What If…? X-Men #1 Doesn’t Quite Live up to its Interesting Premise
I’ve always said that the best What If…? stories will take a single decision and turn left instead of right. Ashley Allen (Magik, Magik & Colossus) understands this, returning all the way to Charles Xavier’s first battle, his fight in the womb with Cassandra Nova and asking, what if she won instead in What If…? X-Men. Fast forward a few decades and we see Cassandra Nova running a school of sorts of her own, except it’s more of a prison as she keeps any telepaths she can find captive while turning other mutants into her own person strikeforce. We follow Jean Grey and Emma Frost, two young captives of Cassandra Nova as they try to escape from her.
My biggest problem with this issue is structural. Cassandra Nova is a hard villain to get right, because ultimately her only real goal is to make Charles’ life miserable and destroy everything he loves. She’s intrinsically tied to Charles, so separating the two leaves her lacking any real motivation. Allen tries to resolve this by diving deeper into the lore of the Mummudrai and trying to find a deeper meaning to their purpose, but it ends up with a heavy exposition dump that’s a little too confusing and doesn’t land. It’s a pity, because the rest of the issue with Cassandra creating a twisted version of Charles’ dream, constantly trying to find a worthy adversary that can live up to Charles while feeling so above every other person is so deeply below her that she considers them “not real”, sets up an interesting premise but the further it goes into the issue the less she works on the antagonist.
While too much of the issue may follow Cassandra Nova monologuing, it shines when it follows Jean and Emma. It’s a refreshing take to have the two of them on the same side for a change, especially not divided by any man. The lack of romance in the issue in general is refreshing, it’d be an easy way to redeem the twisted Scott and Logan under Cassandra Novas who are hunting Jean and Emma but thankfully the issue avoids the tired cliche and instead allows Jean to free them by showing them the truth of what Nova did to them instead. The two get characterised really well in the limited page time Allen has with them, Jean is firm but kind, and Emma puts up a harder exterior while being fiercely protective of those she loves. Even when escaping the initial fight Emma returns for Jean, which demonstrates a much clearer understanding of her character than a lot of takes do. While the issue may “resolve” with a predictable Phoenix twist, Allen takes a lot from the New X-Men take on the Phoenix specifically in a way that really works with the narrative.
Unfortunately the issue’s “resolution” isn’t much of a resolution, instead ending on a vague “The End?” as Jean and Emma take time to regroup before the final fight. To me, a What If…? should always be entirely self contained, always with potential to return but never needing one to be a complete story, and this issue lacks a proper climax. Ultimately this leaves the issues feeling a little unsatisfying, especially since it’s unlikely it ever will be finished.
Sumit Kumar (Death of the Silver Surfer) has been a name I’ve taken notice of for a while now, and while he’s yet to get a big break, this issue is yet another clear indication it’s just a matter of time. The designs for Cassandra Nova’s X-Men are fantastic, with some great classic X-Men elements while also capturing that “bad future” feel, and the little touches like Cyclops eyepatch and Wolverine’s wild hair are great extra things to sell the vibe. Kumar brings some great action work too, a specific panel of Cyclops quickly shooting in two directions stands out to me as especially great. And with Cassandra Nova involved and her weird “finger in heads” thing, there’s also a real horror element that Kumar nails too. Sonia Oback’s work compliments it perfectly and nails that “dark future” feel.
Overall, What If…? X-Men struggles to quite live up to the interesting premise Allen creates, and the lack of a real resolution leaves it unsatisfying despite some really strong character moments and the stellar art from Sumit Kumar. It’s a fun enough read but a little too exposition heavy, and not quite enough to enter the rare hall of What If…? stories that will be remembered for a long time.
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