The Trial of Magneto #1 Review

by Ryan.L on August 18, 2021

Writer: Leah Williams
Artist: Lucas Werneck
Color Artist: Edgar Delgado
Letterer: VC’s Clayton Cowles
Design: Tom Muller
Publisher: Marvel Comics
 
 
Who killed the Scarlet Witch? All signs point to Magneto, or do they?
 
This was an interesting issue. We see X-Factor along with X-Men and X-Force out investigating the crime scene, while other members of the teams perform an autopsy. As the title of this series says, signs point to Magneto and the teams set out to confront him.
 
I’m not sure what I think about this issue. We have the writer from X-Factor on this book, but it doesn’t seem to have the same magic that X-Factor had. There is some humor weaved in, but again it doesn’t have the same punch as it did in X-Factor. While this book is not bad, it also seems a bit forced in its delivery. There is a lot that happens in this first issue, and I almost wish that we got to spend more time in each moment than quickly jumping to the next moment as this issue did. There are some emotional moments that failed to land because of how quickly this book transitions from scene to scene. The impact of these moments would have resonated more if we got to digest them for more than a few panels.
 
There are also moments that had me question the motives behind them. All along the Quiet Council has shown respect for Magneto. But here in this book the first moments that we see him and the Quiet Council the other members are seemingly taunting him. Whether they believe he did it or not, they show him absolutely no respect. Guilty until proven innocent seems to be how the Quiet Council does things. This also seems to be evident when the investigating teams confront Magneto. If Krakoa is so far advanced than that of the humans, then why do they immediately leap to believe one of their top leaders are guilty before even questioning him?
 
I also couldn’t help but feel while reading this issue that the trial in of itself is a red herring. There is more going on here that we don’t know about yet. It does pique my interest to a point but at the same time, I’m finding I’m not really on board with how this is playing out so far.
 
The artwork is fantastic, and we get some great emotional scenes. How the book is laid out really helps to bring the story together. The last few pages especially were beautiful and really grabbed me and had me wanting to know what it all means.
 
Overall, the Trial of Magneto starts off a little rocky. There is potential here but the obvious red herring of the trial works against the book. Also, it just feels like its missing something and it’s too fast of a pace that it fails to capture any of the magic that writer Leah Williams injected into X-Factor. Those that are in dire need to know what happened to Scarlet Witch will find something to enjoy here. Others though could probably just wait for the synopsis of what happened after the event is over unless in the next few issues the book changes course and delivers something truly engaging.

Our Score:

6/10

A Look Inside