Fireworks

“Fireworks”
Planet Size X-Men #1
Written by Gerry Duggan
Art by Pepe Larraz
Color art by Marte Gracia

• Is there life on Mars? Well, now there is. It was clear enough to anyone paying attention that this issue would be about the X-Men terraforming Mars, so going into the issue it was more about discovering exactly how and why this was being done. There were some things we already knew coming in – a need to replace their pharmaceutical facilities in the Savage Land to meet production goals, the pressure of learning that Nimrod was online and they couldn’t wait much longer on this part of the long-term plan of expansion – but in this story we learn that above all else, claiming Mars was about giving the Arakkii a proper home and getting around the problem of Earth suddenly being the host of millions of powerful, warlike mutants with no respect for humanity. 

• The miracle of a circuit of omega mutants transforming a dead world into a planet that can permanently support life is remarkable and quite a thing to behold on the page – oh man, look at those X-Men go! It’s the freakiest show – but the real flex on display in this issue comes at the end in a text page in which Mars is renamed Arakko, humans are forbidden to go anywhere besides one particular zone devoted to diplomacy, and the planet is declared the capital of the solar system. Oh, right, and Arakko is the “first” mutant world, implying an empire to come. Well, I sure hope someone – like, say, the lead writer of the franchise who developed most of these ideas and only has four scheduled comic issues for the rest of the year – writes more about all of this! 

• Pepe Larraz continues to dazzle with the sheer scope of his artwork and his gift for designing evocative new characters and settings. I don’t think there’s a lot of other artists who could’ve pulled this issue off with as much cinematic grandeur, but I say “cinematic” as though anyone working in cinema has approached some of the feats depicted so gracefully on these pages. The issue is full of things he’s designing from scratch that will become the basis of who knows how many other artists’ work – the Lake Hellas Diplomatic Ring, Port Prometheus, and the key Arrako leaders Xilo, Sobunar, and Lactuca – but the most incredible spectacle is how he manages to depict the transportation of millions of Arakkii mutants to their new planet. Every one of these pages is worth staring at and dissecting, the guy is just outstanding. The work he accomplished here cements him as one of the top tier definitive/transformative X-Men artists along with John Byrne, Arthur Adams, Jim Lee, Joe Madureira, and Frank Quitely.

• It feels a little strange that this issue wasn’t written by Jonathan Hickman but Gerry Duggan delivers here in a big way, conveying the grandeur of this moment while keeping it grounded in the characters, most especially Magneto and Jean Grey. Duggan pulls off a balancing act of writing in his own voice while matching Hickman’s tone, certainly much more so than any other writer in the stable. Some of this comes down to both of them understanding what they have in Larraz, an artist who thrives most when asked to do very narratively ambitious things. Duggan and Larraz have previously worked together on Uncanny Avengers and the two have real chemisty, so this issue sets the bar high for what they’ll be doing together soon on X-Men. 

• Magneto is the star of this issue and the prime mover on the project to transform Mars into Arakko, and in this act he cements himself as a savior to his people on par with Xavier leading the creation of the Resurrection Protocols. And of course, there’s Apocalypse, who rescued the Arakkii from Amenth in the first place. The Great Men of mutantdom have in fact done miraculous deeds for their kind – why wouldn’t people follow them? Also, I don’t know if this is something Hickman and Duggan had in mind, but Magneto essentially giving “Lebensraum” to his liberated brethren is quite a thing for a Holocaust survivor. 

• Absalon Mercator is the only omega mutant of Earth who does not participate in this very literal act of world-building, though we do see Magneto turned away from his mysterious realm in Otherworld. Clearly something is planned for Mercator, so the question is…when? 

• I am not a scientist by any stretch, but the science in this issue seems fairly legit! The final text page gets into more details from the perspective of NASA and is attributed to Thom DiRocco, who turns out to be a real scientist that Duggan follows on Twitter, so it’s a reasonable to assume he was consulted on how to do this story as correctly as possible. 

• It’s hard to fathom what it would be like to respond to the events of this issue as a human being. The notion of Mars suddenly being an inhabitable world full of powerful mutants with a totally alien society is wild, but living in a reality in which mutants are capable of doing these godlike feats would be a lot to process even if you’re already used to the idea of mutants and superheroes. I understand why a lot of people would feel frightened, but I feel like a lot of people would be awed and probably process this in religious terms of miracles and acts on behalf of God. 

