The Left Hand

“The Left Hand” 
Immortal X-Men #1
Written by Kieron Gillen
Art by Lucas Werneck
Color art by David Curiel

Immortal X-Men #1 flows so gracefully from where Jonathan Hickman left off in Inferno while firmly introducing a new era for the franchise more generally that it’s now even more baffling that Marvel insisted on lodging X Lives/X Deaths of Wolverine between the two stories. In every way that the latter story fumbles through plot points and inadequately “yes, ands…” Hickman’s story, Immortal X-Men artfully builds on what came before while reestablishing Kieron Gillen as an X-Men writer. 

But this is no surprise, as a major strength of Gillen’s work-for-hire writing is a skill for respecting what other writers have laid down while adding new ideas and value to the ongoing story. The best example of this is what Gillen did for Mister Sinister in his first X-Men run – he effectively fully reinvented the character while using what had come before, and the Sinister we’ve known through the Hickman era is very much the flamboyant Victorian eugenicist creep that Gillen gave us. Gillen picks up the Sinister baton once more, but in a totally new context provided by Hickman – he’s a major political figure in the mutant nation, he’s been instrumental in making mutants effectively immortal, and he’s cooking up ideas for chimera gene mash-ups. 

Gillen quickly reminds us of some elements of his Sinister that have been largely glossed over more recently, such as the fact that he electively became a mutant through extensive cloning of his own body and that he has no care for mutants beyond being genetic fodder for his experiments. By the end of this issue we see that Sinister has been using mindless clones of Moira McTaggert in a scheme to send information from his future selves back to the present so he can have advanced knowledge of events. He’s essentially approximating the precognitive powers of his rival Destiny, but with a difference – while she sees branching timelines ahead of her, he’s working on more empirical evidence of things that have actually happened to him, albeit in varying versions of his lived experience. It’s already shown to be a faulty system in a council vote scene, but a very intriguing development for the character and a clever spin on the utility of Moira’s powers. 

But why would Sinister see Destiny as a rival? This is unclear as of yet, though the opening pages of this issue establish that the two knew one another in England in the wake of World War I, and that she told him a secret that unexpectedly killed his clone body. The scene is a deliberate echo of the Xavier/Moira park bench scene from Powers of X – the setting, the casual conversation, the woman with great knowledge passing it on the arrogant man in a way that shatters his worldview. 

Destiny refuses to share the secret with Mystique, presumably to protect her from words so destructive they could leave Sinister dead and gasping “you’re a ghost, you’re a ghost” as he passed. But what does that mean? I don’t have a good guess at the moment, but I’m intrigued by the seemingly mystical effect of her words. The title of the issue – “The Left Hand” – would suggest that what we’re seeing with Destiny and Sinister here is a conflict between two opposing systems of magic. That, along with the sequence in which Selene reminds us of how “mutant magic” works, makes me think that “magic” could be somewhat literal here. 

Destiny’s prophecies and Sinister’s messages sent back to himself through the Moira clones also make me think of the evocative recurring phrase from Grant Morrison’s New X-Men: “Are these words from the future?” 

Aside from Sinister’s machinations the main plot point of this issue is Magneto stepping down from the Quiet Council in order to do whatever it is he’ll be doing on Arakko in Al Ewing’s X-Men Red, and his seat on the council being taken by Hope Summers largely due to the political maneuverings of Exodus. Hope makes sense in this book for three reasons – it makes sense for The Five to have a representative especially given their previous conflicts with the council in X-Force, Hope’s direct role in making mutants effectively immortal clicks into the title of the series, and this is a character who was central to Gillen’s previous work in this sandbox on Generation Hope and Uncanny X-Men. 

As with Sinister, Hope was not created by Gillen but was largely defined by him, and so it makes sense he’d want to write her again given her “messiah” role is less a matter of narrative contrivance threading together three major X-Men crossovers and more her day-to-day job in mutant society. It should be interesting to see how she fits into this, and the suggestion that her role will directly lead to catastrophe is very intriguing. Her presence certainly does point in the direction of the Phoenix Force becoming a factor in the story, particularly as the front cover teases this with a Phoenix emblem on the empty chair at the center of Mark Brooks’ homage to The Last Supper. 

