Writer: Kieron Gillen
Artist: Geraldo Borges
Colorist: Andrew Dalhouse
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Aliens vs. X-Men #1 is a decent start to the miniseries. The premise is very straightforward. The conflict is clearly set up. However, this may be an unfair battle; Either intellectual property (IP) will have to suffer for the sake of the other. There are bigger X-Men fans than me, but I don’t need to be an expert to believe that the X-Men have fought more formidable foes than Xenomorphs. Now, I expected this to be a one-shot, so I can understand the lessening of the X-Men for the sake of their comeback later. Seeing as it’s a miniseries, I can sit back, read this, and marvel (pun intended) at the blockbuster crossover it is without feeling the need to pick sides.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Sinister Beginnings
The major conflict of this issue is the X-Men having to fight the Xenomorphs. Some of the team were on a mission in deep space, trying to get phoenix eggs from Orbis Stellaris, when they walked into his trap. Instead of the phoenix eggs, they found Xenomorph eggs. The team was all killed, and the ship crash-landed back on Earth with the Xenomorphs still inside. The rest of the X-Men fend them off until Cable and his team arrive. One small thing I enjoy about the team trying to gauge what the Xenomorphs are about is Professor X’s description of them. He tells Ororo, “[They are] cold. Distant. Intensely hostile. Violently so. Alien. There is no compromise, no communication. They come only to kill”. It is such a great read on the Xenomorphs, but it also serves as a powerful message to the team. Professor X does an awesome job selling the conflict. There is no fluff, all stakes.
Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better
The peak of this issue is the reveal that the Xenomorphs gain the powers/abilities of the X-Men they spawn from. This is huge for a couple of reasons. First, it looks damn cool! I mean, it’s a Xenomorph with Wolverine’s claws. And they also have Rogue’s phasing abilities, which are definitely scarier than them dropping down in frame like in the movies (just a little). Second, the team will now have to fight each other, in a way, while still fighting the Xenomorphs and their own abilities, like their acid blood. Borges and Dalhouse do a really good job at bringing this to life, but more on that below.
The Art
I like the art. I have to get used to how Borges draws characters, especially faces, and Wolverine in particular, but he does showcase action shots well. It doesn’t have to be literal action; it’s just shots that look like a big deal. An example of this is when the ship returns to Earth’s orbit and Professor X senses something is wrong. The panel breakups are a really fun way to create drama. You see the ship in motion; it’s burning in the atmosphere, so you know it will have to stop. It is just a question of how. The impact is destructive, well drawn by Borges, but it’s a couple pages before where Dalhouse colors Borges’ art beautifully. The art and colors show the energy of the ship burning in Earth’s atmosphere very well.
Final Thoughts
I want to keep enjoying Alien vs. X-Men. I will continue reading this, but I hope my gaps in knowledge of the different members of the X-Men or X-adjacent characters in general won’t take me out of this story. As I said before, it is a huge blockbuster crossover that, at the very least, would just be pretty to look at. I do like how it is just a simple crossover that won’t seem to impact the Marvel universe as we know it.