-attempts-youthful patois, and both Casey and Rude indulge in pop culture referencing and caricaturing in an attempt to layer the story, but only distract from the central players. In other words, Frank Miller already covered this territory way too often; give us something we've never seen before, go deeper into all the characters. Although in his defense, the always-amazing Rude gives some of the bit players some facial expressions that suggests he gets it.

Where the book succeeds is in adding a new layer of metaphor to its mutant mythology. The X-Books have long relied on the "anti-mutant hysteria" theme, usually depicted as a commentary on racism. Here, it's most evocative of teen homosexuality. After all, this is a story about seemingly average-looking people who hide their true natures in the face of a disapproving public. And while most of the demogogic antagonist Metzger's rhetoric is borrowed heavy-handedly from white supremacists (and his name!), it's readily apparent that's only part of what this story's addressing. Or looting for effect.

Not that any of the heroes in this story are shown as overtly gay (and Marvel history would suggest they aren't), but bits of dialogue between Professor X and the FBI agent seem to indicate the G-man might have a hidden, personal motivation for helping the Professor. Also, Hank McCoy, the Beast, has his mutant identity stripped bare in public, followed by the kind of reaction sexually confused young people have to face; McCoy is effectively "outted." It's during these scenes the story gains emotional resonance.

Eventually, as the story winds down, The Dude's wonderful "Dr. Seuss-meets-Jack Kirby" artwork gives way to some surprisingly disappointing pages from Paul Smith, and the story loses its racial/sexual subtext to become standard fare. By the time Essad Divac comes on board with some obviously rushed and frankly, bland art, we're involved in a cliched superhero battle, rendering something that began with much promise only average.

Firstly, if this is indeed supposed to be set in the 1960's, then *WHY* do so many people possess home PC's? Furthermore, why are "modern-day" celebrities, et. al. highlighted on the cover of the teen magazine?

With that gripe over, I can move on to my legitimate criticism.
First of all, I have to say it was a fair, if not great, effort.
As CotA was intended as a retcon,(retrofit continuity, or "backstory" created later) I feel that the authors could have kept significantly better to what we as readers already knew of the 5 original characters, particularly in the case of Scott and Bobby.
The Scott we know is so upstanding that he would *never* have fallen in with the lowlifes he did, for instance.
And *what* was up with Bobby? So--introverted, when we already know he's the class clown.
Jean seemed to me to be almost autistic through the whole novel, like the Professor was dampening her. We already know he had to put up blocks to prevent her going mad from her telepathy, but still...
And it didn't feel like she had nearly enough to do. They treated her story very poorly in terms of both quality and quantity.
And Professor X appeared to me to be more manipulative than his original, genuinely altruistic motives would have bespoken.
His 1960's counterpart seems to be far more idealistic and lofty, less--gritty, I suppose. Less likely to want the students to get their hands dirty with actual, open conflict.
This Professor seems to be a darker shadow of his "original" self here, and I don't think we're seeing the real individual. It's not the representation Lee, et. al. would have wanted, I think.
For that matter, *no one* seems like themselves, and yet readers are supposed to believe these were the "original" original characters we'd come to know and love?

Three stars for effort, and I'll also for balance list a few of the things I *did* like.
One: the thinly-veiled reference to Aryan Pride groups was a nice touch. Horrible people accurately represented. A good way to teach readers of the dangers of assuming sociocultural superiority. Therein lies only pain.
Two: the interaction between Professor X and Magneto was just phenomenal. Powerful, perfect and knife-edge, as all their meetings during this time of their lives should have been.
Three: Magneto's destruction of Metzger. Not as long as he drew breath would he permit another such leader to rise.
Lovely, if dark, unspoken introspection, and a good contrast between himself and the Professor. He's right--He was the only one with the courage to have destroyed the madman. I do not advocate murder, nor do I consider it honorable, but this is more a question of diffusing a dangerous situation before it got worse. Metzger was just collateral damage.

So, for those three reasons alone, I bumped my opinion of this TPB up to four stars. Still think you could do better in terms of reading X-Men TPB's, though, and that they could have done *far* better with the material they had to work with to craft a well-thought-out origin story of the Fabulous First Five.

This is a must for X-fans. This is the story of the beginning of the X-Men. Not X-Men #1, but what came before. How the professor got the original team. It's really well-done.

It all began with a dream of peaceful coexistence between humans and mutants. Forty years from now, the dream is still living on strong in the hands of comics creators and quite recently movie studios. The X-Men franchise is the most popular of all comic mythos and collectively has take on the like of the big guns like Superman and Batman. It all began with a simpe idea, that people wherever they are can live and coexist with others of a minority. Be it race, social status and age. Going back to how the dream began makes the person only fathom of how the X-Men have gone through their drastic changes to become the force in comics they are now.

