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Welcome back to another edition of The All-New Uncanny X-Piles! Now I know it’s been a minute since we last visited the Children of the Atom. However, if there’s one thing this longtime mutant fan can admit is that if there’s an event with a great creative team at the helm then I’ll probably pick it up. So here we are taking a look at the next big event that focuses on the time displaced original X-Men!

Extermination #1
Publisher: Marvel
Story: Ed Brisson
Pencils: Pepe Larraz
Colors: Marte Gracia
Letters: Joe Sabino
Cover: Mark Brooks

**MINOR SPOILERS**

Extermination’s opening is one we’ve seen plenty of times in X-Men titles with a look at another bleak future for the X-Men before shifting over to a present day mob of bigots threatening child mutants. Though they’re saved by the time displaced original X-Men plus the also time/reality displaced Bloodstorm. Now that might come off as formulaic but the creative team’s execution of the opening is fantastic from the pacing to the visuals. Brisson also keeps the momentum going as he reintroduces a classic time traveling villain that couldn’t have come at a worse time. That would be while young Scott Summers is on a date with Bloodstorm and it’s written so well you can just feel the awkwardness of the evening as you read the dialogue. The rest of the cast is handled quite well as more of your mutant favorites enter the story. Brisson gives everyone their moment to shine as the providing some well scripted character moments throughout the issue.

There was only one area of the story of Brisson’s story that had me roll my eyes and that was the situation surrounding Bloodstorm. It was a trope that has become exhausting in storytelling (at least to me) and I just didn’t much care for it. With the end result just feeling like shock value and repetitive as yet another Black character has to die or be severely wounded to motivate another character. And since there aren’t too many aside from the marquee X-Men that get to be in forefront of most stories to see what happened to her just felt like a let down.

Pepe Larraz and Marte Gracia are a spectacular art team that makes you wish some of the panels weren’t filled with dialogue or text. No offense to Joe Sabino or Brisson though. There’s not one page that doesn’t pull it’s weight and move this story with a huge cinematic feel. Every big entrance or impactful moment is enhanced with dynamic panel layouts and all the emotional beats are hit propelling the narrative even further.

The creative team fires on all cylinders in the kick off issue of Extermination. Not only is it a great intro to the event but it’s actually accessible to a reader who might not have been reading the X-titles for some time. So if you’re looking for something to get you back into the X-Men or just debating on another picking up another event title then I suggest checking out Extermination! 4/5

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