X-Men, Vol. 4

X-Men (2021)

by Gerry Duggan, Stefano Caselli (Artist), Joshua Cassara (Artist)

Lord of the Brood! When the X-Men get a distress call from deep space, they find that the galaxy's Brood problem is not as solved as they'd thought! Rogue Brood factions are running wild, and now it's up to the X-Men to get to the bottom of why! Back when their ally Broo became the Brood King, he gained the ability to control the savage alien race. Now he's experiencing his own nightmare The Brood are killing his friends, and there's nothing he can do to stop it! Meanwhile, Orchis' plans are in motion, preparing for the fall, and the anti-mutant fantasist called Feilong has taken control of Tony Stark's businesses - and turned Iron Man's technology toward creating the next generation of Sentinels! All this, plus the glorious return of Pogg Ur-Pogg! Collects X-Men (2021) #19-24.

Genres: Comics, X Men, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Comic Book, Graphic Novels Comics

168 pages, Paperback

Published October 3, 2023

Reviews

[Baba · Rating 3 out of 5]

The once dark and deadly Brood have become warring factions that the X-Men need to deal with, but always beware the Brood. The second half of this volume goes full-main story focussing on the ever numerous multi-layered strategies for Orchis to breed human discontent with the mutants, a lot of it mirroring the far right's total and utter marriage to purposeful disinformation and lies. Once powerful X-book themes, this many years into this reality I would expect more, although Duggan is probably the best main X-Men book writer this decade! A Three Star, 6 out of 12 jam.
2025 read

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a volume that definitely, um, happened but the truth is that so many threads pulling from all over the X-books made it a ho-hum experience. I wish Duggan had more bandwidth to explore the key characters' conflicts, particularly Scott's growing estrangement from Jean even if his hardline (read: Genocidal) attitude toward the Brood isn't terribly logical given how Mutantkind's history has panned out but at least it has served to drive a wedge between the X-Family's First Couple.


X-Mom and X-Dad are fighting again...

[Frédéric · Rating 2 out of 5]

An uninteresting first part with the Broods - except that it drives a wedge into the Jean/Scott relationship - and a rather average second part, basically not very well written by Duggan.

Too many X-series, too many convoluted subplots, too many characters, too many betrayals and low blows... by pretending to be too much all the time the X universe is going to implode and my interest with it.

[Matthew Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I feel like there was just a lot going on here that we were shown a glimpse of, but never got anything more of. The best parts of this one for me were the political dealings between Krakoa and Orchis throughout these issues.

[Jesús De la Jara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ahora que la Laura original pero más envejecida ha vuelto con Forge, ha cambiado de nombre a Talon. Pues ella, Sync, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Iceman, Firestar y Magik van por un llamado de auxilio de Corsair quien informa haber sido atacado por los Brood. Sin embargo, en un número anterior "Broo" amigo de los X-Men había quedado como rey y no se explica por qué los Brood no están bajo control. Interesante historia que incluye a Forge, Penant, la cabeza del celestial Knowhere y Nightmare. También hay una interesante reunión de capitanes. En realidad esta historia termina con los cómics de Capitana Marvel que está luchando contra otra facción.
Los últimos números hablan de los planes de Orchis, Modok ha encontrado una manera de alterar las medicinas mutantes y generar la muerte en los que la consumieron, se han creado nuevos centinelas basados en Stark Unlimited que pertence a Feilong y ya se nota la sombra de ellos sobre los X - Men. Jean y Scott están distantes.
Me gustó esta serie de números porque si bien es cierto algunas aventuras no fueron tan importantes aparecen un montón de personajes como Nightmare (pensé no verlo desde el especial de Halloween), Cable Joven, Emma quien habla con Cyclops para darle una importante noticia.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yes, X-Men are definitely headed for harder times, and they sure know how to melancholy their way inching there.

[Christian Zamora-Dahmen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m really enjoying the X-Men as of now. There’s a lot going on, that’s for sure, but this book put things in perspective and you get to be at the core of what’s going on for all-things-X.
I’m also glad Duggan cares for some character development. As much as I love Hickman’s ideas, he cared so little about how the X-Men felt as individuals.

[Khurram · Rating 3 out of 5]

The X-MEN books are pretty big reading. The problem I have is that there are too many X-Books. This book almost tries to be a bridge between .sny of them. So I have a piece from one story, then another and a story ongoing here. Too many things are going on, and not enough done, and what is done seem to be rushed or a setup for one of the other X-book or events.