Joe Casey weaves a good story at first on how he introduces his early mutants that made up Prof X's first batch of students, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast, Iceman and Angel. Kids with the only difference from others is that they're different. Everyone who has ever been through the teen years feels that difference and you don't require the X-gene to know it. The story begins with the shadow of Columbine still looming over certain plot scenes. By the end, however, it seems that the story was rushed and the originality of the first three issues is lost on training, bickering and a dominating personality readers are not used to in Prof X's character. He's more of a school master than a father figure that he is these days. Even his restaurant confrontation with Magneto is anything but benign. He actually threatens to wedge a knife in the guy's brain. Are we talking about the same old, kind man of the early series. Not really. Casey, just fails to capture the essence of Xavier's dream.

The art also goes through this twist. Steve "the Dude" Rude is known to emulate greats such as Jack Kirby in his retro style art, but when the other fill in artists take over, it becomes another X-Men story and not the flashback to what is already being chunked out in the monthly series.

The book is good and you learn how these X-Men came to be. The best scenes include those with Magneto in them. That guy is great wherever he appears and no matter how many times Marvel tries to kill him, you have to admit, he's the best X-villain out there. It's a wonderful read for the first few issues, but then the story and art becomes eclectic and too out of track. Casey is a good writer, but needs to work more on his story contination. Rude is a bonafide genius. 'Nuff said!!!

this was a good read & an interesting take on the original x-men's history. please note however, that this is not their actual history, it is more of a fanbased 'what might have been' kind of thing.

Joe Casey's story is solid, and gives Professor X and the original X-Men (Cyclops, Beast, Angel, Iceman, and Marvel Girl) a backstory that they have needed for quite some time. The only real problem that I had is that the artists changed from chapter to chapter, and the change can be a bit jarring.

This is a wonderful paperback which tells about how the first 5 X-men came to live with Xavier. Gives wonderful insight into all the characters. As a Scott fan I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to know more about his childhood.
The X-men included in this book are: Hank, Bobby, Warren, Jean and Scott. Plus Xavier and Magneto.

This is alright book, a nice retailing of the origin of the X-men. The fact that part way though Rude is no longer doing the art is a bit disappointing. The writing is good. The page layouts are bad at times. Over all it's an okay book.

Joe Casey's run on the Uncanny X-Men titled left a lot to be desired. Somehow, he was hampered by the fact that he was trying too hard to match up to Grant Morrison's New X-Men (something not humanly possible). IMHO, Casey's best writing was on Cable, Wildcats and here in this tiny little piece of gem - a retelling of who the X-Men are and how they came to be.

The original X-Men comic started around 1963 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. The story begins with Prof. X mentally summoning his students to gather before him in their gaudy, '60s uniforms (not costumes). "Children of the Atom" serves as a prequel to the story in X-Men #1. Who were these people before they became students of Charles Xavier.

There is a "work-in-progress" kind of feel to the whole story. The mutant fear is only beginning, with its flames stoked by a very "American-History-X" cult leader. Both Xavier and Magneto appears to be busy preparing for the upcoming problems/war. But the highlight of the story has to be the original five students - Scott Summers, Hank McCoy, Bobby Drake, Warren Worthington and Jean Grey. Here, they are presented as flesh-and-blood CHILDREN. Not the iconic superheroes of the movie or the comics today. Scott is shown as an Oliver Twist character who stuggles with moral issues (he is shown reading Nietzsche's "Beyond Good and Evil"). Hank is a genius and intellectual but acts like the average "non-geeky" jock to be "accepted". Bobby stuggles with questions of identity and insecurity (it's not difficult to see the evolution of this insecure kid into the practical joker of the Xavier Alumni). Warren idolizes superheroes and long to be like them - his first outing as one got him hunted by a Sentinel, leading to a rude awakening that he can never be "just like a superhero" - he's ultimately a mutant. Jean is pure Jean - painfully gorgeous and vulnerable.

I love this work. For its humanity. For the writers obvious affection for these "children". And for Steve Rude's clear, Kirbyesque art. Alas, Rude did not stay for the duration of the series. The last chapters were illustrated by Essad Ribic and Michael Ryan - good enough art but it'd be even more fulfilling had Rude completed the whole thing. Last but not least, a gold star to anyone who can spot the sly reference to Monica Lewinsky's mutant power in this book!!!