Writer: Zeb Wells
Artist: Stephen Segovia
Color Artist: David Curiel
Letterer: Cory Petit
Cover Artist: Stephen Segovia
Hellions #1, like all of the other X-Men titles currently running, explores a particular problem created within Jonathan Hickman’s House of X/Powers of X story from Summer 2019. In this case, the problem is what to do with the mutants that have a hard time following the rules, especially Krakoa’s new laws. Naturally, Mr. Sinister jumps to their defense with a proposal on how to put them to work.
Zeb Wells approaches this book with the expectation that readers are familiar with the Dawn of X; however, his writing beyond that is friendly to X-Men fans whether they started reading last summer, or if they’ve been following since Claremont’s stories in the ’80s. The first half of this first issue acts as a sort of roll call, cluing readers in to why this particular group is assembled. Newcomers will get a grasp of what these characters’ powers and personalities are, but presented in a way that long-time readers won’t feel like it’s redundant. The second half serves more as a mission briefing, with nods at past events (including a snide remark about the name “Marauders”) that will spark nostalgia in some readers and create a recommended (though not necessary) reading list for others.
Overall, Hellions #1 creates a new iteration of the team with a new purpose, without discarding the X-Men’s past. If you’d like to dive a bit deeper into the new status quo of X-Men, especially some of the more “sinister” elements, definitely check this book out.
Review by Andrew Fellner
