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Okay, I was skeptical of yet another alternate universe multiparter, but I decided to pick up Alpha just to see what it was about. Ultimately I was pleasantly surprised by my choice. The issue is an anthology that give a sort of back story for the world. We get a glimpse of what has gone before before jumping straight into the storyline. There are four different stories told, each of which helps understand just how this world is different from Earth-616.
We start with the story of Basilisk, Cyclops from our world. No spoilers, but we learn that Alcatraz was recommissioned as a mutant prison where simply being a mutant is a death penalty crime. Next we shift to the story of Cannonball and Husk and we learn the fate of the Guthrie family in this new world. Then we get the story of Doctor Rao, the only non-mutant story that we have in this book. We also get the obligatory Wolverine appearance, but for once he is a plot device rather than the focus of the story. Finally we get what is billed as Magneto's story, but it is actually told from Toad's perspective. I felt that this was a nice storytelling device.
Along the way we meat a few other familiar faces and occasionally get a glimpse at their story. Namor has traded the freedom of the seas for the "cage" of Fortress X to be with his beloved, Storm. Jubilee believes that the battlefield is the only place she truely belongs. Pixie has a much more demonic appearance in this world. We also see familiar faces like Dazzler, Colossus, Chamber, Sunfire, Forge, Dust Cecelia Reyes, and more. And we learn that something happened involving Phoenix and the City of Albany that was the final turning point in human/mutant relations.
Grade: B-. While I enjoyed the stories, the art in some of them was horrendous. Also, while I felt that the Wolverine story was done in a good way, the writers still felt the need to include Wolverine. He is also the most prominent figure on the cover despite having a very minor role in the story. Overall I would recommend this book, but it could have been much, much better.
As a fan of alternate realities, I look forward to the Age of X story arc. Chapters one and two are on sale today or tomorrow.