One of the most promising elements of Gillen’s new run is the writer’s interest in developing Exodus, a character with a bizarre backstory dating back to the Crusades and a crucial role in the Quiet Council who often seemed like a low key insidious presence in Hickman’s X-Men. Exodus is a zealot – “a man with an unyielding code” as Xavier says in Powers of X – and a man of faith who apparently observes a sort of mutant-centric Catholicism based on his knowledge that Jesus Christ was “The Nazarene Mutant.” Exodus sees Hope as the messiah, which is at least part of why he went out of his way to bring her into the running for Magneto’s seat without consulting the rest of the council. As with most of Exodus’ actions since the beginning of the Quiet Council his behavior is noble but there’s a lingering ominousness about him. He always seems to be quietly working a long game, which makes a lot of sense for a guy who’s lived as long as he has. The scale of his life gives him a patience that the younger mutants on the council simply do not possess, and since the impact of very long lives is clearly a major topic of this run I expect that to come into greater focus in regards to him as we move along.

Miscellaneous notes: 

• Lucas Werneck has stepped up his art game quite a bit for this issue, though I think the reality may be that he was simply given some time and encouragement to execute these pages on the level of the work he displays on his Instagram. Werneck’s style here strikes me as a pleasing blend of R.B. Silva and Adam Hughes, and his skill for drawing facial expressions and body language are well suited to a series in which a lot of the scenes will be people having conversations around tables. He’s also good at allowing a bit of implied space and breathing room to pages that may otherwise feel overly dense. 

• Gorgon makes a brief cameo in this issue that suggests the character has settled into something more closely resembling the Gorgon we knew before his death in Otherworld, which is a major relief since the last time the character appeared he was a yelping lunatic slicing up an ice cream stand in Simon Spurrier’s abysmal Way of X. 

• The one place this issue really left me wanting was Colossus basically being around to say “yes” and “no” in a few votes. It’s obvious there will be more room to explore his new role in all this in subsequent issues, but I’m just very eager to get his point of view on all this. Does he feel bewildered by this? How engaged is he? Does he actually understand that he’s a pawn for Xavier here and compromised by his brother Mikhail in X-Force? Colossus is another character Gillen has written quite a bit, so I’m curious to see his take on where he’s at today. 

• The text pages in this issue really do a lot to emphasize this as a jumping-on point for new readers as well as the starting point for a new phase of the story across the line. One page early on spells out the major secrets that are moving story along – the threat of humans at large learning of mutant immortality, a recap of Inferno including the revelation that while Orchis was created by Omega Sentinel she and Nimrod do not care at all about the fate of humans, and that Abigail Brand is collaborating with Orchis. The pages at the end updating the map of Krakoa from HOX/POX is also quite helpful, as is the updated org chart for Orchis. Seriously, after the extent to which X Lives/X Deaths was hostile to new readers, this all comes as a major relief. 

A Losing Battle

“X of Swords Chapter 17”
X-Force #14
Written by Benjamin Percy and Gerry Duggan
Art by Joshua Cassara
Color art by Guru-eFX

“X of Swords Chapter 18”
Hellions #6
Written by Zeb Wells
Art by Carmen Carnero
Color art by David Curiel

“X of Swords Chapter 19”
Cable #7
Written by Gerry Duggan
Art by Phil Noto

• The last seven pages of X-Force #14 is, as far as I’m concerned, the best Storm story published in over 30 years. The plot echoes a few classic motifs – she’s stripped of her powers and is forced to rely on her wits and fighting skills in a duel – but the weight of it feels different, like we’re seeing something new in her that reinforces important elements that have been there all along. Storm and Death, who had an odd sort of courtship dance earlier in the story, are forced to duel in Sevalith, a realm of vampires. Death is courteous but condescending, and even in a powerless and inebriated state Storm takes advantage of his arrogance and reflects his death gaze back on him before stabbing him in the heart. She leaves him bleeding out, and invites the vampires of Sevalith to feast on his blood. This move sums up the Storm of 2020 – as brutal as she is regal, and a woman who has now conquered literal and figurative death twice in the past three months of publishing. 

