X-Men: Onslaught Revelation #1 by Simon Spurrier
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

So, apparently Way Of X was a five issue mini series. Who knew? Certainly not me. And this? This is essentially Way Of X #6, serving to do little more than wrap up the story begun in Way Of X. And, while there’s nothing wrong with that, it does feel a little disappointing, and a little rushed. Way Of X was superb, the best new X-book since the new line began, and now it’s over, and everything has been neatly wrapped up. Onslaught is defeated and Krakoa can move on like nothing ever happened.

This is disappointing because it felt like it was setting up what was wrong with Krakoa. It’s long been clear that something is rotten at the heart of Krakoa. Something, for example, is very wrong with Beast. But, I guess, with Inferno starting this week, things need to be wrapped up more quickly. And, well, that’s a shame, because I would much rather have had them take their time to explore this stuff.

Still, what’s done is done, and this is still great. I just wanted more.

Get early access to all my reviews and read them a week before everyone else over on my Patreon!

View all my reviews

X-Men #3 by Gerry Duggan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Pepe Larraz and Marte Gracia can make anything look epic, but Duggan hands them a script which is pretty epic anyways, so, you know, epicness abounds!

The High Evolutionary is a big bag of d***s, and the X-Men have no choice but to turn down his helpful offer to wipe out the human race for them. Which, you know, is probably for the best. It turns out the Rogue has beef with his daughter too, and it’s nice to see Rogue finally getting some attention after all this time. She never felt like a good fit in Excalibur and her presence makes a lot more sense here.

The art is really the main attraction here though, and Larraz and Garcia could make the opening of an envelope look cool.

Get early access to all my reviews and read them a week before everyone else over on my Patreon!

View all my reviews

X-Men: The Trial of Magneto #2 by Leah Williams
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Confused? You will be. But that’s entirely the point this issue, as the plot doesn’t so much thicken as become elastic and twisted.

I said in my review of #1 that I don’t believe that Magneto killed Wanda and I don’t believe she’s actually dead. I’m still convinced of both of these things…and not because Wanda appears to be alive at the end of this issue, because I’m not convinced that’s Wanda at all. And, also, yes…despite Magneto’s confession of guilt, I don’t think he did it. There’s a lot going on in this issue that’s happening just to distract the Avengers from the truth. That truth may well be that Wanda’s body is missing and they don’t know why.

What’s also curious is the clear and growing rift between the Five and the Quiet Council. The Five clearly seem to be of the opinion that they and they alone should decide who and who doesn’t get to be resurrected, and they’re willing to defy the Quiet Council’s decision regarding that. We’ve seen that in the pages of New Mutants and we are, perhaps, also seeing that here.

Also, if that is Wanda at the end, and no someone else pretending to be her, might she have been resurrected using an older back up? Not only from before M-Day but before she split up with The Vision? Beast was recently musing about this is the pages of X-Force, that if he died his friends might choose to resurrect an earlier Beast, a happier Beast…a less dark Beast…

Excellently written and beautifully illustrated, this series continues to draw me in, and I’m really looking forward to seeing where it goes.

Get early access to all my reviews and read them a week before everyone else over on my Patreon!

View all my reviews

X-Men: The Trial of Magneto #1 by Leah Williams
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

There were two things I was fairly certain of before I started reading this comic: 1) Magneto did not kill the Scarlet Witch; and 2) The Scarlet Witch is not dead. After reading #1 I’m still fairly confident on both points.

Why don’t I think Magneto killed Wanda? Because that’s the obvious, simple answer, and the one that X-Factor have reached by the end of #1. Therefore, it must be wrong, else what’s the point of this series? A mystery with an obvious solution is no mystery at all. Personally, while I have no idea who killed Wanda, I think this series is leading to the revelation that Wanda (and Pietro) are actually mutants after all, and are Magneto’s children. It’s a retcon that needs undoing, particularly as it was only done because Fox had the rights to all the mutants…

This is great stuff, which effectively explores how grief effects people. This is partly why I’m sure Magneto didn’t do it, he’s clearly grieving here and doesn’t seem like a man with a guilty conscience to me…despite everyone around him interpreting his actions in this way. The book, surprisingly, also explores grief from the perspective of the deceased. After all, the deceased is no normal woman…she’s the Scarlet Witch. She once rewrote all of reality. So thinking she could be choked to death seems a little naïve.

The art is also superb, which we’ve largely come to expect from the current X-line. When the X-books are good at the moment they are simply the best of modern super-hero comics and this is no exception.

Also, if you enjoyed Leah Williams’ X-Factor run and were sorry to see it come to what felt like a premature end, you’ll enjoy this, as it’s very much a continuation of that book.

