X-Men, Vol. 2

X-Men (2019)

by Jonathan Hickman, Leinil Francis Yu (Illustrator), Mahmud Asrar (Illustrator)

MUTANTS ARE FOREVER! The Resurrection Protocols have changed everything for mutantkind. No more can humans' hate and fear take their lives from them. But...what else has it changed?

COLLECTING: X-MEN (2019) 7-11

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

152 pages, Paperback

First published November 17, 2020

About the author

Jonathan Hickman is an American comic book writer and artist. He is known for creating the Image Comics series The Nightly News, The Manhattan Projects and East of West, as well as working on Marvel Comics' Fantastic Four, FF, and S.H.I.E.L.D. titles. In 2012, Hickman ended his run on the Fantastic Four titles to write The Avengers and The New Avengers, as part the "Marvel NOW!" relaunch. In 2013, Hickman wrote a six-part miniseries, Infinity, plus Avengers tie-ins for Marvel Comics. In 2015, he wrote the crossover event Secret Wars. - Wikipedia

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not exactly sure what's going on 100% of the time, but I like it anyway.



Nightcrawler has some moral questions about how the mutants who lost their powers are being resurrected and the answers aren't really black and white.



There's an Empyre crossover that was interesting but I was still confused as to what was happening with some of the characters. I'm assuming that's on me for not being up to date with whatever happened to Vulcan...whenever he got sucked into another dimension? I don't know.
It was still readable and cool, and it made me want to find out what I'd missed.



Then there's this whole thing with the New Mutants, a King Egg, a Brood invasion, and Broo that was really much better than it had any right to be.



I think part of my confusion is because I'm not reading EVERY X-title out there right now, and part of it is because there is just far too much information (new and old) to absorb when it comes to Marvel's X-men in general. But it really doesn't matter because finally reading an interesting X-men story is completely worth it.

[Baba · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very lopsided volume with X-Men s04 #8 to #10 being OK, but hold your hat, #7 and #11 are masterworks! I'm still not sure what to make of Hickman's X-book run, like I'm still not sure about his Avengers run. I think, and I know it's a weird thing to say, it feels like Hickman and his partner artists know that they are creating masterpieces, as and when they are. So in a way it doesn't feel organic? Nethertheless these books tick so many boxes on so many levels, from the 3-paeg intros, the great art and the text interludes.

To leave this review spoiler free I won't mention the content of the two great comics mentioned above but talk about what Hickman is doing so well here; he's tapping into every but of continuity he can, remorselessly and wielding it to make new stories. He has nearly ALL mutants on the same page, and he's re-crafted the mutant-verse pretty well. I'm not going to lie, the huge cast (all mutants!) is very much impacting on weak or slim characterisation. All the 21st century writers (other than Bendis) still don't work hard enough on characterisation, because, let's face it, they are imagining their stories in the MCU? The MCU effect is giving us some great panoramic stories, but I also think that it is tearing at the heart of Marvel's ethos of the person first, super-being second? The two might issues in this volume bring the numbers up to 8 out of 12, Four Star read.

It kind of bums me out that a year in, I have no idea who Xavier is.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hickman continues to make the X-Men interesting once more. I absolutely loved the first issue featuring the Crucible and how mutants are still dealing with the fallout from Decimation. Then the X-Men need to deal with the king egg the New Mutants brought home from space as it's actually a Brood egg and then entire Brood race is coming for it. The last two issues are loose Empyre tie-ins in that the X-Men fight the Cotati. Hickman makes it work without feeling like a tie-in. I do think reading the X-titles in the order they were published like the Dawn of X series does help instead of one book collections like this. The books are feeding off each other at times.

[Sean Gibson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I continue to enjoy Hickman’s spin on X-Men immensely, though I can’t tell if it’s because it’s really good, the preceding years have been so bad, or if I’m just so relieved to see Cyclops being cool again and not being a douche bag (or a dead douche bag).

The Empyre-related issues break up the flow a bit (I’ll have more to say about that when I get around to reviewing Empyre), but I’m ready for more.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK, the artwork is consistently great in this volume and that explains its high rating from me. As for the story, well, I’m on record as being in the very small minority of people who hate the new ‘Hickman-X-Verse’ but one issue in this collection (#7) actually offended me and I am not easy to offend! I listen to GWAR, fer Chrissakes! I’ve been called sick and twisted many, many times! Yet I actually found the concept of de-powered mutants queuing up for suicide-by-Apocalypse so they could be replaced by a clone of their original powered self offensive! Go figure!

