Review: Astonishing X-Men #7

Marvel Comics
Review: Astonishing X-Men #7
By Andy Frisk
January 5, 2018 - 02:16

Marvel Comics
Writer(s): Charles Soule
Artist(s): Phil Noto
Letterer(s): VC's Clayton Cowles

Charles Soule is one of my favorite comic book writers working right now. He's doing something over in the current Daredevil series that I never though would be possible after the Brubaker, and later on the Waid, run on the title: making Daredevil one of the best reads right now from Marvel Comics. He's ushered in a rebirth of sorts for Matt Murdock and now appears to be doing the same with another long lived Marvel Comics' character: Charles Xavier. Here though, in Astonishing X-Men, the story is a little more murky and much more mysterious and threatening. While the returned Xavier appears to have much of the upstanding humanitarian and heroic qualities, there is something different about him, and only time, and Charles Soule, knows how this latest return of the X-Men's founder will affect both mankind and mutantkind.

While I'm hoping that Soule has been given the green light to eventually allow for a return to the status quo for Charles Xavier, I'm pretty sure it's going to take a while to get to that point. The return of the "old Xavier," would be great, but somehow I don't think that we are going to be seeing the old "Charley" for a while either. Calling himself "X" since he's not ready for the name of "Charles Xavier," X behaves much like the pre-death (at the hands of Scott Summers) Xavier, but exhibits actions and characteristics that make him "changed" as Logan describes him. Logan states that he's died "hundreds, maybe thousands of times" and he never came back the same. Xavier, or X, has undoubtedly been changed as well.

There's nothing here to believe that this Xavier (who psychically changed places with Fantomex, leaving him in the astral plane) isn't the Xavier that was killed by Cyclops, and his return isn't without consequences and complications that could conceivably undo his return, but there's no easy reading road ahead of Astonishing X-Men readers, and we wouldn't have it any other way.

So with one of the best writers in the business teamed up with one of the most consummate and talented artists in the business in Phil Noto, Astonishing X-Men readers are in good hands going forward as "A Man Called X" unfolds over the next several months.

Rating: 8/10