NYX (comics)

NYX is a limited series of comic books by Marvel Comics, consisting of seven issues, published between 2003 and 2005.^[1] It is written by Joe Quesada with art by Joshua Middleton (issues #1–4) and Rob Teranishi (issues #5-7).^[2][3] NYX stands for District X, New York City.^[4]

The series features homeless teenage mutants in New York City: time-freezing Kiden, shape-shifting Tatiana, body-shifting Bobby, his mysterious brother Lil Bro, the female clone of Wolverine, X-23 and Cameron, a woman with no powers.^[5] The series featured the first comic book appearance of X-23, a character originally created on the X-Men: Evolution cartoon.^[6] Although the series was cancelled in 2005, 2009 saw the 6-issue miniseries, NYX: No Way Home.^[7]

Publication history

In 2001 writer Brian Wood developed a concept of the series for Marvel with artist David Choe that was to launch Marvel's MAX imprint. The ongoing series, focusing on the characters and how their powers affect their lives, friends and family, was to star Gambit, Rogue, and Jubilee, as well as Angie and Purge, two new characters Wood had created for the series. After Marvel aborted the project, deeming it not suitable for their audience, Wood used parts of this concept for his series Demo.

Later, NYX was planned as an ongoing series, it was shortened to miniseries.^[3] Throughout the entire publication, there were often long delays between issues because Quesada had always been late with scripts.^[8] The first five issues of the series were reprinted in two Marvel Must Haves issues in of summer 2005, before the sixth issue was released in July. The seventh and last issue was released in September 2005.^[1]

Failed spin-off

A second series of NYX was planned for release in 2007, but never materialized.^[9]

No Way Home

At the 2008 New York Comic Con, a new NYX series was officially announced to launch in August 2008.^[5][7]

NYX: No Way Home is written by Marjorie M. Liu,^[10][11] with art by Kalman Andrasofszky.^[12]

Cecilia Reyes makes an appearance in NYX: No Way Home #4.^[13]

Synopsis

Wannabe

The series starts with a flashback of Kiden and her father getting ice cream. Unfortunately there was a drive-by shooting and her father is killed. At present, Kiden is a emotionally disturbed teenager and gets into an altercation with a Latin King. She manifests her mutant power during a fight and breaks the students arm. ^[14]He returns with a gun and she freezes time again before the bullet hits her, but it hits her teacher Mrs. Cameron. Several months later Mrs. Cameron attempts to commit suicide, but Kiden shows up on her front door after seeing a warning from a ghost of her father. ^[15]A second vision tells them to visit the Hotel Brazil, where they find X-23, who is a prostitute and witnessed her john committing suicide. The three escape together, but X-23's pimp is upset that she left. ^[16]He sends a hit squad to Mrs. Cameron's apartment, but Kiden's father warns them to leave.^[17] Later they bump into Tatiana, who turned into a dog-beast after touching a puppy that was hit by a car. Tatiana is able to scare away a mob after killing a cat and turning into a werecat, but Kiden accepts them into their crew. They live on the streets, begging for money and dumpsterdiving for food. ^[18]They decide to return to Mrs. Cameron's apartment to find money and leave town. X-23's pimp hires Felon to track her down. Kiden's father appears before Felon and his catatonic brother and warns him to save Kiden and her friends. ^[19]At Mrs. Cameron's apartment, the pimp's gang confronts the teens, but X-23 kills most of them before getting gunned down by Zebra Daddy. Tatiana turns into werecat and saves Mrs. Cameron from falling out her apartment window, but drops her. Kiden then must decide if she will kill Zebra Daddy, who it turns out was the shooter of her father, or save Mrs. Cameron. She remembers how Mrs. Cameron took a bullet for her earlier, so lays a mattress to break her fall. Zebra Daddy is about to kill them but X-23 heals from her wounds and executes him. The team leaves together. In the denouement, it turns out Felons little brother is also a mutant and created the apparitions of Kiden's father. Kiden sends a letter to her mother, but the postman just misses her as she moves out of NYC.^[20]

