Immortal X-Men, Vol. 5: X-Men Forever

Immortal X-Men (Collected Editions)

by Kieron Gillen, Luca Maresca (Artist ), Federico Blee (Colorist)

Dare you enter the haunted house of X? Veteran X-writer Kieron Gillen brings his acclaimed IMMORTAL X-MEN run to a close, as the Krakoan era collapses around mutantkind!

How can you kill a digital god? What do you do when the Phoenix is bleeding out into nothing? And with forever looming ahead of them, can the shattered X-Men avoid being swallowed by the darkness of the Fall of X? There have been questions that have haunted readers as we reach the end of IMMORTAL X-MEN. Finally, some answers will be revealed. And let’s be fair — there have also been questions that have haunted readers since the very BEGINNING of IMMORTAL X-MEN too! Finally, some answers to those will be revealed as well!

COLLECTING: X-Men: Forever (2024) 1-4

Genres: Comics, X Men, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics, Science Fiction

120 pages, Paperback

Published December 17, 2024

About the author

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

Reviews

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a two dimensional medium Gillen's writing produces a feeling of three dimensional density.

That isn't exactly a good thing.


Best tip for avoiding vexation at the ruination of your decades-spanning, time loopy plot? Just, like, live in the moment, man.

[Anna Quilter · Rating 3 out of 5]

My head is so full of the new X Men titles...it's a little painful to go back and revisit the aftermath of the Krakoan downfall....and the various twists/turns that brings.

reread

[Tyler Jenkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was not expecting this to technically be another volume of Immortal X-Men but I’m not mad about it. Loving what they do with Mystique, Destiny, and Nightcrawler. Confused about the Phoenix stuff but excited to see how it all comes together in the end. The end of the Krakoan Age is almost here, just 5 issues left and we’re done.

[Rory Wilding · Rating 4 out of 5]

Following Jonathan Hickman’s departure from the Krakoan Age, the most exciting title has been Immortal X-Men by Kieron Gillen and Lucas Werneck, focusing on the mutant nation’s Quiet Council where there are politics and deception, either for benefit of their people, or their own individual needs. Due to Orchis’ invasion on Krakoa, the council has been disbanded as they and the rest of mutantkind have left their utopia, just to maintain their survival. As threats including Orchis and Nimrod loom large and will continue to be so that will lead to a dark future, what does the remaining members of the former council gain all this?

Happening around the same time as Gillen was writing Rise of the Powers of X, the four-issue miniseries X-Men Forever has a similar problem with the last volume of Gerry Duggan’s X-Men run, which is its connection to other X-titles. As well as being a continuation to Immortal X-Men, it is also filling the gaps in what Gillen is doing during the climatic event of the whole era. It also doesn’t help that this trade also acknowledges the miniseries Dead X-Men as referenced by the editors’ captions, just to let you know what other characters are supposedly doing elsewhere.

For those who are fans of Immortal X-Men, you will enjoy the company of returning characters such as the multiple Sinister clones like Mother Righteous who may have cheated and manipulated those around her, only for her to be betrayed by her fellow clones and thus she must fight alongside the X-Men.

Although Hope Summers is painted as the main protagonist here as she journeys to resurrect the Phoenix, the relationship to really care about the one between Mystique and Destiny. After a long history of romance, there will be a breaking point which comes at the forefront here when Mystique uncovers what Destiny has been hiding, going all the way back to what Sinister has been planning. A fight does occur between the two partners, only for their son Nightcrawler to step-in and remind them of the love they have with each other, despite all the complications, which no doubt Xavier plays a part in.

As always with Gillen, whether it is Marvel or his creator-owned work, he brings the density to sci-fi worldbuilding, and considering the X-Men's own complicated history, he really revels in it with the many moving parts, not least of which the cosmic being that is the Phoenix Force. There is a lot going on, but artist Luca Maresca and colourist Federico Blee carry the aesthetic that Lucas Werneck brought to Immortal X-Men. Not a great deal of action, but there are some striking panels, particularly when Jean Grey appears in a fiery fashion.