The X-MEN are lured in and to a trap by the Brood. As somehow loved the original Brood storyline years ago, this one is not even close. Though it is more of a battle of philosophies of how to deal with the Brood. The ending is not in this book.

Orchis has the mutants in the back foot, either their advanced technology, secret weapons, using the mutants' own strengths against them, and propaganda attacks. The Gala is coming. Is it a time for a celebration or a reckoning?

There were just too many things going on in this book and not enough resolutions or enough time given to any particular storyline. This is a setup book at best, or a filler at worst. The book finishes with a varient cover gallery.

[Tyler Jenkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

As much as I’m really liking the idea of Krakoa it really needs to end soon. There’s too many stories to keep track of and I honestly can’t remember everything that happened in this volume. Instead of like, 8 ongoing series that fill out the month. I wouldn’t mind like 1 or 2 double length series that alternate every other week. That way they can still tell multiple stories in a much more cut down way. It’s just been so hard keep up with all of this. But the 3rd Hellfire Gala is in 2 weeks and I am excited for that. That event has been fun the last 2 times.

[Benji Glaab · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was quite an enjoyable episodic walk in what is usually an overly complex world of X. I like this stripped back narrative where you get to touch on multiple story beats and keep cruising along. Even if you don't get a huge amount of depth the pacing is nice and will read nicely with the other ongoing X titles.

Points of interest

Synch and 2nd Laura (X23) relationship after being reunited and living 300 years together in separate timeline.

Iceman experiencing "shrinkage" from the extreme cold! Allegedly he can regrow himself...

Wilson Fisk taking up residence in Krakoa, nice.

Sinister is into ball busting now

And Magik disintegrating a Ironman sentinel scattering across the universe was quite entertaining.

Nothing groundbreaking, but there is still plenty to enjoy

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gerry Duggan's X-Men series seems mostly to be tasked with stitching together the various other big storylines in the X-verse. First up, we're battling the Brood again, this time with a quandary over whether simply exterminating them all would be acceptable. I guess this ties in to Captain Marvel's Brood experiences, which were similarly mediocre. Lots of blasting bugs, kinda boring.

Next, the team battles a supersized Iron Man Sentinel, designed by Orchis (now that they own Stark Industries). Meanwhile, Jean and Cyclops are on the rocks (an oddly underexplored development) and Synch and Laura are a cute couple (also could be more explored!). Basically, there's very little time with the characters here because we're constantly zipping between one battle or one-off interaction to another.

Long story short, Orchis has their fingers in many pies and the X-Men are stretched thin. This volume is basically fine. More cohesion (and less bug stomping) would be welcome.

[Joselyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amé a Jean. En otros temas, no estoy segura de si me gusta mucho tener a dos Lauras. Me parece que fue la solución más fácil que encontraron para resolver el conflicto de la resurrección sin recuerdos de la Laura joven.Tenía ganas de leer la posible historia que esto desencadenaría pero, con la Laura original de regreso, parece que eso ya no es relevante.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do wish that Duggan wasn't writing this superhero tripe that's so at odds with the Age of Krakoa. But, given what he's been handed, this is a pretty good volume. It's got great characterization of Jean, Scott, Synch, Talon, and several other members of the main team. It's got an intriguing look at their villains. It's got scary foreshadowing of the upcoming Fall. And it's overall a fun book.

[Aisling · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Fran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sale divorcio 💋

[Bertazzo · Rating 3 out of 5]

That Blood story was one of the worst things I've ever read in X-Men.

[Nate Deprey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jean Gray reads significantly younger than Scott Summers in Krakoa era X-Men and the cracks are really starting to show in their relationship. Modern comics tend to focus more on action than character and watching these two characters drift apart, ideologically as much as anything else, adds a level of drama and character I wish more comics would have. All that said, if there were just an X-Force style horror comic solely focused on hunting the Brood across the universe the first three issues of this collection would make a great starting point.

[Alex Sarll]

So many of the X-books have been hinting at cracks in the Krakoa set-up that it's almost surprising to find ones which actually lead into the Fall - and disappointing that they're from maybe the line's least interesting book. There is fun stuff here, like any scene featuring "smartest idiot on the planet" Forge, or the revived relationship between Synch and the older Laura. But the first half of the collection, trying to make the potential extermination of ravening Alien knock-offs the Brood into a moral dilemma and only ending up with an even more cack-handed Genesis Of The Daleks, is a reminder of Duggan's limitations as a writer, and that's only reinforced when he gives us a humanity entirely suckered by Orchis' anti-mutant misinformation. Wouldn't it be much more resonant, never mind plausible, to play it as a 52:48 kind of division?