It’s worth noting Storm has a history with vampires, Dracula in particular, and that Death is an ancient Egyptian man who dresses as Anubis, which connects to her childhood in Cairo. Storm’s sword Skybreaker – the sacred blade which she stole from Black Panther in the first act – is established as a conduit that can convert small amounts of energy back as larger amounts, which explains how she could reflect Death’s death gaze back on him in such a devastating way. The sword is also explained as a weapon passed down through Wakanda through generations to protect the fledgling nation. And of course, that purpose carries over here, but in defense of Krakoa. 

• The two issues of Hellions in X of Swords are essentially a side quest that can easily be read out of context, particularly as the issues do more to advance the plot of that series than that of the crossover. As we see in this issue, the group’s mission as established last month is not only a total failure, but nothing but a ruse for Mister Sinister to collect the genetic materials of mutants in Arakko. And of course that’s what he’d do! It’s his whole deal. But the plot hits a snag as Sinister meets his opposite number – Tarn the Uncaring, a mutant from Amenth who can warp the mutations of others and has become a deranged cross between an artist and a cult leader. His horrific creations the Locus Vile tear through the Hellions with ease, and before Sinister can make it back to Krakoa with his genetic data, Tarn does…something…to his body. It should be interesting to see what happens to this Sinister body, which we already know is a duplicate. 

We will surely be seeing Tarn and the Locus Vile again in this series – you definitely don’t go out of your way to create characters this disturbing unless you plan on making the most of a crew that’s a dark mirror of your exceedingly warped and broken cast of protagonists. I like that Tarn and Sinister have the same sort of cavaliar god complex, but the difference between them essentially comes down to art/religion vs science. Wells’ text page describing the Locus Vile is excellent in selling the characters’ unnerving premises, from Sick Bird’s fascination with invading the “sacred cord” of the spine to truly “know” her prey to the unexplained but clearly dire consequences of what happens when Amino Fetus eats. 

• The duel between Gorgon and The White Sword in Cable #6 is another instant classic fight scene, as one of the great Captains of Krakoa dies with honor after slaughtering over a dozen of the ancient mutant’s slave warriors, which evens the score in Saturnyne’s contest after several issues of the X-Men getting demolished by the Arakki. Phil Noto sells the drama of this scene very well with clean, uncluttered pages that convey Gorgon’s exceptional grace as a warrior.

Gorgon was introduced as a Wolverine villain by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr in the 2000s, and since then has mainly appeared in two of Jonathan Hickman’s more obscure Marvel works, Secret Warriors and Avengers World. Up until very recently he was played as vicious criminal genius affiliated with The Hand, Hydra, and HAMMER. Aside from X-Men #4, in which we see him act as a bodyguard for Xavier, Magneto, and Apocalypse, X of Swords is his first big moment as a protagonist in an X-Men story. This scene does two major things for the character – it gives him a set piece that proves his nobility, bravery, and extraordinary fighting skills, and it hits a reset button that allows him to be resurrected without the baggage of his worst deeds. I imagine that when we meet the new Gorgon, with his old self overwritten by a composite of his many selves throughout the multiverse, we’ll be meeting someone who isn’t far off from the man we see in this issue. 

• Nanny, Orphan Maker, and Wild Child also die in Otherworld, which essentially means that Zeb Wells gets an opportunity to define those characters going forward on his terms. This should be fascinating for Nanny and the Orphan Maker, who were already very undeveloped and enigmatic characters. Will they even be able to recognize one another on the other side? 

Edit: I’ve been corrected in the comments that they actually died in Arakko/Amenth, so presumably the Otherworld death scramble effect won’t apply to them. This makes sense given that Wells has established a Nanny subplot in previous issues and he probably wouldn’t just throw that away.

• Some very good funny bits in these issues, from the silliness of some of the competitions to the reveal that Pogg Ur-Pogg is just a little troll hiding inside a big alligator monster, and the bit where Cable explains to his very confused parents that he was just beaten by “Doug’s large wife.” 

Truth

“X of Swords: Chapter 12”
X-Men #14
Written by Jonathan Hickman
Art by Leinil Francis Yu with Mahmud Asrar
Color art by Sunny Gho

“X of Swords: Chapter 13”
Marauders #14
Written by Gerry Duggan and Benjamin Percy
Art by Stefano Caselli
Color art by Edgar Delgado

• I was wondering how Mahmud Asrar was handling the deadline crunch of seemingly getting put on a third of last week’s Stasis special while being assigned to draw four other issues in the crossover, but now we know the answer: He only drew the framing sequences of this issue, and the majority of the issue is made up of repurposed Leinil Francis Yu pages from X-Men #12. Jonathan Hickman has made use of the old “reuse the art” trick before, but this is a particularly bold move, reframing the history of the mutants of Arakko as told to Apocalypse by Summoner from the perspective of Genesis. Whereas Summoner was trying to mislead and trap Apocalypse, Genesis is telling him the hard truth of things. It’s like hearing the same song played in a different, far more melancholy key. 