Let’s not forget these characters are not actually being resurrected, folks; they’re being killed off and replaced by clones with psychically installed recordings of their memories. I hate to break it to you but every X-Man Hickman has killed off and replaced is no more the original character resurrected than Ben Reilly was Peter Parker resurrected. Sorry to piss in your milkshake!

Of course, you could say the same thing about every Star Trek character that’s ever been ‘beamed up’. All the transporters do is disintegrate the original and create an exact copy in a new location... but I digress... Back to this book:

#7: story 1*, artwork 4*
#8: story 3*, artwork 4*
#9: story 3*, artwork 4*
#10: story 2*, artwork 4*
#11: story 2*, artwork 4*
#12: story 2*, artwork 4*

Overall: 3.083 stars, rounded down.

My next book: Some Sweet Day

[Jesús De la Jara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Otro volumen bastante desordenado, la primera historia cuenta las dudas moralistas de Cíclope con respecto a los protocolos de resurreción y cuando parece que la historia sigue de ese lado, meten luego una de las consecuencias del último viaje de los New Mutants que tiene que ver con los Broods.
Los dos últimos números narran los eventos relacionados a Empyre que fueron más de mi gusto porque hay algunas peleas interesantes.

[Tiag⊗ the Mutant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jonathan Hickman truly is re-inventing the X-Men, there's so many plotlines building up in these new titles, so far I'm loving all the reworks he's doing on the characters and old storylines, and after reading the last issue, looks like the origins of mutantdom is about to be seriously expanded.

The anthology style might not be for everyone though, as an individual book, this volume feels a bit disconnected, you kinda need to read most of Dawn of X in reading order for these issues to shine. I liked the focus on a single character/subject in each issue, and the artwork is in a really sweet spot for me, really starting to dig Leinil Francis Yu's style.

Stuff I'm on the fence so far, the polyamorous relationship is kinda stupid, and gross, and the story is getting a bit too religious for my taste, also, the floral/nature theme is starting to feel overused in all these titles.

[Gianfranco Mancini · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another solid world-building volume of Jonathan Hickman's mutant renaissance.



Still not sure about loving or hating the X-Men turned into a morbid death cult sect (with the hinted Summers/Logan free-love sub-plot bordering to something like Manson Family... Oh, Good Grief), but besides that this was a very entertaining read.



And the brutal Crucible first issue collected here was a real ☆☆☆☆☆ one... I was litterally suffering together with Sam and Melody Guthrie.



Kudos to the author for turning a couple of Empyre event tie-in issues into two decent/great Vulkan's/Magneto's tales, and I just loved Exodus' role as teacher and storyteller.


'Nuff said.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel this series is taking a long, slow dip...

...in quality, I mean!

There are still glimmers of fascinating ideas behind this new mutant society based on Krakoa but unfortunately for this volume they are subsumed by Cosmic Silliness (hello, Brood. Hello, Shi'ar. Hello, Empyre stuff.) relegating the mutants to a sidestory in their own book.

Always fun to see Magneto cut loose and be absolutely badass, though:

Note to enemies of Mutantkind: if you see he's wearing the classic red costume to meet you, it's already too late.

[Urbon Adamsson · Rating 4 out of 5]

EN While not a spectacular volume, the narrative remains solid and continues to explore the fragility of the nation the X-Men have only just built. Magneto himself points this out, mentioning that it’s already the third time they’ve been attacked in just a few months — and this time, the threats come from outer space.

It’s a good read, with steady and engaging character development.

This is also the volume where we’re introduced, for the first time, to the Crucible ritual, whose purpose is to restore the powers of mutants who lost them during the House of M event.

--

PT Sem ser um volume bombástico, a narrativa mantém-se sólida e continua a explorar a fragilidade da nação recém-criada pelos X-Men. O próprio Magneto comenta isso, ao referir que já é a terceira vez que são atacados num espaço de poucos meses — e desta vez, as ameaças vêm do espaço.