[Sid · Rating 3 out of 5]

tbh i don't care for all this brood business

[Rory Wilding · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the end of the previous volume of Gerry Duggan’s X-Men run, we got a tease that the Brood were making a return. Introduced in the early eighties during Chris Claremont’s legendary Uncanny run, the Brood are an alien race of insectoid beings that no doubt was inspired by pulp sci-fi stories about alien bugs with a touch of the Xenomorph, particularly one scene here featuring a deadly pregnancy.

The first three issues of this volume centre on the X-Men getting a distress call from deep space and find that the galaxy’s Brood problem is not as solved as they’d thought, whilst Forge and Monet St. Croix find themselves in another universe as they tried to reconnect Knowhere through the Krakoan gates. Although the Knowhere subplot seems like an excuse for Forge to do something outside of the Brood conflict, Duggan still delivers the fun in showcasing the teamwork, whilst artist Stefano Caselli delivers the superhero spectacle with a touch of cosmic body horror.

Although the reveal of the true villain ends up being the return of a one-off villain from Duggan’s run, whilst the Brood conflict actually gets resolved in a Captain Marvel issue that was published around the same time, the writer succeeds in the characterisation that balances the funny and the serious. From the wittiness of Magik, to the bond between Synch and Talon (the original X-23) that grows stronger when they had to make an awful sacrifice, the X-Men have always been challenged when it comes to heroism.

The remaining issues continue to explore how dedicated the covert organisation Orchis is in their mission to prevent global mutant primacy. With various villains who have joined the cause including Nimrod, MODOK and one of the Sinisters, there are multiple schemes going on throughout these issues, ranging from corrupting the Krakoan flowers to a Sentinel built based on Tony Stark’s Iron Man technology, leading to yet another kaiju situation with the X-Men. No doubt there is a lot of gears going on, in terms of plot, and Joshua Cassara makes it all visually coherent, whilst delivering a sense of grit in showcasing how brutal Orchis’ methods are. Even Cyclops dons his classic 90s costume.

There is a lot to enjoy from this volume, but you also get the sense that Duggan is building towards something, which is most likely the upcoming Hellfire Gala, which has been teased outside of the main storylines, with Emma organising the event and Wilson Fisk and his wife Typhoid Mary will be attending. Certainly, the most interesting development is the relationship between Cyclops and Jean Grey as the former who has become so cynical towards humanity and the assumption that they are already at war, which causes the latter to rethink her position as an X-Man.

[Subham · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was okayish I guess. Frankly I am tired of the whole Krakoan era and cant wait for this to end.

This one ties in with the Cap marvel "Revenge of the brood" story and we see Brood running out of control and when Cyclops father is infected, he is tired and wants to exterminate all of them and Jean and magik go to confront Broo because "King egg" and all that and then you see the twist why its happening and how Nightmare maybe involved and the various twists there, what Scott's team is doing and well how it all ends and the divide it creates between them, and honestly its one of the better parts of the volume just seeing that ideological divide and how its reflecting their changed positions if you take into account how Scott became after Jean's death during the late oughts and yeah if you're caught up with that long x-men continuity you will notice it.

The rest of the volume is like one shots showing how Orchis is proceeding with the plans and ties into other X-Men comics too and trust me if you're not reading them you will be confused as to who Mother righteous is and all, but yeah for someone reading all of them, it actually connects well and builds to the larger plot of Fall of X.

I like how we had new sentinel design like the Iron sentinels which connects to Duggans Iron man run and then the Wolverine Sentinels that ties to Percy's run.. again read both if you want and even if you don't its nice to see it all become this comprehensive plot points and show how Orchis has grown in threat and are doing anything and everything to create weapons to take down the mutants and its honestly shows their threat. Also that Pogg-ur-Pogg story is kinda bad so just ignore it if you want to.

Else its okayish I guess on second thought and maybe in future when I reread the whole run together, I will change my thoughts looking fondly back on this era, but atm I can't wait for this era to end ad hopefully the next arc "Fall of x" is worth it/

[RubiGiráldez RubiGiráldez · Rating 3 out of 5]

En la ingente galería de grandes enemistades de los mutantes de Marvel, el caso de El Nido resulta uno de los más inquietantes y que, seguramente por el tratar de mantener un target más universal en sus historias, siempre se queda en la premisa de su concepto. Una raza alienígena parasitaria que busca reproducirse asimilando huéspedes con grandes capacidades o poderes que poder hacer suyos. Por lo cual, el interés en "inseminar" a mutantes los ha llevado a cruzarse con los Hijos del Átomo más veces de las que les gustarían. Hace poco parece que se estableció una curiosa tregua al contar con la presencia de un miembro del Nido más humanoide y con más independencia de la habitual mente colmena de la especie, que bajo la tutela de Jean Grey se ha posicionado como líder pacífico de El Nido... ¿Pero entonces por qué se están volviendo a dar ataques como los que ha sufrido el patriarca de la familia Summers, ese corsario estelar que tiene en su abdomen una cría de El Nido amenazando con romperle desde dentro?