This creative decision is as artful as it probably was quite pragmatic, though it does make you wonder what the compensation deal was like for Yu in this situation.

• It’s interesting to see where Summoner and Genesis’ accounts differ and converge, with some bits of their stories perfectly aligning on particular panels. The most blatant deviations come towards the end of the story, with Genesis revealing that the demons of Amenth had bred captured mutants to create a hybrid warrior race and the demon conjuring Summoners, and that Genesis indeed killed the prior host of Annihilation and was obligated to wear the Golden Helm of Amenth and command its armies. And though she put this fate off for many years, she eventually gave in and all of Arakko succumbed to Amenth. This led to the conquest of Dryador, and onward to the next goal of taking Krakoa. The final text page of this issue is heartbreaking, spelling out the truth of Arakko: The mutants there are “prisoners in their own land,” oppressed by the Amenthi hybrids, the Summoners, and the Golden Helm. What was previously implied is now very clear – Arakko must be liberated from Amenth and the mutants loyal to Amenth. 

• Isca the Unbeaten plays an interesting role in this story – her power to never lose compels her to side with inevitable victors, which directly led to her sister Genesis being corrupted by Annihilation and Arakko falling to Amenth. She’s a narrative echo of Cylobel from Powers of X, who was bred by Nimrod to betray her fellow mutants, but the notion of people who are genetically compelled to turn against their own is an odd and potentially contentious theme for Hickman’s macro story. However, just as Cylobel turns against Nimrod, it seems very likely that Isca will side with Krakoa by the end of this story. But whereas this is a redemptive act for Cylobel, wouldn’t this just be another convenient turn of events for Isca? And besides, how exactly is surrendering one’s loyalties not a form of being beaten? 

• The “vile schools” of mutant-Amenthi hybrid warriors is another echo of a plot point from Powers of X – the breeding of chimera as a warrior class of mutants by Mister Sinister. And what’s going to be the comic in this storyline to really engage with the vile schools? Hellions, the series featuring Mister Sinister as the lead.

• There’s such a sad poetry in Apocalypse having to face this brutal survivalist ethos he’s been living with for centuries from the perspective of now having Krakoa, and seeing in Krakoa a real possibility of true mutant culture and prosperity that is entirely alien to these Arakki people who can only see a zero sum game of survival or destruction. Genesis sees only softness and weakness in Apocalypse and Krakoa, but she has lost all context for true civilization. The Arakki fight merely to conquer and survive in their miserable lives, but the people of Krakoa have something to truly treasure and protect.  Genesis is blind to the power of that motivation. 

• Marauders #14 is a welcome tonal shift from X-Men #14, reorienting the story back to the perspective of the X-Men swordbearers as they meet their counterparts from Arakko for the first time at a banquet hosted by Saturnyne. Much of the story focuses in on Storm, who carries herself with absolute confidence as she rebuffs the romantic advances of Death, and on Wolverine, who is openly contemptuous of Brian Braddock for not taking advantage of Saturnyne’s love for him to prevent the tournament. There’s also a fantastic little scene in which the Krakoan captains Magik and Gorgon look for weaknesses in their opponents and test Isca, who manages to spook even them. 

• Stefano Caselli noticeably steps up his game for this issue, and really outdoes himself in drawing the surreal banquet hall of the Starlight Citadel. He does some stellar work with body language and facial expressions through the issue, and is particularly impressive in how he conveys so many distinct personalities and interpersonal dynamics in the party scenes. He was very well cast for this sequence of the story. 

