Mystique (click for source)
By Aaron Nash
Mystique has always been a fan favourite from the X-Men universe and rightfully so. Her mutant abilities allow her to shapeshift into another human shape while also changing her vocal tones. She’s like the T-1000’s cooler grandmother who just happens to moonlight as an expert assassin. In the X-Men comics she’s generally seen as this morally grey character who, despite siding with Magneto more often than not, has her own agenda. As she is such a fascinating character with so much potential it was only natural for her to spawn her own solo series, which was started by Brian K. Vaughan and later finished by Sean McKeever.
Mystique has always been a fan favourite from the X-Men universe and rightfully so. Her mutant abilities allow her to shapeshift into another human shape while also changing her vocal tones. She’s like the T-1000’s cooler grandmother who just happens to moonlight as an expert assassin. In the X-Men comics she’s generally seen as this morally grey character who, despite siding with Magneto more often than not, has her own agenda. As she is such a fascinating character with so much potential it was only natural for her to spawn her own solo series, which was started by Brian K. Vaughan and later finished by Sean McKeever.
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The first six issues contain the initial story arc of Mystique’s solo run and pit her against an enemy who has stolen some Sentinels and plans on unleashing them against the mutant population. She’s ‘hired’ by Professor Charles Xavier to deal with the issue secretly and without the government’s assistance. For this she will be allowed to stay on the outer side of the prison bars and maybe, just maybe, pay back the world for some of the atrocities she was part of.
The story isn’t amazingly deep, but it really is a hell of a lot of fun. It plays out like a good old fashioned spy adventure with twists and turns around every bend. There’s a perfect balance between action and story which works on nearly every level. The writing is fun and pacey, with enough depth to allow the reader to question some of the characters’ morals and actions. Being the start of a solo series, it would have been easy for them to write it as an origin tale, but thankfully they didn’t. Instead, we have a story which ventures deep into Mystique’s life to reveal her sitting in a very grey moral area. That isn’t to say you need to know much about Mystique to enjoy this story. What you need to know is explained in the first couple of issues and the intrigue builds gradually as the story progresses.
The story isn’t amazingly deep, but it really is a hell of a lot of fun. It plays out like a good old fashioned spy adventure with twists and turns around every bend. There’s a perfect balance between action and story which works on nearly every level. The writing is fun and pacey, with enough depth to allow the reader to question some of the characters’ morals and actions. Being the start of a solo series, it would have been easy for them to write it as an origin tale, but thankfully they didn’t. Instead, we have a story which ventures deep into Mystique’s life to reveal her sitting in a very grey moral area. That isn’t to say you need to know much about Mystique to enjoy this story. What you need to know is explained in the first couple of issues and the intrigue builds gradually as the story progresses.
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The art is brilliant throughout and has the perfect ‘pulpy’ vibe like the old adventure tales from the past used to have. Here it’s bright and colourful with lots of varied scenic environments and characters. It works expertly and really emphasises the fun vibe of the story. The character designs are brilliant and I’d argue that Mystique herself has never looked better. Even though it’s just the start of the series I feel that the art tells us so much about the characters, with the bright colours emphasising their emotions.
As a start to a series this story does everything it has to, laying the foundations for a truly great, enjoyable series. It’s more than mindless fun, while never being so dialogue heavy it gets hard to read. It’s well worth checking out and is a brilliant take on the spy genre. I’m highly looking forward to reading further instalments and seeing where else Mystique’s story takes her…
Looking for a new X-Man character to love, or hate? Dying to read more about Mystique? Let us know what you think below!
As a start to a series this story does everything it has to, laying the foundations for a truly great, enjoyable series. It’s more than mindless fun, while never being so dialogue heavy it gets hard to read. It’s well worth checking out and is a brilliant take on the spy genre. I’m highly looking forward to reading further instalments and seeing where else Mystique’s story takes her…
Looking for a new X-Man character to love, or hate? Dying to read more about Mystique? Let us know what you think below!
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