Immortal X-Men, Vol. 3

Immortal X-Men (Collected Editions)

by Kieron Gillen (Writer), Lucas Werneck (Artist), Paco Medina (Artist)

SINS OF SINISTER is over, but the fallout of those sins remains. Storm can't believe what everyone has done. But when the fate of two worlds rests in her hands, what can she do about it? Meanwhile, the Quiet Council gathers to fill the empty seat. It's the last chance to make a smart, kind decision to prevent the fall. Luckily, the deciding vote is in the hands of trusty old Colossus. Let's hope he hasn't got plans to ruin everything. That would be terrible… As the 19th century drew to a close, the dying Nathaniel Essex unleashed four clones of himself into the world. They've been haunting it ever since, lurking in the shadows. We know what Sinister has been up to. What about the others? Collecting IMMORTAL X-MEN #11-13 and BEFORE THE FALL - SINISTER FOUR.

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

128 pages, Paperback

Published November 28, 2023

About the author

Kieron Gillen is a comic book writer and former media journalist.

Reviews

[Baba · Rating 4 out of 5]

The aftermath and outcomes from Sins of Sinister impact big-time in the pages of the Immortal X-Men - forcing Storm's hand, accelerating Shaw's scheming, and upturning the Quiet Council, with the likes of Hope, Mystique, Sinister all fighting for their own goals. This book is one of the flagship Krakoa titles for me, I recommend X-book readers include this series as a must-read. Thus volume turns it up, as the unrealistic peace across all mutant-dom has been shattered. Ca I hear a 'high drama'! X-book drama at its best has returned on the eve of the Krakoan ear, finally! A Four Star, 8 out of 12 read.

2025 read

[Anna Quilter · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book to read and appreciate if you've read the last 4/5 years of every X title.
Then again it's maybe the reason why we need the fall of Krakoa and a reset.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

More resurrection shenanigans and it turns out the Misters Sinister (or is it Mister Sinisters?) have been playing a deeper game than initially imagined- consider me shocked!

On the whole I have enjoyed the Krakoa Era but in my headcanon I will be editing out pretty much everything to do with Arakko, Hickman and Co. really lost me with that razzmatazz (see my review of X of Swords for more of my tedious gripes) and that goes here too.

Not sure how the whole thing comes crashing down but I will be along for the ride.

[Mitch Kukulka · Rating 4 out of 5]

"It doesn't matter if that memory is true. Look at what it means. "

This volume is pulling double-duty as both a quasi-epilogue to the explosive Sins of Sinister and as a prelude to the forthcoming Fall of X crossover, so while it doesn't move the overall plot of the series' forward by much, the foundational character work on which Gillen's second year as X-scribe is sure to be built on is skillfully set up here.

[Khurram · Rating 3 out of 5]

The fall is coming, and it is starting from the top. I can't say I enjoyed this book, it us possible that it found it too political (meaning it was too much like real politics lots of talking in circlescand no devisions made), and it stared all my least favourite X-MEN.

The Quite Council has been corrupted by Sinister and is together for nothing more than appearances sake. The traitors, villains, and puppet continue to bring them all closer to a fall.

The most interesting thing about this book is the Sinister Relationship. To be honest, I don't think I am going to keep collecting this title. The book finishes with a varient cover gallery.

[Matthew Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, man! Issue 13 was a BANGER and the reason this was bumped to a four star review from a three star. Really excited to see what is coming to Krakoa. Glad to have gotten a glimpse back into the politics of Krakoa and the Quiet Council.

[Benji Glaab · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

The rotating first person pov cast continues in the wake of the Sins of Sinister mini event which got a hard pass from me. I had to dnf that one unfortunately. We get some Storm POV that leaves the quiet council with multiple members being contaminated from Nathan Essex's genetic tampering without a vote. The 4th Wall is a little shaky and Kieron Gillen gets a pov...or at least some writer through Colossus. I do seem to enjoy Nathan Essex/ the Mother Rieghtous dynamic.

Really overall not all that great. I had such high hopes for this run the first volume starts out so strong and is just fading out fast

[Tyler Jenkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

“We opened the Garden of Eden to all the snakes and expected it to remain the Garden of Eden. “ Finally someone addresses an issue I’ve had with this Krakoan age forever now! There’s too many plots involving someone trying to bring the downfall of the mutant nation. And although I haven’t spoken it aloud I have felt the idea of a mutant nation on an island separate from the humans defeats the purpose of what Charles set out to do in the beginning. And that’s addressed too. Whoever writes for this series and X-Men Red is fantastic! The two best series X-Men has right now.

[Aisling · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

[Frédéric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gillen’s plot is just as twisted as Duggan's-some bits of which being actually well-used- but here I generally understand the suspicions, manipulations, betrayals and other twists and turns that are the hallmark of this era of the X-Men.

