An Odd Wee Beasty, But a Good One
There are a lot of X-Men series out nowadays. Over 10 in the last phase of Marvel Now, between the X-Men specific series, the multiple Wolverine series, the Uncanny Avengers which is technically half an X-Men series, A+X. So, X-Men Legacy may initially slump in the corner as just another X-Men series in your eyes.
If so, get your eyes checked.
X-Men Legacy is, above all, different. Standing on it's own as a completely different creature, X-Men Legacy offers a lot, and, though having a few minor flaws, will draw you into it's world pretty quickly, refusing to let go. Because, hey- you might have some powers Legion could use.
Legion, for those who aren't terribly familiar, is the schizophrenic Scottish son of Professor X. Being hidden away from the world for most of his life, Legion is jolted by the event of his father dying, sending his entire world for a loop as he is left on his own to deal with the 200 personalities crawling through his brain, trying to take control. But, if you don't know anything about Legion, that's not a big deal; to book does a good job of filling you in along the way. It does better than that, in fact; this book is very much focused around character development. Everything that happens, every word, thought, character confrontation is meant to show how Legion is changing as a person in that moment. And for someone who's a die-hard for any form of character development in a world that generally neglects that, this is fantastic. Legion becomes an honestly fascinating character in and of himself, someone who you grow to understand and appreciate in his own right. And a few other figures are earnestly explored, making the world as a whole fell really lively.
The art is something of a mixed bag. We have two pencilers here, each getting half the book, and both are pretty good in their own right. For the most part, they look similar enough that the transition isn't harsh or difficult to handle. But neither are anything superb to write home about; there were a few instances were panels just looked earnestly odd or a little out of place, particularly the lips of some of the characters. The covers of each issue, on the other hand, are absolutely fantastic, and worth the price of admission in its own right. They have nothing to do with the plot generally, but they are wonderful to look at and something to really appreciate about the series.
This first story arch is very well thought out, to say the least. Everything is interconnected and tied together in an intricate manner that makes all the puzzle pieces slide into place. The first issue is a bit rough to get through with almost no familiar faces and a lot of info to take in, but after that the narrative becomes a little lighter, if only slightly, with some well established characters showing up, as well as some really obscure figures. A few members of the book in question are really out there, and aren't given much of an introduction or exposition to provide us with any idea of what they can do, but, in the broad scope of things, that's pretty minor.
This is a well thought out, interesting story that provides you with an experience you won't be getting anywhere else in comics these days, especially in Marvel lore. It's one of the lesser known series and on the cheaper side, so give the book some love and pick up a copy.
Story: 9/10: A well thought out first arch that does a lot for the characters involved and puts the series on a solid path to more greatness.
Characters: 10/10: I haven't seen characters be handled so well in a long time, especially when it comes to superhero comics. This is what the book focuses on, and it shows.
Art: 7/10: The covers are fantastic, whereas everything else is pretty solid, but nothing fantastic.
Re-readability: 9/10: You may need to read this a second time just to get a handle on it all, but you'll definitely want to re-experience it at some point.
Length: 6 issues
Verdict: 8.5/10: At first difficult to get into, this book makes you think and strive to know more, making you develop and thrive with the characters. Well written and thought out, deserving your attention over a majority of the X-Men books these days.