Robb Ghag reviews Amazing X-Men #1…
“An AMAZING new era for the X-Men starts here! Ever since his Nightcrawler’s death in X-MEN MESSIAH COMPLEX, the X-Men have been without their heart and soul. After learning that their friend may not be gone after all, it’s up to WOLVERINE, STORM, BEAST, ICEMAN, NORTHSTAR and FIRESTAR to find and bring back the fan favorite fuzzy blue elf! Super star artist ED MCGUINNESS (HULK) joins master X-Writer JASON AARON (WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN, X-MEN: SCHISM) to bring you the most exciting comic on the stands!”
If you’re an X-Men fan you’ve probably been wondering when they were eventually going to bring back Nightcrawler. In the events of Second Coming, Nightcrawler was mortally wounded by Bastion and killed saving Hope Summers.
Jason Aaron does a great job in finding a way to re-establish Nightcrawler into the Marvel Universe without actually bringing him back to the land of the living. If you’re a fan of Jason Aaron’s writing (and why wouldn’t you be) this issue and potentially this five issue series has the potential to bring Nightcrawler back to the fold of the X-Men.
I’ve always been a fan of Ed McGuinness’ art and it continues in this issue whether in the glorious, beautiful afterlife or simply walking the grounds of the Jean Grey School, his backdrops and background characters are just as relevant as the main characters in this cast.
The story starts off well, and sets the points for the upcoming issue. It was a pretty safe bet that Nightcrawler wouldn’t remain gone for long (as with most of the X-Men who die fearlessly only to be brought back). The thing that seems to set this issue apart is that, it’s the Nightcrawler who died, and not some futuristic or alternative version of him.
With the recent Battle of the Atom storyline, as well as the upcoming X-Men: Days of Future Past, this is the Nightcrawler we remember, hopefully coming back for good.
Robb Ghag works for an Arts & Entertainment Brokerage in Toronto Canada. An Animation and Film school graduate, he specializes in Risk Management of Animation and VFX studios throughout North America.
Originally published November 8, 2013. Updated April 15, 2018.
