I was a tad apprehensive when this title was first announced. It was probably the furthest from what I expected an early X-Men series to be about. I really didn’t know what to expect going into this issue but after reading this a few times now, I can confidently say Alex Paknadel has produced one of the smartest stories of this young era.

The beauty is in how he subverts the typical mutant story structure & introduces new POVs outside our usual X-Men crew that allow for unique narrative opportunities. Similar to X-Factor #1, we quickly realize just how expendable our main characters are, but Paknadel dives further into the impact this realization has on the psyche of individuals who realize they’re just a number within a military industrial complex. The series is set up to answer several intriguing questions regarding self-autonomy and if it’s possible to truly be in control of your own existence. Due to the brilliant writing, I had a deep sense of feeling sorry for the main characters by the end of the book, as they’re just as much victims themselves even though we know they’re carrying out heinous acts against mutants.

Beyond the philosophical aspects, Paknadel gave us a well-paced & balanced debut issue that included everything from a suspenseful, action-packed opening scene to world-building that provided backstory on the Sentinel program to character backgrounds that imbued a level of humanity and emotional resonance.

Justin Mason matches the tone perfectly with a ‘90s-style artistic grittiness that is equal parts harsh and beautiful. The sentinel suits look great & the action panels are detailed without being gratuitous. Federico Blee’s colors and Travis Lanham’s lettering are both clean but understated & let the story thrive naturally.

Overall, the level of nuance executed in this book across all aspects is impeccable. You could easily walk away from this book thinking it’s just a war story and asking “why should I care about random soldiers?” But I’d urge anyone who came away with that to give this a re-read & look beyond the surface. I’d also recommend Paknadel’s “From The Ashes” Infinity comic to provide additional backstory.

Rating: 9/10