X-Men Annual #1

ComicBook.com

X-Men Annual #1 is a superhero comics tale nearly as old as the genre. Take two heroes—Cyclops and Captain Marvel in this instance—add one misunderstanding exacerbated by aggression, and watch the fireworks. However, it isn't a good version of that formula. The cartoonishly exaggerated artwork pushes the simple premise to the point of feeling silly, while the way the conflict plays out is dull and stretches the boundaries of believability. The narration goes out of its way to paint Scott and Carol as opposites, Cyclops being a cerebral tactician when Captain Marvel approaches problems fists first. However, that contrast doesn't show in how the fight plays out. Cyke meets Cap's aggression with more unthinking aggression, at least until his final gambit, which is only marginally more clever. Meanwhile, Cap lays into Cyclops hard enough to tear up a sidewalk, and the mutant—a normal, if physically fit, person aside from those eyebeams—shrugs off the damage with seemingly no repercussions. It feels like there's a disconnect between the story the creators think they're telling and the story that appears on the page, and I'm not entirely sure they envisioned the same one to begin with.