Warning: SPOILERS for Fallen Angels #1
The X-Men’s new Fallen Angels series is the best book in the relaunch so far - but it’s also the darkest. Superstar comic book writer Jonathon Hickman has relaunched the X-Men franchise, and he’s gathered all the world’s mutants on the paradisic living island of Krakoa.
Unfortunately, while the traditional battle between man and mutant rages in the shadows, another evolutionary successor is emerging in Asia. A mysterious “New God” called Apoth is on the rampage, and the telepathic ninja assassin - who now goes by the codename “Psylocke” - has been commissioned to stop the monstrous being. She has no idea how much is at stake; Apoth appears to be the first of Homo novissima, a post-human state created by science. In every timeline where Homo novissima has emerged, both humans and mutants have wound up wiped out.
It’s a dramatic concept, but Fallen Angels’ creative team - writer Bryan Hill and artist Szymon Kudranski - have transformed it into something that really stands out from the crowd. Because this is easily the best book in the entire X-Men relaunch to date - and the darkest, too.
Kwannon Is An X-Man Like No Other
The best X-Men comics are often described as superhero soap operas, and with good reason; the stories can get pretty complicated. In the case of Kwannon, the star of Fallen Angels, she was a Japanese assassin whose body became host to the mind of the British telepath Betsy Braddock, aka the X-Men’s Psylocke. Her mind had been believed to be erased, but it’s recently been revealed that wasn’t the case. Betsy has returned to her old body - and become the new Captain Britain - while Kwannon has finally regained control of her own body once again.
Hill effortlessly transforms Kwannon into one of the most interesting X-Men in years. He does this through a simple conceit; he reveals that Kwannon’s mind had been active within her body all these years. She’d basically been a passenger, watching as a stranger used and abused her body. It’s a chilling concept, and it becomes even more disturbing when you take a second to remember everything that Betsy Braddock experienced while she was in the form of a ninja. How would Kwannon interact with characters like Archangel, who became Betsy’s lover? What would she think of Betsy’s lesbian relationship with the female Fantomex? None of these issues are addressed directly, but they’re bubbling in the background. In one powerful scene, Betsy attempts to interact with Kwannon, but is brushed off. The assassin is still burning with a deep, passionate rage towards Betsy, and her emotions are utterly conflicted.
Kwannon’s supporting cast is quite interesting. She swiftly assembles a team; X-23 and the new, young version of Cable. Hill’s version of X-23 is a little frustrating, given he dials back on the last five years’ worth of character growth, but Kudranski’s beautiful rendering of the character compensates. Meanwhile, Cable actually feels like a fully-fleshed character, rather than the strange and ill-defined teenager seen in Hickman’s X-Men #2. Both of these X-Men carry emotional baggage, and feel out of place on the peaceful mutant nation of Krakoa. They’re the perfect backup for Kwannon.
Kwannon Had A Daughter
In a horrific twist, Fallen Angels #1 reveals that Kwannon gave birth to a daughter years ago. She was already training as an assassin when she fell in love, and as a punishment her masters allowed the pregnancy to progress and took the child from her after killing the father. The infant was marked with a butterfly tattoo, with the promise that - if the fates were kind - perhaps she’d be able to use that tattoo to find her. Unfortunately, of course, Kwannon’s body was stolen. She was never free to try to find her daughter again.
Until now. When Kwannon arrives in Tokyo, she learns of a new, high-tech drug equivalent called Overclock. The technology bypasses the need for chemicals and boosts the endorphin centers of the brain. It’s classed as a “virtual narcotic,” and the comic reveals that the world’s authorities are desperately attempting to neutralize it, but are struggling to even work out where it comes from. Although Overclock is illegal, the technology is constructed using everyday devices, and as a result the regulations are hard to enforce.
And it frequently turns people into killers. When Kwannon watches footage of one Overclock victim, she’s devastated to notice the butterfly tattoo on the teenager’s forehead. She never did get the chance to look for her daughter - and now her daughter is gone, killed because she sought an illegal high. Unsurprisingly, the assassin’s only way of coping with this pain is by lashing out at anyone around her.
Apoth Could Be The Most Terrifying Villain In X-Men History
Incredibly, Hill’s story just gets darker from here. Kwannon’s investigation leads her to the Overclock equivalent of an old Opium den, where she’s horrified to find children hooked up to Overclock. By the end of the issue, it’s clear that the monstrous being named Apoth can take control of anyone who’s using Overclock, which means the death and destruction being spread by Overclock addicts is being directed by the first of the post-humans. If Apoth is a god, it’s a mad god, one that needs to be put out of its misery. Demonstrating its power, Apoth kills all the children stood in front of the X-Men.
This is easily one of the darkest beginning there’s ever been to an X-Men story. Like all the best comics, it brings its heroes into head-on collision with evils that mirror the problems of the real world, issues such as addiction and trauma. Fallen Angels #1 demonstrates the sheer scale of the threat, stressing the utter inhumanity of Apoth as he kills a group of children just because he can. Meanwhile, the central characters are all complex and deeply scarred, and Hill revels in getting into Kwannon’s mind and presenting her as a fully-formed person in her own right. It’s all shockingly dark - and tremendously effective. Fallen Angels is the obsidian jewel in the crown of the X-Men relaunch.
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