It may not make sense as a standalone trade, but X-Men Forever is essential to understanding Rise of the Powers of X, as well as concluding arguably the high point in a post-Hickman Krakoan Era.

[Brandon Daniels · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series is the best thing happening in the Fall of X. I’m sure it will read even better in a trade.

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gems include Selene has been doing magic longer & in significantly tighter outfits than Mother Righteous, Hope has Messiah shit to do, X turned off Destiny’s love for Nightcrawler, & Gillen ends his immortal Immortal X-Men run w/ a lesbian immaculate conception & trinity paradox

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

Krakoa is forever, or at least it's trying to be. These four issues are essentially Immortal XM issues 19-22, but fall in place between issues of Rise, so it makes for a weird reading experience in collected form. One day we might finally have these collected correctly in a Gillen Fall book, but I digress. Gillen is doing a lot in a little space, and adds good (if not a little confusing) history to his pet character Hope, the Phoenix, Sinister, and of course Mystique and Destiny.
I do love the image of Hope going all big game hunter with a Legion powered rifle. I just wish it was properly in reading order with the other Gillen closing books.

[Tor · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love so much of what Gillen did in Immortal X-Men and throughout the Krakoan era (and his writing in general), but the Fall of X bs forced X-Men Forever to feel super rushed and borderline incomprehensible. Definitely doesn't feel like a satisfying end to what was an otherwise incredible series.

[Aisling · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Alex Sarll]

Thought of, and collected as, the fifth volume of Immortal, this never actually had that title on the cover of the issues, only X-Men Forever, once again borrowing a title from X-Men history - except the previous Forever was an alternate timeline book, and in a sense so is this now, a last glimpse of life beyond the noisy bits for the mutants when they were, too briefly, Immortal and Forever, ahead of resumption of regular hated and feared service. Its existence is a reminder of one of the many ways the Fall differed from Krakoa's Dawn; back at the start there was only HoX/PoX, one story by one writer, albeit under two titles. At the end, there was a core event under echoing names, but it got festooned with the more usual tie-ins. Of which this gets probably the most rewarding brief; it's the book where we get the quiet moments which make the loud ones matter, the emotional and rational underpinning for the big booms. Xavier learning that he had not in fact puppeted the majority of mutantdom into a meatgrinder, in particular, was a very moving scene even before I knew it was the last sympathetic moment he'd be getting for the foreseeable. Much of the focus is on the characters with abstract names: the struggle between Destiny and Enigma finally clicked for me in these issues; Gillen continues to be the only writer ever to make me care about Exodus; and there's a lot about Hope (and indeed hope), restoring her as a person even while continuing to make use of her as a plot function, and reminding the reader that she was where Gillen first joined the X-books and now, very nearly, where he takes the bow after his comeback tour.

I had assumed this collection would include at least one of the adorable Mystique/Destiny wedding special, and the final bittersweet coda of Uncanny #700, but apparently not, which is a frustrating decision, though I suppose it at least keeps the latter's pages of thundering Duggan guff out, thereby preventing him from stinking up both of Gillen's farewell collections.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25
The the end of Krakoa is a bit like the multiple ending of Lord of the Rings in Return of the King. I'm still not certain what the White Hot Room is...in any way that makes sense. I get Mutants don't exactly make sense either. But there is a level at which suspension if disbelief becomes to... disbelief-able. But whatever...this is comic books. The story is actually interesting. A good ending...to this ending anyway. I think only a couple more endings to go...

[Frédéric · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5*

Another mini-series parallel to the fall of Krakoa, still not self-contained but which at least has the merit of being well written by Gillen and really moving the action forward.

It's a shame, though, that Marvel's editorial team has gone to such lengths to complicate the already arduous main storyline, adding layer upon layer of stories that bifurcate in every direction to the point where you need a complete handbook to find your way around.