Gerry Duggan prosigue en esta línea de proponer buenas amenazas para la Patrulla X pero que quedan en pies de página en la mayor perspectiva del panorama Krakoano. En el caso de este resurgir de El Nido más devastador, es cierto que la potencia argumental de volver a tener a Cíclope sacando su lado genocida, es totalmente interesante de abordar en el estado actual de la comunidad mutante. Pero justamente al tener ya varios frentes abiertos en este aspecto con el tema Orchis y Bestia dejándose llevar por lo peor de su lado "mad doctor", parece que obliga al autor a comprimir esto en un nuevo problema de pareja con Jean Grey.

Poco más a añadir en este conjunto que presenta el primer gran ataque de estos nuevos Centinelas con diseño Iron Man en manufactura de Orchis o un intrascendente retorno de uno de esos enemigos del evento X de Espadas. Y ya está encima la Caída de X...

[Adam Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know if I could ever not love what happens with X-Men. They are an unending fandom of mine. Very curious to get into "Fall of X" more. Worried about them...

Highlights:
- The primary story in this Volume has to do with the Brood. Also being covered in the pages of Captain Marvel, there is a faction of the Brood not being controlled by Broo, but Nightmare, who is controlling enough to make them a threat again. Too bad he gets fucking spanked down by Jean! (That's my lady...)
- Forge and M (or Penance if you prefer) have discovered an unknown Krakoan gate. After a very weird journey, they discover it is on Knowhere. Ultimately, Knowhere is given to Broo and the Brood for continuing their newer peaceful mission.
- Surprise! Kingpin is now an honorary citizen of Krakoa via his wife Typhoid Mary. YUCK. That's not going to backfire at all. LOL
- Since Feilong has used Orchis to buy out Stark Industries, Stark Sentinels have been "protecting" humanity, while still attacking mutants. (Will this battle of public opinion humans vs mutants never end?)
- There has been tension between Scott and Jean for a while. Scott has never set foot on Arrako, taking the stance that humans and mutants need to work together and doesn't want humans to get the idea that mutants can be pushed off to another planet. Jean understands, but she both wants to leave the X-Men and sees his ideas as wrong. (They'll be fine soon, I know it. That pesky Phoenix seems to be on the horizon though...)
- Sunfire has been tasked with connecting Redroot and Arrako, giving them a symbiotic relationship like the plant system that controls Krakoa. Whatever happens to him is chaos as it includes a timejump and lots of darkness. Wonder what happened there?

Overall, X-Men continues to satisfy. Recommend.

[Michael Church · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was pretty excited to read the new Brood story, except it turns out it’s a crossover with Captain Marvel (2019), and the main climax of the story takes place in that book. You get to see the main X-Men team deal with Broo and that side of the conflict, but there’s a whole other team that works with Carol somewhere in space over several issues. Instead, we see an extremely rushed conclusion that isn’t at all satisfactory. It does nothing to address the different opinions on how to fix the problem of the Brood, and instead just leaves it as tension between Scott and Jean. Plus the whole subplot with Forge and Monet makes almost no sense and only seems to serve the Brood resolution.

The next couple of issues are all about Orchis and their advancement of Sentinel technology. It also seems to oddly serve as a means to just show how badass Firestar can be.

There’s a lot of talk about the upcoming Hellfire Gala, too. Since I’ve seen spoilers for that, I understand why. I imagine it would’ve been a bit of a nailbiter actually leading up to that in real time. In retrospect, though, it just kinda feels like filler. There’s some decent character moments, but I just didn’t really care, even though I like most of this team a lot.

The art is fine. Stefano Caselli and Joshua Cassara do a good job, though I prefer Caselli by a thin margin. There’s nothing egregious, but the final issue especially felt like a bit of a let down.