Get early access to all my reviews and read them a week before everyone else over on my Patreon!

View all my reviews

X-Men #2 by Gerry Duggan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this! As much as I’ve loved all the politics and intrigue of the Krakoa Era, it feels good to just have the X-Men in action again, fighting impossible odds and saving the world.

The issue opens with a poker game in the basement of the X-Men’s new treehouse base, with Gambit, Black Cat, The Thing and Rhino in attendance. It turns out that Rogue objects to villains gambling in their basement, and talking of gambling…on Gameworld a collection of aliens is gambling on the fate of the Earth. Which results in the Annihilation Wave being launched at Kansas. Which, in turn, results in the X-Men fighting to save the world.

We also get some really nice character work with Sunfire, the one member of the team we haven’t really seen in the Krakoan Era. So we get a look at what drives and motivates him. It’s very welcome as I really don’t think that anyone’s done anything interesting with Shiro…well…ever. Certainly Claremont didn’t know what to do with him and had him leave the team immediately.

Pepe Larraz and Marte Gracia are already well established as an exceptional artistic team and they deliver once again in spades. This book is truly gorgeous.

I’m not sure where this book is headed yet but I’m definitely happy to be along for the ride!

Get early access to all my reviews and read them a week before everyone else over on my Patreon!

View all my reviews

X-Men #1 by Gerry Duggan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

If you want an X-Men #1 these days you just have to wait a little while and a new one will come along!

The new X-Men team, elected during the recent Hellfire Gala, sets up a new base right in the heart of New York City. I’m glad we’re not heading back to the mansion, and I honestly hope we never hit that particular reset button again (although I’m sure that eventually the X-office will be taken over by people who grew up on the 90s cartoon and the Jim Lee X-Men #1 and we’ll be right back there again). So, no, no mansion. A tree house.

Yes, you read that right, the X-Men’s new base of operations is a tree house. An awesome Krakoan tree house. And I kinda love it.

This issue sees them take on a Kaiju-like monster in New York city, and so they essentially combine their powers to build their own Jaeger. It’s awesome. And definitely a new an interesting way to have the team combine their powers.

It seems this Kaiju was sent from an intergalactic space casino, where a selection of aliens were betting on its success or failure. Also, the High Evolutionary was there. He didn’t say anything or do anything but the art very pointedly showed him to us. I’m hoping this proves to be significant.

The art, by Pepe Larraz and Marta Gracia is spectacular, and everything we’ve come to expect from a modern X-book.

All in all this is a great start to a new series.

View all my reviews

Planet-Size X-Men #1 by Gerry Duggan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wowsers.

First up Pepe Larraz and Marte Gracia knocked this one out of the park. This books is, quite simply, gorgeous. This issue would have been a daunting one to illustrate and yet, somehow, they don’t just pull it off, they make it look easy.

Up to this point the Hellfire Gala has teased us with the big revelation. We’ve seen people’s reactions to it, but we haven’t been told what it is. Here…we get that reaction in full, and where Marvel’s comics have been afraid to fundamentally alter the status quo in the past, this one doesn’t shy away from changing everything.

Duggan takes the entire of mutants combining their powers to achieve incredible feats to a whole new level. They’ve been preparing us for this for a while, most notably in the pages of New Mutants and SWORD, but here it’s taken to it’s ultimate conclusion, as pretty much every Omega level mutant combines their powers to terraform Mars.

Not only does this solve the problem of where to put the sixteen million new Arrako mutants, but it also establishes the mutant civilisation as the dominant power in the solar system. The new mutant city on Mars is declared the capital of our star system…and this is going to have consequences. Not just in regards to the mutants’ relations with human governments, but on a galactic level.

I’m very excited for what this sets up going forward, for the stories and adventures this sets the stage for. And, quite frankly, the fact that so many people have reacted to this with “meh” just baffles me.

View all my reviews

X-Men #21 (X-Men by Jonathan Hickman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Namor reminds us why he’s knows as the Prince of Abs-lantis, as he’s invited to join the Quiet Council, with predictable results.

The new X-Men team is revealed, and a very interesting team it appears to be. I’m particularly pleased to see Sunfire on the team, having always felt it was a shame that he walked out immediately after the events of Giant Size #1.

There’s some party mingling and some cool cameos from real life people, including Kevin Feige..and a whole slew of people I probably should have recognised but didn’t. Pretty sure I spotted George RR Martin in there thought. Geez, that guy will do anything to avoid finishing the next Game of Thrones book!

And then Emma did…something that we’ll undoubtedly see in Planet Size X-Men #1…

View all my reviews