Written by ED BRUBAKER
Penciled by MARC SILVESTRI
Cover by DAVID FINCH
The biggest event to hit the X-Men in ten years is here! Superstars Ed Brubaker (UNCANNY X-MEN, CAPTAIN AMERICA) and Marc Silvestri (UNCANNY X-MEN, NEW X-MEN) bring you the first chapter of the story that fans will be talking about for years. Just when it looked like there was no possibility of a future for mutants, hope arrives. But the X-Men aren�t there to meet it�The Marauders and Purifiers beat them to it. Now the race is on to get the first new mutant since HOUSE OF M! The story that begins here continues through all the X-Men books. Don�t miss it!
"At this point, after all the build up, interviews, online speculation and �everything changes forever� sloganeering, you�ve pretty much made up your mind as to whether this story is for you or not. You�re either counting the days �til this is on the rack, or you couldn�t care less about anything �X�. Well, Marvel�s made it easy on both camps, as this issue establishes itself as the X-event for X-fans only. Everything that occurs in this issue presumes not only a solid understanding of recent X-events (House of M, Decimation, New X-Men arcs, X-Men arcs, Uncanny X-Men arcs, not wondering where Astonishing arcs fit) but that you�ll be willing to read 12 more parts of a story to get answers. No �you only have to read one series� World War Hulk-style storytelling here, no sir. But, despite all these demands, it�s still a gratifying event for those X-fans in the audience. Old favorites like Angel and Xavier look to be taking more of a central role, while the inclusion of the X-Factor and New X-Men casts go a long way towards the series stated purpose of realigning all the X-books into one cohesive group of titles. So, if you�ve been looking forward to this event, you won�t be disappointed. But if you�ve been needing a truly gangbusters story to care about Cyclops and the gang, keep waiting. Oh, and p.s., what�s up with all the red in the first dozen pages? Am I reading Avengers Disassembled all of a sudden?"
THIS BOOK GETS 7 GRAHAMS OUT OF 10