What If? X-Men #1 (2018) - Bryan Edward Hill Presents an Extraordinary Idea That Marvel Needs to Capitalize On
Because of the drought and chaotic schedule comics has been going through thanks to COVID-19, I’ve been going back and reading back issues. During my trek, I happened upon Bryan Edward Hill's What If? X-Men #1 (2018) and REALLY loved what was going on within the issue.
While both a bit rushed and a tad lackluster in are when it came to Cyberspace, there were definitely some grand ideas being explored and re-imagined within the book in terms of mutation, the X-Men in general, and the various mutant powers within Cyberspace.
If it wasn't obvious already, Hill took influences from other cyberpunk mediums such Mike Pondsmith's Cyberpunk and Ghost in the Shell (especially when it comes to Domino and Cable's looks), and made that the focal point of the issue. It was really mind-boggling just how well the X-Verse syncs with cyberpunk. What wasn’t obvious to me, was that Cyberspace itself is Hill’s savvy application of the Astral Plane; this revelation was actually told to me by a very astute fellow reader and was confirmed by Hill himself. Truly, this is revolutionary to say the least.
Marvel could use a definitive cyberpunk book and the X-Men seem like prime real estate for that based on Hill's impressive take. Seriously, this one-shot really made me see and appreciate the genre of cyberpunk in a much different based on how well this interpretation was presented.
In just 25 pages Hill was able to establish not only a strong foundation and connective tissue in terms of the world, an the overall premise of the narrative, but also an very imaginative and yet functional re-interpretation of what it means to be a mutant and more over how mutations are remade and novelly applied within the world that is Cyberspace.
While I am more Marvel than DC, I do wish that Marvel would take more from DC's modus operandi and actually flesh out more What If? ideas and make them alternative worlds to explore for at least a limited series, if not an ongoing series. I really think it would be foolhardy to not give this world more focus and attention because it is a essentially a mound of vibranium that is waiting to be cultivated.