Fans of Claremont's X-Men writing from the 1980s and 1990s will no doubt be thrilled with this new limited series. It doesn't just tackle continuity points from a decade or two ago, it wallows in them. To Claremont's creedit, he also incorporates a myriad of other elements from other writers' runs on Marvel's mutants, but that doesn't make for a more accessible read. Only the most die-hard of X-Men fans will be able to fully appreciate this script, and others, if not deterred by the inaccessibility of this debut issue, will no doubt be put off by the length of this project (18 issues?!?).
Aliyah Bishop boasts an unusual lineage. She's the daughter of Shi'Ar royalty and a mutant from the future -- Deathbird and Bishop. She may not have inherited their powers, but she did get some traits from her parents that are just as important: rebelliousness and heroism. Aliyah happens upon a Kree transaction in which the alien conquerors purchase an unusual pod, carrying a powerful cargo. Aliyah rescues the living merchandise, and it unleashes a long formant power... and the eruption of cosmic forces is felt light years away on Earth by a select group of people... men and women who were once known as the X-Men.
Sean Chen's a solid super-hero artist, and his greatest contribution here is probably the design for Aliyah. She looks clearly human, but there's a subtly exotic quality that sets her apart as ever so slightly alien. Her youth and determination shines through in the art as well. There's a distinct lack of clarity in the sequences that don't feature human figures, though. I can't tell what is going with Aliyah's ship for several pages, and it seems to be rather important, if the script is any indication. I was also disappointed that save for Kitty Pryde, the X-Men don't seem to have aged much at all. There needs to be a stronger visual cue that this story is taking place in the future.
Claremont wisely tries to bring this story down to earth by presenting it through the eyes of a single character: Aliyah. The problem is that the reader doesn't get a sense of who Aliyah is beyond her parents' backstory. She's a heroine, yes, but beyond that, the reader doesn't get to know what makes her tick.
What I find most off-putting about this script is that Claremont isn't telling a new story. He's cobbled together pieces of old stories to tell this one. He resurrects the notion of enslaved mutant Hounds. He abandons the more grounded analogy of mutants as an oppressed minority to explore more cosmic themes that once again incorporate the Shi-Ar race. The Brood is back. I think readers would be well advised to revisit Claremont's X-Men writing by actually re-reading his old Uncanny X-Men work as opposed to revisiting it through this new limited series.