• It would seem the great error in all of this is the declaration of Arakko as the capital of the solar system when Arakko is definitely NOT on the same page as Krakoa and we know from X of Swords that this is a society that up until a few weeks ago was on a path of brutal conquest. Now, sure, some of that was due to the influence of Annihilation, but c’mon. Magneto, with his goal focused on expansion, is taking a massive leap of faith here – or, really, he’s just blinded by hubris. Also, it’s more than a little condescending to force Planet Arakko into a diplomacy role to teach them a better way of existing. And Storm rather bluntly speaks to greatest benefit of having the Arakkii on Mars – it’s basically a whole planet of incredibly powerful randos who can be a cannon fodder defense one planet away from Earth.

• The Arakkii being pushed into a diplomatic role is also not the best move given that they know almost nothing about Earth, much less the Shi’ar or any of the other Marvel alien societies. Maybe their lack of history with anyone besides the Krakoan mutants makes them theoretically neutral?

• It’s worth noting that the Arakkii precognitive mutant Idyll’s prophecy from X-Men #14 was clearly referencing what would eventually happen on Mars, the red planet.

The Beginning

“The Beginning”
X-Men #21
Written by Jonathan Hickman
Art by Nick Dragotta, Russel Dauterman, Lucas Werneck, and Sara Pichelli
Color art by Frank Martin, Matthew Wilson, Sunny Gho, and Nolan Woodard

• This issue marks the end of Jonathan Hickman’s run on this particular title, though not the end of his X-Men run – his Inferno miniseries will launch in September and pick up on the Mystique/Moira and Orchis threads of the previous issue, and I strongly suspect there’s another thing coming before year’s end that won’t be announced until after next week’s Planet Size X-Men special. A new X-Men series by Gerry Duggan and Pepe Larraz starring the team introduced in this issue will launch next month, and I haven’t decided whether or not I will cover that on an issue-to-issue basis or simply write about it in chunks as I do all the non-Hickman titles. 

• At this point I’m inclined to think that Hickman’s story isn’t following a standard three act structure as much as it’s working on a more musical logic – House of X/Powers of X is an overture establishing themes, and this issue is the end of a movement that began with the first issue of this series but also included his New Mutants issues, the Giant Size specials, and the entirety of X of Swords. 

The overall structure of this phase includes motifs and story sequences that recur like melodies, in this issue we get an echo of the opening of X-Men #1 in which Cyclops recalls how Xavier saved him as a child in the form of Cyclops explaining to, uhhhh… MCU head honcho Kevin Feige… why Xavier’s dream continues to motivate him. It highlights the earnestness of the character, and effectively ends his arc as the central protagonist of this particular series. Cyclops is a true believer who finds his purpose in being an X-Man, and in a new society where there was no longer a formal X-Men team, he just kept making new X-Men groups until finally deciding to formally recreate and reinvent the X-Men. There’s an innocence and optimism to what he and Jean Grey are doing now that was notably missing from the start of this phase, and regaining that spirit is the triumph at the end of this arc. 

• The rest of the issue mostly nods cryptically in the direction of plot threads unlikely to feature in Inferno – whatever is going to happen with Mars, Emma Frost seeking some resource from a hidden society in an unnamed city that I’m reasonably certain are being introduced in this issue, and a selection of Sinister Secrets that hint at new developments for Cypher and Sinister, upcoming changes in the membership of the Quiet Council, and “an unknown material of immeasurable worth” in Otherworld. It seems like a lot of plot threads going forward will involve precious resources and competition between various societies, which makes sense as the Reign of X phase is above all else about “expansion,” as Emma puts it in her speech at the Gala. 

• The opening scene with Namor, Magneto, and Xavier is a delight, but of course it is – it’s four pages of Namor dialogue written by Jonathan Hickman, the definitive Namor writer. Namor’s presence is mainly to deflate the two heads of state at their own self-congratulatory party, though if it turns out that the mutants do in fact terraform and colonize Mars his boast about controlling 70% of the planet might end up looking like less of a brutal own on them. But the crux of the scene is Xavier not shrinking from Namor asking him “How goes the empire building?” “Well, I think.” The hubris sets in…but an Inferno awaits. 