I've come to the conclusion that Gillen is a much better writer than his partner in crime on the X titles.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't read Sins of Sinister yet (blast you, library ordering system!), so the fact that this Immortal X-Men volume is mostly fallout from that event threw me for a bit of a loop. Still, it's easy enough to pick up on the big ramifications: most of the council is potentially still infected with little bits of Sinister, so they're demoted to non-voting roles, leaving behind only a few not-so-nice members of the council.

Namely, Sebastian Shaw, who quickly sneaks Selene onto the council. Colossus too is a member now, and he's just as compromised as those who had Sinister DNA. The political machinations are just as fun as ever, with all your favorite heavy hitters trying to get a leg up as Krakoa very obviously collapses around them.

The conclusion offers a clear path to Fall of X as the council is disbanded entirely by Doug and the Krakoa tree in favor of democratic elections. We also get a full issue of Sinister clones meeting and discussing their worldviews (which is oddly enjoyable!). I think my favorite X-Men series are ones like Immortal X-Men, where there's actually very little traditional "comic book" material.

[Bingus Boingus · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is definitely the most important and most insightful one too date! Thought that it was going to be the last one, but volume 4 is due out in March. Can’t wait to get it.

[Andres Pasten · Rating 5 out of 5]

:0

[Adam Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Fall of X begins...
Highlights:
- With Hope, Xavier, Exodus, and Emma's votes on the Quiet Council compromised (see Sins of Sinister Event) now is the time for huge upheavals and overthrows. Colossus, still being controlled by someone unknown to us, is asked to stand for Storm on the Council, also giving him the proxy vote of Nightcrawler. Combined with the machinations of Shaw: 1) Selene is elected to the Quiet Council, and 2) A vote is made to reveal the whole thing with Sinister to the rest of the world. Bad news for Krakoa.
- Doctor Status and Mother Righteous (both forms of Sinister) bond together over their past while both keeping secrets from each other. We'll have to see how both of them pan out in the near future.
- With all the leadership basically being corrupt on Krakoa, the Council decides they will disband and switch to a democracy, starting at the upcoming Hellfire Gala. As soon as the vote is finalized, Krakoa takes Doug and hides him, wanting to save him from what is about to happen. (very surprising...)

Overall, this book seems like set up for the next thing while wrapping up the S0S story. Very enjoyable, but the mutants are about to hit serious trouble... you can see it coming.
Recommend.

[Brandon Daniels · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the fallout of Sins of Sinister, we get a book full of political debate and chamber drama. I have to imagine Hickman was at least a little sad he did t get to do more of this. Gillen does a great job. I’m going to miss the quiet council.

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

This is definitely the best X-Men book in quite a while. It would be so delicious if all of the other x-books kept this level.
All the drama, the power play, the superb portrayal of each character. I just want it to never end!

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25.
A solid title. But it can feel pulled in different directions.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the kind of book with the kind of reveals that makes me desperate to know why here this was known all along, or was filled in by a writer with some time and creativity on their hands.

Sinister made four clones, who didn’t even know about each other let alone that they were clones? And they’ve all been running amok during the entire Krakoa era?

WILD

And in true Sinister style, I can’t even tell which of them is evil, and whether they even are deliberately screwing with their own machinations.

I can’t say I enjoyed the start of this Immortal X-Men run, and I sure didn’t thrill at wading through all that damned text, but damned if I didn’t keep reading almost by compulsion

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is actually a pretty impressive feat. The boundaries of the Krakoan status quo presented problems for compelling storytelling. But Gillen actually pulls off political drama amidst these challenges.

But also, utopian stories are generally best when they are falling apart.

[Eli Seibert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes I wish I could just read a comic title and have the whole story within that title. I really don’t like missing context and whole swathes of a story because I don’t happen to want to read all the other titles which relate to this one.

[Riley Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gotta love the krakoa era

[Bertazzo · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Succession issue.

[Liv]

i can't tell if this was good or if i'm just drunk on the fact that my stack of krakoa comics is down to 7 books

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

The dark days are looming still for the governing body of Krakoa. After the events of Sins of Sinister, the council is fractured like never before, and with members coming in a out, nothing productive can be done. Storm is worn trying to manage these quarrels, Colossus is a man trapped in his own body with trust his cage, and Doug speaks for the tree, and it's not pleased. The spotlight on Dr Status and Mother Righteous is illuminating as it is puzzling, and fall is fast approaching. A weaker set of issues than those of the past, but important to show the heads of state dealing with the fractures in their nation. Here's hoping the island can survive what comes next.

[Alex Sarll]

The volumes here are getting so slim in the space between events that I didn't realise I'd already finished this one an issue ago. The sense of things collapsing, a utopia with uncertain foundations unravelling, is palpable - even if the actual Fall seems to have chosen to ignore all that foreshadowing and just throw some random shit at the wall instead. But regardless of where we go next, this was another excellent set of character spotlights.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gems include Storm plays the basest court politics, Selene cockblocks Dr. Stasis, Destiny would light the match, & Hope flirts w/ Selene

[Rory Wilding · Rating 4 out of 5]

Following the crossover event Sins of Sinister, in which Mister Sinister succeed at creating a dark future in his own image, the timeline has been reset to the main continuity of the First Krakoa Era. With the help of Mother Righteous, one of the four clones created by the original Nathaniel Essex, the Quiet Council is now aware of the sins they have all contributed in the alternate timeline and so the first issue of this volume is about how they all recover from this.