Like a lot of the X-titles around this time, it feels a bit distracted, but I’m invested enough to see it through to the end.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

First up, it's Brood time, everyone's favourite X-Men villains! Then, the Hellfire Gala is on the horizon, but the X-Men's foes at Orchis aren't about to give them time to get ready - and this year's gala is going to be a doozy...

The Brood story here is presented as a counterpoint to the Revenge Of The Brood arc in Captain Marvel, but the two don't really interact at all. These three issues are more focused on Broo and his status as the new Brood King, and is probably the most straight forward X-Men story in a good few years, which is an unexpected change of pace.

Then the latter three issues get back to what Duggan (and Hickman before him) do best, tell a lot of story in a very short space of time. Orchis, Feilong, and more come out of the woodwork for their next volley of attacks, and it's very clear as usual that Duggan and his fellow X-writers are playing a long game here.

On art we have Stefano Caselli for the first three issues, and Joshua Cassara on the second three. Very different styles, but great artists, both, and no strangers to X-Men (Caselli drew most of Duggan's Marauders series, and Cassara was the regular X-Force artist for a while).

I'd call this the calm before the storm, given how much the 2023 Hellfire Gala upends everything, but that'd be underselling it. The Brood story is alright, but it's the second half of this book that really keeps things interesting.

[▫️Ron S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

It should be impossible to make Brood stories boring. In the late 80's, there were 2 or 3 Brood issues in Uncanny that fans remember panel for panel - and we always wanted more. Yet, here we are. Not well-illustrated, characterizations that feel like afterthought, and plotting designed to "fit one more story in before we end Krakoa".
I'm complaining, and I'm also somehow enjoying reading these. I don't regret it, and I pretty much enjoy the process while I'm reading. It's the big picture stuff with the Mutant books that I'm nervous and embittered about. Also, it feels like Marvel is hedging its bets in case they need to continue as a company under a fascist dictatorship later in this year. Frightening.
A critical read if you are following the trajectory of the franchise - though Immortal is where the thoughtful readers are spending more time, and apparently X-Men Red is also more worthwhile.
Hang on tight, everyone. It's a difficult time.

[Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

Those last moments before the Hellfire Gala are always the most telling...

*Broo has to deal with a Brood situation that's been growing for awhile now
*Forge is at a crossroads. He's been The Maker, but has he 'built' himself into a corner on Krakoa?
*Synch just got Talon back, but his powers may make that a short union
*Cyclops ..getting militant (did anybody else notice them drawing him in his 90's costume?)
*The TVA is watching all time travellers that jump before or after the Hellfire Gala
*Tampering with Krakoan flowers?
*Stark loses control of ANOTHER company?? Now we have red and yellow Sentinels? HA

Bonus: Has anybody noticed that Firestar's new costume has the Krull glaive as the chestpiece?
Bonus Bonus: Nobody noticed until now that they keep LEAVING BEHIND Wolverine's dead bodies??

[Joey Nardinelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve been liking the X-Men comics lately (I think?) but this was one of those classic Marvel volumes with no core story. The 3-issue Brood arc was interesting and unnerving but seems to be feeding in and out of Captain Marvel? And then some of the issue was building to the next Hellfire Gala? And what was that ending and why do we care about Sunfire?? The friction between Jean and Scott and the growing relationships between the rest of this current X-Men roster would feel a lot more compelling if they were given more to do in this current volume. I’m not 100% sure what I’m wanting, but showing the bad guys flitting about on their own business while the good guys can’t build any compelling momentum or story is definitely a reason I’m less enthusiastic reading this currently.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not fair to rate this one since some of the plots involved are explained elsewhere, they are probably good. Who is the guy that looks like Sinister but has a different name? Who is the red lady with the heart on her forehead? Explained in another book. Was there a setup for the Stark Sentinels? Another book. What’s going on with Wolverine’s skeletons? Another book. Why is a conversation between Rogue and Destiny shoehorned into the middle of the book? It seems important, but I don’t thing Rogue is on the team right now. What is Sunfire doing again? I think it was explained in this series, but started 2 years ago. Who is the editor?

[Vaughn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was fine, but not as good as the first couple volumes, and nowhere near as good as Immortal X-Men or X-Men Red.

There's two main stories here. The first deals with the Brood where the X-Men, or specifically Jean and Scott, disagree on how to deal with them. The second half of the book is a bit more interesting as it involves Orchis and Dr. Stasis and is more important to the overall story of the Krakoa era.

It's also good that we finally get to see some good moments with this team of X-Men before they get broken up with the Hellfire Gala, which takes place after this volume. Talon is a welcome addition to the cast and I enjoy the relationship between her and Synch.