With the release of a brand-new X-Men #1, Phoenix #1, and NYX #1, it seems Marvel is trying something new for readers; bonus scenes.
This topic was something a fan asked Tom Brevoort about on his Substack, essentially asking why Marvel is doing this. Brevoorts answer was as follows: “It gave us a page whose contents we could conceal until the day of release, thus avoiding any early spoilers. You’ll find that we’re doing similar pages in most of the new X-launches.”
Word going around online is that Marvel is hiding these pages behind the QR codes. But from Brevoort’s words, the extra page isn’t necessary to enjoy the comic book you’re reading. So which on is it?
I decided to investigate it myself and purchased copies of all three comics that have the QR code. Here’s what I found (beware, spoilers abound):
First, we have X-Men #1. The X-Men have relocated to Alaska and have taken over a factory. Beast is giving a tour of their facilities to the small-town chief of police, who is a little uneasy about the X-Men coming in and taking over the factory. The chief’s reasoning is that the X-Men have shut down the factory and thus taken away much needed jobs from the small town. The X-Men feel justified in what they did because the factory was producing Sentinel robots.
Cyclops and his team are out on a mission where they’ve discovered six new mutant readings, but when they get there they don’t find any kids. Instead, they find fully grown adults with mutant powers. After a quick battle, the adults seem to disappear, thanks to a couple of shadowy figures, hiding as they watch the events unfold. When Cyclops and his team come back, he asks Beast how the tour with the police chief went. The issue ends with Beast asking Cyclops if they should play nice, basically, with the town, and Cyclops says not yet. “I want to be sure they don’t forget what they owe us,” are his exact words. We’re then shown a splash page of a frozen sentinel in a threatening pose, looming over the town.
So that’s how the issue ends. Then we’re given the QR code. After accessing it, we’re giving a one-page bonus scene of a shadowy group of for people called The Zealot, The Doctor The Means, and The Chairman. They are all talking about the six mutants and referencing some kind of “great work” they are planning.
So, I think this one was indeed a bonus scene. It didn’t hide anything major from the story, though at the same time, since Marvel says they are adding these pages to future published volumes. I bet this bonus page would add to the overall story once it’s told in a collected volume. It didn’t take away from the story for me though.
Next is NYX #1. I never read the original, so I was coming into this comic brand-new. We start with Kamala Khan traversing the city and then she accidently bumps into Sophie Cuckoo at E.S.U.
Sophie is brass and tells off her professor, who evidently is also her friend, and then gets Kamala to go out to a night club, where a fight ensues. After getting kicked out of the club, Kamala decides to go out as Ms. Marvel and find the people who started the fight, the Truthseekers.
Then Kamala runs into Wolverine/X-23, who knocks her down and destroys her phone. None of which is shown, so not sure how that happens. After a brief talking down to, Laura Kinney leave Kamala, and then we’re introduced to a brand-new villain; The Krakoan.
Kamala saves a group of people in the subway and Krakoan vanishes, while Ms. Marvel is filmed by bystanding Truthseekers, who want her opinion on handling the “mutant menace.”
The issue ends with Krakoan venturing to a high-rise building where we’re given his true identity, the mutant formerly known as Hellion. He’s joined by Empath, and shockingly, Sophie and her three sisters, the Stepford Cuckoos. Hellion references the Quiet Council, which I assume is who we met in the bonus scene of X-Men #1.
So, what’s the bonus scene? This was even more confusing than the one from X-Men. Not following X-Men comics, I had no idea who the characters were. We’re shown a man guiding a young mutant, Fauna, to a secret room, to meet someone named Mr. Friend. The man reassures the kid that it isn’t an interview and that she is “already in.” We’re given a glimpse of this Mr. Friend as he invites her into a dark room. So, yeah. It’s confusing, and I have no idea why it’s there. It doesn’t affect the story of NYX #1 at all.
Lastly, we’ve got Phoenix #1. I’m glad I happened to read this one last because it was pretty over the top with cosmic lore about a people I’d never heard of, who feared The Phoenix because it destroyed worlds. It was a lot to take in.
Apparently, as Jean Grey/Phoenix arrives at a new planet, she explains she’s not there to destroy them but to save them because their sun is dying. After eight pages of prologue, we’re transported now to an outer space prison that’s in a black hole. The black hole is going to collapse, and Nova is there, trying to save the prisoners.
While Jean is psychically talking to Scott, she feels a distress call and answers it. Jean shows up and helps Nova save the prisoners from death by *ahem* dancing with the black hole. Sorry, that was just … an odd choice.
Anyway, Jean saves the day by stabilizing the black hole, but then Perrikus escapes. I’m not exactly sure what happens, but something hits Jean and knocks her out of the way, Now she has to choose to save the prison and everyone in it or chase Perrikus. She saves the prison, somehow, and again—somehow—she’s thrown around in space again.
While that’s happening Perrikus crash lands on the planet of whoever is narrating this book. He kills a man, and the next page is a splash page of Phoenix and others, jumping into action, but it’s not that planet. So, I don’t know where or when they? Or what happened to Jean in space. Or why this book ends this way. I’m glad I don’t review comics.
Anyway, we’re given the QR code for our bonus scene. So what is it?
It’s the narrator of the comic book, talking about redemption and whether Jean Grey deserves it. It shows her fighting, then one panel with Scott, and then another panel of a woman with a huge, bloody sword. I have no idea what part this plays in the book. So … yeah. There’s that.
So, the main question is, do you need to read the QR pages to get the entire story? It’s hard to say yes or no. If you’re talking about the issues by themselves, as standalone comics, then no. You’re getting the entire story there.
But with NYX #1 and X-Men #1 (I’m not commenting on Phoenix because the entire ending of that comic was confusing), Marvel has said they plan to put in the secret bonus pages in collected editions. Those pages will definitely add to the story once it’s told as a cohesive unit. So, in that sense, you are missing part of the story. Not a big part, but still a piece.
I will say that this is an interesting use of the QR code, and I do have to give Marvel credit for trying something new. They also plan on using the codes in more X books, and possibly in other stories.
So far, it’s gotten mixed reviews from readers. Many feel like you have to scan the code in order to finish the comic, which technically, is true. But like I said, this isn’t vital information. That said, it can’t be what Marvel wants readers thinking, so we’ll have to wait and see how the company reacts.
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