Everybody’s favorite foul-mouthed, blue-skinned, shapeshifting bisexual mutant outlaw is on the run in Mystique #1

Mystique #1 is the latest solo title launch of the “From the Ashes” era, giving its namesake her first ongoing series in twenty years. A lot has happened for Mystique since then —Krakoa, her marriage to Destiny & their Nightcrawler parentage retcon, Jennifer Lawrence’s progressively half-hearted portrayal of her in film— so because of this, there’s lots to work with. Old allies, old enemies, a little bit of both. What else would you expect from a Mystique series?

Mystique is by far one of the most popular X-Men characters for a variety of reasons, so it’s surprising that she’s not been given as many solo runs as you might think she has. Interestingly, though, Mystique #1 frames Raven as something of an antagonist, putting her in the crosshairs of one Nick Fury Jr., who has recently been put on the X-Men beat at SHIELD. When Mystique embarks on yet another international tour of terror and revenge, both Fury and the reader alike are left to wonder what her motives are, and how far she’s willing to go to get what she wants. Classic Mystique!

Of all the “From the Ashes” launches so far, Mystique #1 is something of an enigma, perfectly befitting its eponymous anti-hero. The vibes here are great —writer/artist Declan Shalve’s visual storytelling are great as ever— but the story presented hasn’t totally gotten its hooks into me just yet. That’s totally fine, since it’s only the first issue, but because it’s the first issue it does present a problem. I like the stuff Shalvey is setting up here; I just don’t completely have an idea of the broader scope. But as I said, it looks so good that it may justify the cost for some.