REVIEW: ‘X-Men: Before the Fall – Sinister Four,’ Issue #1

X-Men: Before the Fall – Sinister Four #1 is published by Marvel Comics, written by Kieron Gillen, art by Paco Medina, colors by Edgar Delgado and Fer Sifuentes-Sujo, and letters by Clayton Cowles. After Mr. Sinister’s downfall, it becomes clear that there are three other versions. Two of them, Doctor Stasis and Mother Righteous, have a date after realising they were husband and wife.

This is a comic with a large history, all centred around two people. It opens with a memory of the past, one that becomes a symbolic location and moment for the rest of the issue. And the whole issue is exposition, but even then, it is not easy to come into this comic with no or even a moderate knowledge of recent X-Men comics. There is a montage for both characters, but it’s not the greatest for an introduction. In addition, 75 percent of X-Men: Before the Fall – Sinister Four #1 is extraordinarily slow and static, meaning that newcomers can’t be taken in by action and embrace the exposition at the same time. For avid followers, it’s the continuation of a long and epic Sinister storyline. By the latter stages of the issue, however, Gillen begins to defy expectations. There is a fight at the end that raises the energy of the book when I thought the issue would be more circular. It adds some big surprises at a time when the story needed spicing up, but having three-quarters of the pages languid gives it a lot to catch up on.

For a date night issue such as this, the characters themselves have to be likeable and powerful. And whilst Doctor Stasis and Mother Righteous have their moments, it is not present for the entirety of the book. The difficulty is how much it needs both exposition and character development. So when one is trying to be angry at the other, what is actually coming out is just information. What is nice is the subtlety and the signs of emotion that have been rarely seen in a person with a playing card symbol on their forehead. For Doctor Stasis, Mother Righteous is a person who has been the driving force for all he has done, and he is still hopelessly in love with her. That sense of history is perhaps the best part of the conversation in this comic, with different viewpoints on each side. Overall, the quality of the dialogue isn’t the problem. Gillen can be incredibly poetic and touching. But there is so much of it that it’s hard to focus and appreciate the golden pieces of it. 

The art is spectacular, but again sufferers from the structure of the issue. The designs of Stasis and Mother Righteous are phenomenal. Stasis is essentially Nathaniel Essex, immortal and trapped in time, with a regal outfit. Whereas Mother Righteous, or Rebecca to use her born name, is much more alien in design. It’s a fantastic look, perhaps more regal than Essex, especially in her gown. There is a beautiful simplicity to her. The setting, at the top of a large building, and Stasis’ experiments being used as wait staff, provide the book with an interesting setting early on. But when you then realise that that will be the setting for most of the issue, it becomes tiresome and dull. The facial expressions have a distinction to them, but not enough. When the plot moves on at the end of the issue, there are new costumes again, and a brief battle that uses sleek technology, all looking amazing.

The colors are terrific. The most notable figure within the panels is Mother Righteous, due to the striking red that covers her skin, with some finite white markings. The merging of blue and gold in the windows behind the couple is also very pretty. The colors change completely in the last part of the book, obtaining a green hue that makes the are look inhuman and inviting, different from how it did at the start of the comic. The lettering is the standard font used for X-Men comics.

X-Men: Before the Fall – Sinister Four #1 is let down by its structure. There is nothing necessarily wrong with the concept of date night or the idea of the four Sinisters at all, but the execution of this first issue is so poor it could deter some from what comes next. The pacing is slow and cumbersome. The date itself is overly long, stretching to the point that the great pieces of dialogue and character development become bogged down. The idea of an awful person finding the person that led to them becoming so despicable in the first place is a wonderful idea, but it is disappointing that so much of it is this tiresome.

X-Men: Before the Fall – Sinister Four #1 is available where comics are sold.