Review: All-New X-Men Vol. 1

All-New X-Men Vol. 1 is a new direction for Marvel's merry mutants, and I like it a lot. I have not read the X- books in a long time, so I'm a little behind the times, but apparently Cyclops has changed- he has become the face of the mutant revolution and is now on the run , trying to redeem himself and at the same time protect newly emerging mutants from human oppression. The rest of the X-Men consider him a dangerous revolutionary, but are unsure what to do about him.

Hank McCoy (the Beast) decides to go back in time to bring the younger versions of the original five X-Men (Cyclops, Jean Grey, Iceman, Angel and the Beast) forward to the present day- the logic being that the younger Cyclops will be so shocked by what he does in the future that he will stop his future self. Kinda mine bendy. So the stage is set for a people out of time story.

Beast manages to convince the younger X-Men to return with him to the future, and once they do so they are stunned and amazed by the changes that have occurred. At the same time the present day X-Men are shocked at what Beast has done.

Mean while, we see present day Cyclops and his allies (Magneto, Emma Frost) trying to control their powers, which seem to be out of control at the moment, while at the same time trying to reach newly emerging mutants and bind them to their cause, offering to train them in their new powers. They establish a new base of operations and begin to build a school of their own. What will happen when they come face to face with the time- tossed original X-men?

I like the way the writer handles the characters, for the most part. I have a hard time believing Cyclops would do some of the things he's apparently done- that's just a stretch, they seem to have really taken his character into left field in recent years. And I've never Scott and Emma as a couple So that half of the story doesn't really work for me. I like the twisted time travel concept so much that I can just go with it. I like that they're doing fresh and different here. It's fun and fresh, and works.