NYX Vol. 5

This volume is the fifth book of the Chinese edition of Marvel's NYX series, continuing the series' street-level perspective on "District X, New York City." NYX is short for District X, New York City, and its protagonists are not costumed superheroes but a group of teenage mutants making their own way on the streets of New York: Kiden Nixon, who can freeze time; Tatiana, who transforms into a beast when she touches animal blood; Bobby, who can project his consciousness into others' bodies; and X-23 (Laura Kinney), the female clone of Wolverine who moved from the X-Men animated series into comics and became famous thereafter. They have no sanctuary like the Xavier Institute and must fend for themselves when it comes to food, shelter, and trusting one another; the awakening of their powers is often not the beginning of glory but the source of trouble, harm, and pursuit. The series' overall tone is grim and realistic: Quesada's scripts draw on people and events he witnessed firsthand on the streets of New York, while Middleton and Trani's art renders neon, rainy nights, and subway platforms as beautiful and unsettling at once. Owing to limited publication information, the exact issues and plot contained in this volume cannot be verified; it is best treated as the fifth volume of the series and read in sequence with the preceding books.