Age of X-Man: The Amazing Nightcrawler #1 (spoilers/discussion)

[Anduinel]

This is another series off to a damn good start. Especially if you're a Nightcrawler fan. *raises hand*

The most obvious thread here is Kurt having everything his heart ever desired - a world where people like him aren't hated and shunned, the adoration of the public, a world free of want - and yet still finding it hollow. The roles he plays - on the screen and as one of the X-Men - are all the world really sees of him. He may no longer be using an image inducer, but he's still hiding his true self from the world.



Seanan McGuire also makes certain to draw attention to that parallel with Kurt and Meggan - Meggan's a beautiful woman, but even she has to mask up to be accepted in her part, has to be a little more perfect. It's really a good way to harken back to Kurt and Meggan's bond way back in the old Excalibur days, while also inverting it a bit. Kurt is still, in part, drawn to Meggan because of his isolation, but now that attraction is more based on their mutual situation than it is Meggan literally making herself into the woman of Kurt's dreams.



(And yes, the symbolism of the apple is something we see again in this issue.)

We also see more of the rot at the root of this utopia. Bigotry is still alive and well, for example. It's just that the acceptable scapegoats have changed.



And I do find it a bit disturbing that Kurt, instead of calling out a wrong as a wrong, as Amara does, opts instead to stay in-character, so to speak, and just steers everyone's attention back to having a good time. It's especially unsettling given that Kurt does seem to have his memories of the bad old days intact, so he knows how it feels to be on the receiving end of prejudice. But then that's all part of AoXM's general creep factor - these are fundamentally the characters we know and care about, but just as fundamentally altered by another's will, with the full extent of that tinkering yet unknown.

Then there's the affair - yes, Kurt and Meggan do give in to their mutual attraction and sleep together. And that's a cliffhanger on multiple levels. First there are the immediate repurcussions that will happen when they inevitably get found out in Age of X-Man. Then there's the greater unknown, namely what effect this is going to have once Nate's little empire of bullshit comes crashing down around his ears. Meggan has a husband and child back home, so this has the potential to get really messy.

So yeah. Loving this. McGuire obviously knows these characters well and has put a lot of thought into what makes them tick, and into just how something like Nate's utopia would impact them. I can't wait to see more.

[Anduinel]

Also, this scene? 1000% authentic fuzzy elf. I suspect Kurt is in good hands with this creative team (no matter how much they torture him <.<).

[Heroine Addict]

GREAT overview & write-up, Anduinel! Think this sums up things currently:

... glad I’m spending my money on the superior AoXM titles...

... pretty nicely, and accurately. I'll be back to add my thoughts later, and compliment yours some more.

[Anduinel]

GREAT overview & write-up, Anduinel! Think this sums up things currently:



... pretty nicely, and accurately. I'll be back to add my thoughts later, and compliment yours some more.

Thanks!

And yeah, fully on board the AoXM train at this point. It seems like every week I'm like, "OK, this is my favorite book so far. No, nevermind, it's this one. No, it's THIS one!"

I suspect that The X-Tremists shall unseat all comers next week, but goddamn, it's fun to be enthused.

[Sundown]

I really loved this first issue. It's off and running.

The tone seems to be light, as in "we're just entertainers", but McGuire shows a strong understanding of the character's habit of presenting light and fun to the world to cover the emotion and depth underneath.

I agree that this could get sticky afterwards.

[Jesse-James]

So we get 2 out of the 3 Cuckoos, Kurt, Magma, Kylun and Megan. Any other familiar faces?

[Anduinel]

So we get 2 out of the 3 Cuckoos, Kurt, Magma, Kylun and Megan. Any other familiar faces?

Nope. Just the folks we already knew from the solits.

There is a new kid, Scope, who seems to be another psi-type mutant. He projects holograms that the studio uses for movie sets.

[Alex.]

So we get 2 out of the 3 Cuckoos, Kurt, Magma, Kylun and Megan. Any other familiar faces?

Where's Phoebe?

[Anduinel]

Where's Phoebe?

Mysteriously absent. We see a photo with three Cuckoos, but she's never mentioned.

[magneticmushroom]

Gotta be honest, the preview didn't grab me and I bought this on faith based on the last few titles. Glad I did.

I think we're at the point now, where, for setting up Age of X-Man, Disassembled was officially worth it.

[Tycon]

Gotta be honest, the preview didn't grab me and I bought this on faith based on the last few titles. Glad I did.

I think we're at the point now, where, for setting up Age of X-Man, Disassembled was officially worth it.

Hmmmmmm I wouldn’t go that far. Age of X-Man’s success so far has to do with their strong creative teams. I reckon they didn’t even need a set up in the 616.

[magneticmushroom]

Hmmmmmm I wouldn’t go that far. Age of X-Man’s success so far has to do with their strong creative teams. I reckon they didn’t even need a set up in the 616.

Probably not, but if it got us here, hey, I'm fine with it. Plus, I didn't entirely dislike Disassembled, though it wasn't without its objective problems.

[Johnrevenge]

I have to say that Amazing Nightcrawler was the mini of AoXman that I was least interested. I decided to try the first issue and it was really a great read

Age of X-man is starting really strong. I hope it keeps up the great quality.

[Knives]

Weird if the concept of love or emotional ties and family are banned or viewed negatively why they are portrayed in movies? It should not be the other way around ?

I liked the message that prejudice will always exist in one form or another.

[Havok83]

I really liked this book. Better than Kurt's actual solo from a few years ago