• The issue is broken into four scenes by four artists – longtime Hickman collaborator Nick Dragotta very much at home in a Namor scene that plays to his East of West strengths, the X-Men membership reveal sequence by the slick but somewhat sterile Russell Dauterman, some pages by Lucas Werneck that nicely convey the social dynamic of the Gala, and Sara Pichelli shifting her usual style a bit for the last few pages with Emma Frost at her most theatrical. The shifts in style work this issue – different moods for different parts of the party. 

• I don’t love the celebrity cameos, not because they’re celebrity cameos per se, but rather that if you’re doing a big Gala like this it is pretty laughable for it to be mostly unglamorous comedians and older rappers rather than… you know, anyone who you’d actually expect to show up to something along the lines of the Met Gala. You expect Rihanna and Lady Gaga and A$AP Rocky, you get Marc Maron and Patton Oswalt and George R.R. Martin. 

Reign of X Mini-Reviews: New Mutants / Excalibur / Hellions

New Mutants 14-18
Written by Vita Ayala
Art by Rod Reis

Vita Ayala was a good choice to replace Ed Brisson on New Mutants – they have a very natural affinity for writing young characters, and immediately gave the series a focus and mission that was lacking in Brisson’s issues. Ayala has tightened up the core cast to a group of classic New Mutants characters – Mirage, Karma, Wolfsbane, Magik, Warlock, Warpath – and have put them in charge of an outreach program to help give structure and a sense of purpose to Krakoa’s youth, not all of whom know who or what they want to be in this new society. There’s enough action and adventure moments for it to work as a superhero series, but Ayala is writing a story about young mutants trying to find themselves and seeking out paths that don’t involve becoming a proper superhero and attempting to solve problems with violence. 

Ayala’s strength as a writer lies in their empathy, and the plot of this run of issues is largely driven by characters’ pain and emotional needs, and how this makes some characters lash out and others become confused by conflicting feelings. The main story is about the Amahl Farouk – the sinister telepath who is the host of the demonic psychic creature the Shadow King – also deciding to become a mentor to young mutants, and manipulating some particularly vulnerable kids who’ve been traumatized by their mutations to seek ways to change their circumstances. 

Ayala carries over the Brisson creation Cosmia for this plot – she’s a teenager who hideously warped her body and just wants to be reset in her original form so she can feel like a normal person again. This is a very understandable angst, and it’s hard not to side against the book’s own protagonists when they – mutants, but normal looking humans – try to tell her that her mutation is who she is and thus beautiful in its own way. Ayala is very good at puncturing the sort of well-meaning but patronizing things we say to people in pain, and doing it in a way that doesn’t totally undermine a character like Mirage’s wisdom and generosity. 

Rod Reis’ loosely gestural and very colorful art remains a major highlight of this series, and his skill for conveying nuanced emotion in facial expressions and body language adds a lot of depth to what Ayala is trying to achieve in their character writing. Reis is also terrific with atmosphere and nails the pages where Ayala asks for psychedelic horror or storybook grandeur. Ayala is aiming high, but Reis is elevating the material on every page. 

Excalibur 16-20
Written by Tini Howard
Art by Marcus To
Color art by Erick Arciniega

Given that X of Swords spent a lot of time establishing the terrain of Otherworld and gesturing towards the many story opportunities offered among its realms it has been very disappointing that in the immediate wake of that story Excalibur – the X-Men series focused on Otherworld adventures – brushed all that aside for five consecutive issues telling the convoluted story of Betsy Braddock coming back after seemingly dying in the crossover. 

There is some narrative value in this plot as it provided an opportunity for Tini Howard to get around to exploring the complicated relationship of Betsy and Kwannon, but I don’t think we get anything very deep here. Ultimately Kwannon forgives Betsy for inhabiting her body for many years and moves along in the role of Psylocke, but it feels more she’s making a legal statement after a court settlement than anything that feels emotionally natural. 

Howard’s writing is still frustrating. She has good ideas and a strong notion of who Betsy Braddock is, and I’m intrigued by her exploring the character by putting her through a series of failures. But the best elements of Excalibur are mostly conceptual, and I think she stumbles through plotting on an issue-to-issue level and in making use of her full ensemble cast. At this stage it’s pretty clear that Excalibur is ultimately a Betsy Braddock solo series with a large supporting cast, and not a proper team book as it’s sold. Rogue, one of the best and most beloved X-Men characters, has spent 20 issues of this series essentially playing the role of “Betsy’s friend” without any real story of her own. Gambit fares even worse, mainly playing the role of “Rogue’s husband.” Jubilee and Rictor get a little more to do, but their stories are presented as minor relative to things directly pertaining to Betsy. 