[Bertazzo · Rating 3 out of 5]

So Immortal X-Men couldn't land a perfect run because of Fall of X. Not even Kieron Gillen was able to escape the gravity of shit of Duggan. The Sinister plot getting fattier and fattier didn't help either. Luckily Al Ewing got to ended X-Men Red on his terms.

[Joey Nardinelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I’ve laid out previously my general feelings that the ending of the Krakoan Age has been really lackluster and felt both rushed initially and then overly prolonged as issues like these seek to fill in some of the narrative gaps. Essex/Sinister were interesting but almost everything about Enigma is really boring — his being like a god but then also being thwarted as the plot demands it just seems really silly and pointless. Hope’s sacrifice seems like a good idea on paper but the lack of clarity on the payout at the end of this, especially with this vast majority of mutants being stranded in the White Home Room version of Krakoa just seems like a goofy holding pattern for Marvel to place characters in so they can streamline the narratives coming into a quasi-reboot. Honestly, I always felt like the real stakes had shifted to non-mutants since their deaths weren’t so readily resolved in these narratives, but it just sorta feels like the mutants have few narrative stakes even at the end of this extended arc. Grumble, grumble, grumble.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 5 out of 5]

This volume is so intricately interwoven with both Fall/Rise and Dead X-Men that it makes it even more ridiculous that Marvel refused to release a combined volume (but since they didn't, they now get to double-dip with an omnibus at the end of Summer).

And it's too bad, because this adds so much to the main arc of Fall and Rise. We get crucial background on how Dead X-Men came to be. We get more focus on the wonderful idea of the Essexes and the Dominion. And most importantly we get wonderful character moments for Jean and for Hope and for Kurt and Raven and Irene. And an amazing revelation too!

Kieron Gillen's X-Men has always been some of the best, and that's been even more true this time around thanks to the amazing background of Krakoa. This was a great finale that added a lot to the rest of the story.

[Michael Church · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was between two and three stars for this. The end of Orchis continues to disappoint. The only real redeeming thing about this one is that it makes some interesting choices related to Hope Summers, but ones that ultimately don’t matter. They also chose to rehash the Nightcrawler retcon, which I enjoyed, but didn’t need to read this much of it again.

They also promised to explain how Xavier assembled his team, but they conveniently leave out Rachel. Which also begs the question of where Betsy is during all this (we just hear she is relatively safe in England).

Like with most of the event, I just struggled to care. HoX/PoX was interesting because it was building to something. It was adding to the mythos and expanding on what could be done with these teams and characters. This all feels like a limitation just to undo that status quo. There are better ways this story could have ended.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I totally expected that reading X-Men Forever, which takes place entirely in the middle of FoHX/RoPX, would be tough going since I wrapped up that event several months ago. I was right. Thanks library hold system!

It wasn't as bad as it could have been, though. It explains a bit of Mother Righteous's deal (like how she ended up on Professor X's side) and gives more space to Destiny and Mystique's relationship, which is always appreciated. The big-brained stuff mostly sailed over my head (hello anything Phoenix related), but since I finished the Krakoan Era long ago, I didn't really feel the need to figure it out. Nice!

Hopefully Kieron Gillen comes back to Marvel for something similarly heady at some point.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yet another Fall of X book that's not a self contained story even though it's a miniseries. What the Hell is Marvel doing? I need a board with all of the Fall of X comics on it and pieces of string between them to figure out the reading order of these goddamn comics and I'm reading them as they come out. It's ridiculously frustrating. What of the story I can ascertain from these 4 issues isn't bad. But when you get nonstop footnotes to read such and such other comic first it gets all kinds of frustrating. I never figured I needed Marvel to number all of its X-titles so I'd know how to read them. I figured just reading X-Men Forever #1-4 would be enough. Grrr.

[Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sold as 'X-Men Forever', these found a new home as the last volume of 'Immortal X=Men'...
AND
Arguably, the majority of the explanations as to WTF happened during the 'Fall of X' and 'Dead X-Men'

Seriously...
The main storyline of 'Fall of X' practically races off the rails to get you to the conclusion. This focus on Jean Grey's almost death in the WHR along with Hope's messiah moments make for a much cleaner understanding of the end of Krakoa.

Heck, we even get a better explanation of the Destiny/Mystique/Nightcrawler revelation...
===============
It's not AMAZING, but it's definitely better than what we were initially given on paper.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you read this on its own, it probably won't make much sense. This is an unoffical third part of the end of the Krakoan Age, and explains and expands on stuff like the Phoenix and Mother Righteous that puts some new perspective on the proceedings of Fall Of The House Of X and Rise Of The Powers Of X. It's a little like Dead X-Men in that regard, but even more important to read alongside the main stuff.

[Micah Taylor · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was the potential payoff for some incredible character growth and revelation that ultimately manifested as hot garbage nonsense. Every revelation was rushed, half-explained, and devoid of any emotion. A pretty disappointing ending to a series I would call “too-high-concept,” where the writer does more research and internalizing theories than they do explaining or creating a cohesive story or an emotional through-line for their characters.

[Steven desJardins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like Gillen's work enough to even read his take on cosmic X-Men crossover event stuff, and I am rewarded for it. The emphasis on resolving plot lines involving matters of comic scope bogs the story down a little bit, but there's enough nice character detail to make this worth reading regardless, and it stands on its own despite being very, very dependent on the events of the overarching crossover plot.

[Craig · Rating 2 out of 5]

If someone could explain what happened in this arc, I'd appreciate it (only semi-kidding). Gillen's story of multiple Nathan Essex clones vying to become a Dominion just keeps wrapping itself in itself to the point where it doesn't really make a whole lot of sense by the end. It didn't help that my public library took nearly 7 months to catalog this and make it available, long past the time I'd read the other books wrapping up the Fall of X storyline.

[Kev · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️. I was expecting so much more, especially from the writer of Immortal X-Men. It does the job of tying the loose ends left by the Krakoan age, but it does so in an almost robotic way, devoid of real emotion. And I like Hope’s end in theory but I wish the execution would’ve been better.

[Fiona · Rating 4 out of 5]

omg hope :'))) i was just wiki-ing her backstory cos i was like wait how is she related to cable etc again

i hope we find out later how everyone in the white hot room is going

mystique makes sense but how is destiny like hundreds of years old but still looking amazing? does her mask have facial treatments on the other side?

i love parentage drama in stories, x-men hits so good

[Adam Fisher · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is basically completely a tie-in to the FHX/RPX event, which ends the Krakoan Era of X-Men. Dealing with Hope resurrecting Jean and tying her to the Phoenix, the revelation of Destiny and Mystique as Nightcrawlers parents, and more about the various Sinisters helping to overthrow the Dominion and Enigma.
Overall an alright read, but not vitally important.

[Cassie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's annoying that they gave this book a new title for no reason when it's just the last few issues of Immortal X-Men, and I'm to see the graphic novel had the sense to just be volume 5, but it'll be confusing for people trying to read it after the fact.

[Matthew Randell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll be honest I don't love the Phoenix, but if it's gonna be used I do firmly believe it belongs closely tied to mutants so I'm glad this story happened. If RotPoX/FotHox(?) made me appreciate Rachel a bit more, this book definitely made me keen to read more Hope.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sort of jumbled coda to the Krakoan era and indeed all of Kieron Gillen's X-Men comics from before that, This book sort of untangles a lot of the confusion from the finale but still gets distracted with too many side characters and subplots.

[Jason Tanner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm going to miss Krakoa. So much potential burned down so quickly just so we can get "back to basics" for the zillionth time. Still, at least Gillen et al get a chance to tie up their loose ends before the curtain comes down. Other books have been retooled with less.