Age of X-Man: Omega #1

By Zac Thompson, Lonnie Nadler, Simone Buonfantino and Triona Farrell

Months of building and execution finally pay off in the last installment of the Age of X-Man saga, Age of X-Man Omega. All the pieces are lined up, and we as readers get the answers we have been craving since the event first started. The X-Men and The Extracts are together, but will they be able to get past their differences to come to a rational solution. How will Nate be dealt with, or will he win. All of these things are answered in this oversized issue, and more.

Zac Thompson and Lonnie Nadler do some good things in this issue. While we don’t get to see how everyone reacts, we do get some good key character moments from people like Bishop and Jean. Thompson and Nadler don’t bog down the issue with a humungous fight, instead, they take a different approach and have many of the characters, who are all friends, talk about the reason Nate did what he did. What makes this issue work, is the way Thompson and Nadler handle the characters in this situation. Everything feels like a natural progression. Magneto, who has always wanted a mutant dominated world, gets to see what it’s like. He gets to see how destroying the world would destroy put innocent lives in danger; his is the toughest choice to make. Ultimately, Thompson and Nadler wrap up Age of X-Man well.

The pencils this issue are handled by Simone Buonfantino with colors by Triona Farrell. Buonfantino pencils the whole issue, which is a lot, so he deserves some credit for that. There are a bunch of cool panels in this issue, but the best has to be as characters are reverting to their old uniforms. Buonfantino draws characters half in their AOX and half in their real world costume; it’s a cool visual. What also works for these pencils is the emotion that Buonfantino puts on the faces of the characters. We can see Nate Grey struggle as he talks about what he did and how he thought it was the best move for mutants. These little touches make Buonfantino’s art excel in this issue. The colors this issue by Triona Farrell help add to the success of the pencils by Buonfantino. Farrell uses a bunch of nice colored backgrounds near the end of the book that work really well. As Nate talks with the others, we get a greenish blue sky with a hint of pink from Magneto holding the life seed. It’s an amazing blend of colors and works great. Backgrounds aside, Farrell also has a blue heavy panel where Nightcrawler, Jean and Beast all stand next to each other. There are 3 slightly different shades of blue that work well together and don’t blend into the other. The art this issue helps make this book a more enjoyable read.

Age of X-Man: Omega sends the line wide event off rather nicely. Thompson and Nadler clearly have love for these characters. The pencils and colors work well together and make the story look great. We’re all excited to see where the X-Men go next, but don’t skip out on Age of X-Men: Omega.