No Way Home

This series starts with Kiden, Tatiana, Bobby, and Lil' Bro living with Mrs. Cameron. Kiden is still looking for her parents. The come home one day and notice Mrs. Cameron's apartment empty, ransacked, and covered in blood.^[21] They escape before the police arrive, but Kiden returns and finds clues to local gang banger D'Sean. While investigating his apartment a scuffle break out. Tatiana bites D'Sean and turns into him, then gets shot by D'Sean. ^[22]Bobby knocks him out, but his gang comes in and starts a shoot-out. Kiden freezes time while holding Bobby, Lil' Bro, and Tatiana, who join her in the time freeze. They take Tatiana to a hospital. The doctors realize she is a mutant when a blood transfusion makes her change shape into the donor, then calls S.H.I.E.L.D.. Kiden and Bobby find the gang leader. Bobby is forced to use his power to subdue him, but then loses most of his memories. ^[23] Kiden, Bobby, and Lil' Bro then return to the hospital to save Tatiana. She hasn't fully recovered from her injuries, so they turn to Doc Reyes for help, but run away after they grow suspicious of her. Kiden then decides to track down Mrs. Palmer on her own after confronting a mysterious lady who is immune to Kiden's time-freezing powers. Mrs. Palmer was bait in order to trap the team and exploit their mutant powers, who was assisted by the ghost of Kiden's dead father. ^[24] As her father died he saw into the future and realized there is only one possible future that Kiden survivies, so he comes back to Earth as a ghost and makes a deal with the mysterious organization to ensure her survival, but only Kiden will survive. Tatiana is able to sneak out by drinking the blood of mysterious, nameless "Sniper Chick" and posing as her. Lil' Bro kills her using one of his apparitions. It turns out the mysterious woman is also the daughter of the leader of the secret facility. Mr. Nixon's ghost apologizes for Kiden killing his daughter, and the man seems indifferent to his own daughter's death since he was able to see Lil' Bro's apparitions cause physical harm. He promises not to hurt Kiden, but will continue to monitor the team. The team escapes the facility and drop off Mrs. Palmer at a hospital. The then vow to stay together and to "keep surviving". ^[25]

Main characters

• Kiden Nixon - Mutant with the ability to slow down time/speed up her personal time line. Also sometimes thought to have precognitive abilities because Felon's "lil bro" used his abilities of projection to manipulate her during the story.
• Tatiana Caban - Mutant with the ability to shapeshift into any animal or human whose blood she touches.
• Cameron Palmer - Kiden Nixon's former teacher. She is a human. When she attempted suicide, Kiden saved her and roped her into the X-23 situation.
• Bobby Soul - Mutant with the ability to project his consciousness into other individuals and take control of their body. A side effect is that he suffers from varying degrees of amnesia after returning to his own body. He is also known as Felon.
• Lil' Bro - Bobby Soul's mute, autistic little brother. He is shown to have unknown psionic abilities that is somehow connected to Kiden seeing the ghost of her dead father. It is insinuated that he become non-responsive after being sexually abused by one of his mother's boyfriends.
• X-23 - Mutant with adamantium claws and regenerative healing factor. She works as a prostitute who specializes in cutting masochistic patrons. She rarely speaks and is known to engage in self-abuse (specifically, cutting).
• Zebra Daddy - X-23's pimp. He claimed to love her more than any of his 'merchandise', but he doesn't even know her name and ultimately views her as disposable property.
• Hector Morales - Kiden's school enemy, who repeatedly attacked her - yet always failed to make an impact - and even tried to kill her but missed. He is now in prison.
• Sniper Chick - A new character introduced in the second volume. Not much is known about her except she is immune to Kiden's time freezing powers and the daughter of the mysterious organization that attempts to kidnap the team.
• Nick Nixon - Kiden's dead Police officer father. He was killed during a drive by. He returns from the dead and initiates the events that bring the teens together, but some of the visions of him are a ghost, as explained in volume 2, but also Lil' Bro's psychic projections, as in volume 1.

Reception

Critics from IGN reviewed the series NYX: No Way Home. Daniel Crown gave issue #1 a score of 6.3 out of 10.^[26] Jesse Schedeen gave issue #2 a score of 7.8 out of 10.^[27] Jesse Schedeen also reviewed issue 3 giving it a score of 8.5 out of 10.^[28]

Collected editions

References

External links

• NYX at Marvel.com
• NYX at the Grand Comics Database
• NYX at the Comic Book DB
• NYX: No Way Home at the Comic Book DB