• Since starting this site I’ve paid a lot more attention to X-Men comics fandom, and doing that can be like stepping into a weird alternate universe in which everyone dislikes Wolverine and finds him boring. I can’t relate. But this issue, as with most Wolverine comics written by Benjamin Percy, makes a great case for why he’s such a widely beloved character. His brutish no-bullshit attitude is a necessary contrast with the pomp and circumstance of Saturnyne’s banquet and the absurd formality of her contest. When he stabs her on the last page it is a genuinely cathartic moment, even though it’s quite clear there’s no way he’s successful in this tactic. 

Global Economics

“Global Economics”
X-Men #4
Written by Jonathan Hickman
Art by Leinil Francis Yu with Gerry Alanguilan
Color art by Sunny Gho

It’s remarkable how quickly Jonathan Hickman’s radical new vision for the X-Men has become the new normal, to the extent that this issue in which Charles Xavier, Magneto, and Apocalypse go to the Davos World Economic Forum to discuss the destabilizing effect of their new flower drugs on the global economy lands as a “yes, of course” rather than a “wait, what?” Truly, this is the All-New, All-Different X-Men. 

“Global Economics” builds on threads established in the first issue of House of X, and brings back two characters introduced in that issue – Chinese ambassador Ma Mingyu and the plainly sinister U.S. ambassador Reilly Marshall. Over the course of this story Reilly is revealed to be plotting an assassination attempt on the Krakoan leaders, but that plan is foiled by Cyclops and Gorgon. The bulk of the issue focuses on Xavier, Magneto, and Apocalypse addressing the concerns of the global elite and stating their intentions and goals. Each of them play to their strengths: Apocalypse intimidates with his enormous size and vast historical perspective, Magneto lays out the mutants’ plan to turn the capitalist system against humans to gradually negate their power and influence, and Xavier takes off his Cerebro helmet for the first time in the series to offer a message of love and faith in the possibility of coexistence. 

Xavier and Magneto’s respective monologues contrast their essential differences – idealism vs cynicism – but also the way the other’s perspective informs their current actions as they work together as the leaders of mutantdom. Magneto’s anger and ego are apparent in his gloating about the way he intends to whittle away the humans’ economic power, but he’s also set aside overt terrorism and violence in favor of pursuing soft power. Xavier is earnest in his desire for peace and expression of love towards all, but refuses to back down from claiming what is “rightfully ours.” For once they are on the same page philosophically, but in their words you see both the seductive qualities of their approaches to rhetoric but also the weaknesses that will no doubt lead to both of them making mistakes over the course of this run. It seems inevitable that Magneto’s self-aggrandizing anger – “you have new gods now” – will lead to something terrible happening. Xavier’s naïve hope will certainly be taken advantage of by some cynical, opportunistic force. 

This issue establishes the new role of Gorgon as a “captain” of Krakoa charged with protecting members of the Quiet Council. Gorgon is a relatively recent Marvel creation – he was created by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr for their best-selling “Enemy of the State” storyline in Wolverine in 2004, and his since been featured in many series as an antagonist but rarely in actual X-Men books. Hickman has a history with the character, having featured him in both Secret Warriors early in his Marvel career and later in Avengers World. Gorgon’s monologue in this issue lays out his change of heart, renouncing his previous service of Hydra and The Hand and embracing the visionaries of the Quiet Council. He’s “enlightened,” which means he’s embraced a brutal sort of mercy – he obeys the Krakoan law of “kill no human” but leaves an entire crew of assassins horrifically maimed. It’s not fully necessary, but it would be nice to see a bit more of how Gorgon came around to this change of heart, and his apparent reconciliation with Wolverine, who recommended him to this new position. 

Notes:

• Leinil Francis Yu continues to shine in small details on this series, particularly in the establishing shot of the dining room and all the well-rendered shots of food. I can’t imagine that when he signed on for another go at the X-Men he anticipated having to draw steak in two different issues, but he’s done well with it. 

• Very curious to see where Hickman is going with Reilly Marshall. In the first issue of House of X we learn that he’s a former black ops agent for both S.H.I.E.L.D. and S.W.O.R.D., but has a hidden affiliation that he managed to keep from the Cuckoos’ psychic probe. Is he involved with Orchis? Or perhaps some other concern that we haven’t learned about yet? One thing I find interesting about Marshall’s designed is that the other human characters introduced in House of X and this issue have extremely distinctive appearances that speak to their races and cultures, whereas he’s got the generic secret agent James Bond look – a blandly handsome clean cut white man. Seems pointed.