X-Men #7
Publisher: Marvel
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Artist: Leinil Francis Yu
Color Artist: Sonny Gho
Letters: Clayton Cowles
Cover: Leinil Francis Yu & Sonny Gho
When we first found out about the Resurrection Protocols it changed the game and gave a new meaning to “eternal life” for the X-Men. And so the questions surrounding the implications of such a thing began to rise from the fans and this issue here finally takes a deeper look into what this means through a ritual known as The Crucible. An event where one who had been stripped of their powers is given the choice to die in combat and come back as a mutant once again.
Hickman dives pretty deep into the morality of this and it’s repercussions via a long walk with Nightcrawler and Cyclops as it is Melody Guthrie’s time to choose whether or not to go through The Crucible. During this talk several sides are brought up that cover almost every angle of this debate with characters that were perfectly chosen. During their talk we come across Exodus who gives off evangelical preacher vibes as he’s speaking with a group of young mutants about M Day and filling the reader in on what The Crucible entails. How the children react to the mention of Scarlet Witch is quite telling as well. As Hickman builds towards the moment where a now human Melody faces off against Apocalypse more questions are raised especially with the mention of “the wills”. What’s also refreshing is that the imperfections of this new way of life are also coming to light. So it will be interesting to see how things eventually begin to fall apart as Powers of X has already shown. However, there is a lot of exposition here with very little action taking place. So depending on how you feel about what Hickman reveals here this may or may not be your cup of tea.
Yu and Gho’s visuals are, for the most part, enjoyable and serve the story well. With the majority of the issue involving discussion, Yu nails much of the expressions needed to carry the weight of the more emotional moments. He really sells the struggle and pain as Sam and Paige watching Melody’s fight. The campfire talk between Exodus and the kids has a dark and creepy feel thanks to Gho’s colors and Exodus himself. There were moments where things were’t as sharp but still managed to do well.
Not a lot of action here but Hickman gives readers plenty to mull over when it’s all said and done. Especially for those that decipher the message at the end of the issue. 3.5/5
X-Men/Fantastic Four #2
Publisher: Marvel
Writer: Chip Zdarsky
Artist(s): Terry Dodson, Rachel Dodson
Color Artist: Laura Martin
Inks: Karl Story & Ransom Getty
Letters: Joe Caramagna
Cover: Terry Dodson & Rachel Dodson
When Cyclops stepped to the Fantastic Four with his proposal for Franklin to come and live among the mutants on Krokoa who knew it would lead to something like this? Well, I’m pretty sure we all did because that meeting was tense. And even though it pains me to say this, I have to agree with Cyclops in this issue and everyone should have listened to him. He’s a parent who knows the pain of what it’s like to lose a child and with Franklin Richards missing along with the Marauders he knew that Susan wasn’t messing around.
As enjoyable the issue is there are some drawbacks especially when it comes to some of the actions of the adults. They seem overly eager to not do the right thing and though Emma actually agrees with Scott it’s Magneto’s hubris that is most annoying here. And despite housing some of the most powerful mutants on Earth, Krakoa is once again invaded by outside forces. However, things do improve when Zdarsky spends time with Doom and we see what he wants though with Doom you already know he’s got ulterior motives. Zdarsky also gets some major points for having Ben keep it 100% real with Reed about what he did to Franklin. It was a moment that had the weight of two men who have been through hell together and only people with that kind of history can say that and have it still come from a good place. Thankfully we also get some very good Val and Doom banter.
The art is solid for most of the issue though at times things get a little iffy. Not a fan of the extra thick black outlines and this happens at times and is a bit distracting. While the colors from Laura Martin are excellent and really help with the palette changes from the island to our time with Doom and the kids is just a nice touch.
Hopefully the adults (mainly Reed, Charles, and Magneto) can get out of their own way soon because that is the only thing holding this back from being a much better story. 3.5/5
Giant Size X-Men: Jean Grey + Emma Frost
Publisher: Marvel
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Artist: Russell Dauterman
Color Artist: Matthew Wilson
Letters: Clayton Cowles
Cover: Russell Dauterman & Matthew Wilson
Storm is down and we don’t know why. The solution is to have Jean and Emma dive into her unconscious mind to find out what happened. Simple enough but we know when the X-Men are involved, simplicity usually is never an option.
To tell this story we get the talents of Hickman but as a pleasant surprise the bulk of the issue is a silent story told through the art of Dauterman and Wilson. The duo that brought us countless pages of great art during their time with Thor. The bit of dialogue we do get at the beginning and end of the story are solid bookends but the majority of what makes this issue shine is a direct result of sequential storytelling from this art team. The shift from dialogue to why this is a silent issue is a clever piece of interactive storytelling once you decipher the Krakoan sign and Emma turns to look back at Wolverine and Cyclops (though it’s actually you she’s looking at) with her finger to her lips to remind you to be quiet.
From here, Dauterman and Wilson take the psychic duo into Storm’s mind to solve the mystery of what’s happening. Once inside there’s a landscape resembling the Wakandan astral plane with giant panther avatars of Storm and who we can only assume to be T’Challa. Each one demands to know who these intruders are and Dauterman has Jean communicate by bringing up an image of Jean and Storm’s reunion during Inferno. A touching moment in itself as the art duo captures the emotions with the slight smile of the Storm avatar. While Emma brings up the time they switched bodies and the look on her face is classic Emma as she’s stared down by the giant T’Challa avatar. As the journey continues, Dauterman and Wilson tell a story filled with danger and spectacle with several nods to some past X-Men moments from Grant Morrison’s run. At the same time they’re delivering something new and just wonderful to look at from beginning to end. With Wilson just showing out with that image of Storm’s face in the sky. The colors of that one just make it perfect while Wilson has Jean linger on her friend’s image a moment longer with the worry and concern for her sister displayed clearly on her face.
I didn’t expect to like this one as much as I did but you can’t ignore quality storytelling when you see it. Jean Grey + Emma Frost is one of those issues that you might not be too excited about at first but you’d be missing out on something worth having. Especially for you longtime X-Men fans with keen enough eyes to find all the easter eggs from the art team. 5/5
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