E is for Extinction #1
Marvel Comics
Written by: Chris Burham & Dennis Culver
Art by: Ramon Villalobos
One of the beauties of Marvel’s “Secret Wars” has been to reintroduce established concept’s and stories, but in very unique way’s. No Marvel Story incarnation fits that premise better than the world that legendary writer Grant Morrison established for Marvel’s band of Merry Mutants during his critically acclaimed “New X-men” run. Widely regarded as one of the quintessential mutant stories in the X-men mytho’s, Morrison’s run modernized the team in both look and feel trading in the spandex for leather outfits, and action based panels for character driven one’s. The only problem, the historic X-men run altered the characters status quo’s so much, that Marvel quickly disregarded it in any terms of canon. So what better time to return to that world than in “Secret Wars”?
Anyone expecting a continuation of Morrison’s X-men story in “E is for Extinction” will most likely be a bit disappointed, however former Morrison collaborator: Chris Burham does an excellent job of maintaining the writers grandiose sensibilities with an all new premise. Rather the book takes the look and feel of that “New X-men” universe and put’s an almost “Age of Apocalypse” spin on it. Charles Xavier is dead, and his team of original X-men and their belief system are all but forgotten, instead what remains is Magneto’s perfect Mutopia for the homo-superior. If “Secret War’s” is the fantasy of every Dr. Doom fanboy, then “E is for Extinction” is the delightful twisted nightmare that most Magneto fans have been craving since the 90’s.
While in the past we have seen what a Magneto led X-men team would be like, we have rarely seen what a perfect world for mutants would be. The question’s Burham and
Dennis Culver begin to ponder in this issue, about the dynamic between human’s and mutant’s, once the roles are reversed are fresh even for long time X readers. Combine that with the fading dreams of Charles Xavier and his classic X-men, and you have a “Secret Wars” tie in worthy of it’s name in “E is for Extinction”.
Despite taking the world of Morrison’s “New X-men” in a completely new direction, there is still a lot of homage to that historic run. This is done most recognizably by the cast of characters Burham brings back, some of the best holdovers from the Morrison days remain intact from Angel Salvadore, to Beak, to one metal head that will be sure to make fans of the original “New X-men” collective jaws hit the floor on the final panel. In addition to the character’s, the art of Ramon Villalobos makes the original world these characters thrived in during their Frank Quietly days feel like a warped reality for even the most reverent believers of homo superiority.
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