by Matt Sernaker, Managing Editor

For X-Men fans, the dystopian storyline known as “Days of Future Past” has been regarded as one of the most classic comic arcs of all time. That dark future has been teased for decades, but never fully explored…until now. Marc Guggenheim (Arrow, X-Men Gold) is back to take readers on a journey into the unknown and dive into the tragic events that set the stage for an epic X-Men adventure in X-Men: Days of Future Past DOOMSDAY. 

Creative Team:

Writer: Marc Guggenheim

Penciler: Manuel Garcia

Inker: Cam Smith

Colorist: Yen Nitro

Letterer: VC’s Clayton Cowles

The issue launches readers into the far future, where the Sentinels reign supreme. On the run and outnumbered, things are looking bleak for mutantkind, and the circumstances are pretty awful for the Children of the Atom in particular. The iconic poster from the original comic, which noted the fates of our favorite characters, becomes VERY real, VERY fast. But what events led to the tragedy of “Days of Future Past“? In a non-linear fashion, we learn that Senator Kelly has been assassinated and the Mutant Control Act has been passed in this alternate reality. The events leading to “Civil War” in Stamford, Connecticut play out just a bit differently than in the 616 timeline, with the X-Men taking the brunt of the fallout instead of the New Warriors. With the war between humans and mutants escalating to new levels, Magneto decides to take matters into his own hands. (Shocking, I know). The X-Men are forced to take on their nemesis one last time before the world truly passes the point of no return, and not everyone is coming back from this fight…

Guggenheim and the creative team do an impressive job keeping the story beats clear, while jumping around the timeline of events leading to this dark world. The tragic fates of some of our heroes played out differently than I would have expected, making this story that much more intense. The most shocking inclusion was the ending for our Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, who experiences a truly twisted fate in this installment. I also appreciated the context as to how many years were passing between different segments of the issue, as that passage of time made certain choices resonate deeper. From an art perspective, I enjoyed Garcia and Smith’s designs in general, but some of the characters felt a bit off or muddied at times. Steve Rogers’ visuals for example didn’t line up for me personally, but these creative choices didn’t detract or distract from the story as a whole. Overall, I really enjoyed many aspects of this first issue and I am definitely invested to see how events continue to play out in this alternate X-Men reality.

Rating:
ComicsOnline gives X-Men: Days of Future Past DOOMSDAY #1 – 4/5 tragic deaths of our favorite X-Men. 

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