Longbox Review: Exceptional X-Men #1

 

Exceptional X-Men vol. 1 #1

Release Date: September 4, 2024

Cover Date: November, 2024

Credits: (w) Eve L. Ewing; (p) Carmen Carnero; (i) Carmen Carnero; (c) Nolan Woodard;  (l) VC's Joe Sabino; (e) Tom Brevoort; (eic) C.B. Cebulski

Title: "Kate Pryde"

With issue #1, Exceptional X-Men reads like a very character driven book.  We catch up with Kate Pryde.  She's living in Chicago, has a roommate, and makes a living as a bartender at Lulu's Tavern.  Notice that I'm not calling her "Kitty" in this review.  Kate is her own woman.  She's an adult and she's obviously dealing with an adult life.  In fact, she seems distracted by her adult decisions.  Kate is no longer an X-Man. She knew she was headed to very dark places and she decided to walk away.  Now, she's trying to be a normal single woman in Chicago and it's not working out for her.

After a rough day at work, Kate goes to a concert venue, ready to meet a date.  When she gets there, she realizes that her date is actually for the next night. While deciding what to do, Kate witnesses a young mutant be denied entry into the venue and ultimately assaulted and shot at by the bouncer.  Kate helps the girl escape death and finally gets her home safe.  When she gets to her home, Kate Pryde does some reflecting.  The next day, on her way to work, she finds a gift on her front doorstep.  It's from the young mutant, a girl named Trista.  The package is full of glitter, pens, stickers, cards, a unicorn, and a fun pair of earrings.  She wears those earring when she goes to work, and it seems like she's reconsidering her decision to not be a part of anything. 

The issue ends with Emma Frost running through a list of mutants.  Obviously she's got plans for whichever mutant she chooses.  Back at the bar, Kate gets a headache.  Emma's made contact and she looks really smug about it.

My thoughts on this issue...

1.  I like that Kate introduced herself to Trista as Kitty.  It helped her gain the young mutant's trust.  This doesn't mean that she's going to go by Kitty.  It means she's appealing to someone who needs her not to be a stuffy adult.  My guess is that Kate Pryde is still very much here and in charge.  She's compromising nothing.

2.  This might be my favorite From the Ashes book so far.  I still feel like they're trying to sweeten up the X-Books, but I have to accept that not every X-Book is written for me.  I can say, that I've never had a connection to Dazzler, but I felt connected to Kitty Pryde the moment she showed up in the X-Men universe.  Maybe I have Chris Claremont to thank for me enjoying this one so much.

3.  Character development has always been appreciated and this book has it!

4.  As far as criticism, this issue has something in it that won't allow me to suspend my disbelief.  In the scene where the bouncer is harassing Trista, he pulls out a gun and fires at her.  I find this hard to believe.  It didn't seem at all realistic but gave Kate a reason to grab this girl and run, creating the connection between them.  I'm sorry if I compare this book to Dazzler, but Dazzler had the same thing, when the super villain showed up to ruin the concert.

Anyway, that's about it for me.  I'm giving this book a 7 out of 10 stars.  Who knows, this might climb higher if I read it again.

See ya!