As tradition with Immortal X-Men with each issue being narrated by a member of the Quiet Council, Storm narrates issue #11 where she tries to maintain order whilst serving duties in her role at Arakko as explored in X-Men Red. As for the council which is falling apart following the fallout of Sins of Sinister, there is the Sinister-infected Charles Xavier, Emma Frost, Hope Summers, and Exodus being banished to the Pit; whilst the relationship between Hope and Exodus is somewhat fractured, which leads to one of the few action sequences in this volume.

By this point, despite artist Lucas Werneck drawing the odd fight featuring mutant powers, you are going into Immortal X-Men as a book that is politics, where the ideology from each member of the council are being challenged. For as much politicking that Kieron Gillen throws at, he never negates the personal stakes, such as the romance between Mystique and Destiny, both of which are usually at odds with the council.

This volume, in particular, seems to be about relationships, romantic or otherwise, as seen in issue #12 where a possessed Colossus has wormed his way into the Quiet Council, and his careful manoeuvring has scored him two proxy votes. Now, with Shaw on his side, he manages a perfect play that appears to have earned Selene a seat on the Council, much to the bafflement of everyone else, including Kate Pryde who had a long romance with Colossus. No doubt, there is manipulation going on that is affecting the council, leading to Krakoa intending to reveal everything from Sins of Sinister to the world, which of course will have huge ramifications.

Also within this volume the one-shot X-Men: Before the Fall — The Sinister Four #1 by Gillen and artist Paco Medina. Despite the titling, the issue isn't really about all four Sinister clones that are roaming about causing trouble, but a dark love story between two of the clones, which are Mother Righteous and Doctor Stasis, the latter introduced in Gerry Duggan's X-Men run. Although you get some answers that set up the main storyline of Immortal X-Men, this serves more as a slight departure for some fun wordplay that will delight those with a Sinister fetish.

If you think there is a dreary tone throughout this volume, the final issue declares that as through the perspective of Cypher, who has watched the council tear itself apart, and he’s sick of it, as is the sentient island itself that is sick of the mutants' mistakes. Following one conversation between Cypher and Xavier, the latter has a proposal, which is to dismantle the Quiet Council at the upcoming Hellfire Gala. An agreement is set, but causes Krakoa itself draws Cypher into the Pit, reportedly to protect him. No one from the council knows what is happening, but the Fall of X is upon them.

To fully understand the full machinations of Immortal X-Men is to read the other X-titles, which is too much to ask for the casual reader. However, Kieron Gillen and Lucas Werneck are still writing arguably the best of the lot, by centralising on characters whose conflicting nature for the benefit of a mutant utopia is finally coming to a dangerous close.

[Michael Church · Rating 5 out of 5]

The political intrigue and machinations in this book are SO good. Kieron Gillen has knocked this whole volume out of the park, and these issues in particular really set up the Hellfire Gala and the Fall of X in painfully beautiful ways.

The first issue actually partially addresses my one issue with the last volume of X-Men Red with Storm seeming more upset than warranted with Xavier, but this reminded me why it’s warranted. From there, it feels like a bunch of big plot threads from multiple books are being woven together for the echoing climax that I know is coming. Piotr’s story is heartbreaking. Selene is back, and while I’m still not sold on the whole “four Sinisters” twist, I am extremely interested to see it come to a conclusion. Irene and Raven have some great moments.

And then Doug. This last issue of the volume struck exactly the right chord for me. I’m sure there are more things that could have been revisited in more detail, but I loved what happened from the issue, even if every detail wasn’t perfect. Kate should’ve had more of a focus instead of Hope, but I get why Gillen did what he did.

Lucas Wernick and Paco Medina are superlative on art duties, along with David Curiel’s colors and Mark Brooks’ stand out cover work. The last issue especially felt like something really special from Wernick.

One of the best books to come from the Krakoan era.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gillen's character studies continue in the wake of Sins Of Sinister, while in the shadows, some other Sinisters plot and plan.

First up we get a Storm story, fueling her permanent departure from Earth in favour of Arakko. Then Colossus takes centre stage as the Quiet Council falls apart - but given everything that's been going on in X-Force, maybe having him be a deciding vote isn't the best idea? Then Cypher steps up to bat, only to find that Krakoa's method of protecting him isn't quite as helpful as he'd hoped. And finally there's the Fall Of X Sinister one-shot, which brings Mother Righteous to the fore for some unexpected revelations that position her as perhaps the biggest bad, even after Orchis.

It's nice to see Gillen playing with what other writers have been setting up elsewhere without losing the feeling of his own book - the interconnectedness of the X-Books during the Krakoan era has definitely been one of their strong points, so having Ewing, Spurrier, and Percy's plots reverberate throughout the world of X is fun to see.