Unlike the second arc of Marauders in which Gerry Duggan took Kate Pryde off the board and used it as a way of exploring the other characters in the series, Howard took Betsy Braddock out of Excalibur so the other characters could mostly just talk about missing her and trying to bring her back. I like Betsy Braddock a lot, she’s one of my favorite X-Men characters, and don’t mind this sort of focus on her but it’s time for this series to be more honest about what it is. Rogue getting reassigned to Duggan’s new X-Men series is a good sign, both for the good of that character, and for Excalibur moving away from wasting major characters in the orbit of Braddock. 

Howard has clearly made some effort to tell a complete plot in any given issue, at least in terms of setting an obstacle and overcoming it, but for the most part these seem weirdly inconsequential. Maybe part of the problem is how abstract the conflicts tend to be, particularly in a set of issues like these where everything’s so psychic and mystical and not rooted in physicality or social dynamics. Even when this storyline gets a proper antagonist in the form of Malice, the story ends up defeating the concept of the character – a disembodied psychic creature that hijacks bodies – by fleshing out her backstory and giving her a body in the end. Howard aims for pathos in telling Malice’s story, but it mostly just comes across as corny and as a clumsy parallel to Betsy’s own history. 

Marcus To’s art continues to be pleasantly average in scenes that are mostly talking and hanging out, and egregiously bland and flat whenever he’s asked to draw anything particularly fantastical, which is quite often in a series largely focused on fantasy genre scenes and psychic abstractions. Given that Howard’s writing has come off much better when paired with heavyweights Pepe Larraz, R.B. Silva, Phil Noto, and Mahmud Asrar on X of Swords, it’s very likely that these issues would have come across much better if To was not the artist. 

Hellions 7-12
Written by Zeb Wells
Art by Stephen Segovia
Color art by David Curiel

Hellions remains a highlight of the line as Zeb Wells explores some of the most warped X-Men characters with equal measures of dark wit and empathetic nuance. Wells is very good at making sure his eight characters get a roughly even amount of spotlight in any given story but in this run of issues we get a little deeper into the three weirdest cast members – Nanny, Orphan Maker, and Wild Child. The sorta contrived narrative reason for this is that after being resurrected from having died in Arakko the three have come back as “sharpened” versions of themselves, i.e., like even more themselves than they were before. In effect this means that Orphan Maker is even more petulant and childish, Nanny is more vindictive and monomaniacal, and Wild Child struggles with his profound primal urge to be an alpha while consistently finding himself in situations where he most definitely is not. Wells gets a particularly good scene out of this subplot in the Hellfire Gala issue in which Wild Child runs into his ex-girlfriend Aurora and finds that not only is she embarrassed by her past association with him, but she’s also with Daken, a bigger and more obviously alpha version of Wild Child. Wells manages to take the character’s plight - rooted in toxic masculinity and powerful incel vibes - and make it weirdly poignant without making him come across any less creepy and psychotic. 

Wells’ plotting is strong, particularly in the run of issues in which the cast is held captive by Arcade and Mastermind, but the pleasure of this series is in the genuinely funny dialogue and the way Wells gradually deepens the relationships between these demented and/or broken weirdos. Greycrow in particular has benefited from this as he demonstrated a fraternal warmth towards Wild Child, a respectful comradery with Havok, and a slow-simmering romantic chemistry with Psylocke. The broader question of the series is “can these people change and be rehabilitated?” and the ongoing story of Greycrow suggest that he can be if he continues to forge real connections rather than maintain an icy loner lifestyle that allowed him to see other people’s lives as useless and disposable.

Havok’s role in the series is to essentially be the “straight man” among the lunatics, but Wells does a good job of making it clear that he’s just as broken as the rest. In the Gala issue we are reminded that any status Havok has is due to him being Cyclops’ brother, and that authority figures like Xavier and Magneto seem to view him as a pathetic figure they must be superficially kind to as a favor to Cyclops. This feeds into the character’s delusion that he doesn’t belong amongst the Hellions, but also fuels the years of sudden volcanic anger and bad choices sparked by rampant insecurity that’s put him in this position.