É uma boa leitura, com um desenvolvimento de personagens consistente e interessante.

É também neste volume que nos é apresentado, pela primeira vez, o ritual do Crucible, cujo objetivo é devolver os poderes aos mutantes que os perderam durante o evento House of M.

[James DeSantis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hickman delivers another great volume!

Similar to the last volume most stories feel disconnected in a sense but that's because Hickman is focusing on SO many X-men you give time to each one in each story. Issue 7, which focuses on the Resurrection process with Apocalypse, Issue 9 with my boy Broo, and issue 11, which is a tie-in but intense showcase for magneto in both his leadership and power are the highlights of this volume.

This isn't to say Issue 10 isn't good too, because it is, but you might not know the members and have less of a reason to care. Issue 8 is solid but it's more of a lead up for issue 9 which helps with a major twist at the end.

Overall, if looking for world building like no other, X-Men is the book you NEED to be reading. A 4 out of 5.

[Artemy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally delving back into the HiX-Men-verse, starting with the next volume of the main series. This continues to be a very good book, and Hickman keeps delivering amazing ideas and concepts in between insightful character development and clever world-building. The only thing keeping my rating from full 5 stars here is the dreaded, mandatory Empyre crossover tie-in. And I have to give Hickman credit here, too — he does his absolute best to make those last two issues as standalone as possible. They still feel a bit tacked-on, but only slightly, and do just as much for the X-Men as they do for Empyre (presumably, haven’t read it myself). Oh, and that Crucible issue? Fantastic. One of his best X-issues to date, including anything from HoXPoX.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I do love the fact that Hickman can put his own stamp on the X-Men universe without losing anything that makes them the X-Men. We've got a Brood story, a story about the Summers', a two-issue Empyre tie-in that reminds us what a badass Magneto is, and a story about how killing the X-Men just makes them mad. And throughout each of the five issues, Hickman's threads contineu to weave, tightening as we head towards X Of Swords and beyond. Hell, the dude manages to do an Empyre tie-in and STILL get his own story points going on as well, something that other writers often struggle with.

And again, the book looks great. Leinil Yu pencils four issues, while Mahmud Asrar pops up for an issue as well; I do love it when Marvel throw their top talent at their top books, because it always pays off.

X-Men can feel a little fragmented at times, because it's telling a story that's much larger than what we can see just yet, but it does it with flair and fun at all times. Hickman's clearly having a blast, and I certainly am as well. (He even made me like Vulcan in one issue, when I'd hated the guy for YEARS, so that's an accomplishment to be proud of as well!)

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still early in the Hickman X-Men era, these stories still feel a bit episodic, but if I know Hickman, things will tie together in interesting ways later. This volume opens with a story about a new mutant rite called the Crucible, which is left mysterious for the good first half of the opening issue, but once you learn more, it's very interesting to see how the mutants of Krakoa deal with those who still suffer the fallout of Scarlet Witch's great sin of mutant eradication, and how they earn their rebirth back into mutant society. This was truly a fascinating exploration of an idea, told mostly through conversations Cyclops has with Wolverine and then Nightcrawler about the moral implications of these new mutant rites and laws.

The next two issues connect the King Egg from the New Mutants' recent space adventures with the Starjammers (and just illustrates how important it is to be reading all of these titles of the new mutant era, damn you Marvel--I'd complain if I wasn't enjoying them all so much, with the exception of Fallen Angels, which was canceled because apparently many others felt the same way) and the Brood into a storyline that is most assuredly planting seeds that will come to fruition later. This arc was also my introduction to mah boy Broo, who I will now have to go and read the earlier tales of.

Concluding the volume are two Empyre tie-ins, which is an "event" I had absolutely zero interest in, but thankfully Hickman keeps these focused on the X-Men/Krakoa story, tying in the invasion of the Cotati plant-people into the recurring theme of Krakoa's early days of fighting for survival against external threats and their developing defense. The first issue shows us some of what Gabriel Summers went through after the War of Kings story (another one I had no interest in and did not read), and as he deals with the Cotati threat on the moon he inadvertently draws their attention to Krakoa on Earth. The second issue is a story of Magneto's heroism told through the eyes of Exodus and the children he relates the tale to. It says a lot about Hickman's ability as a writer that I was interested in these tangential side stories to an event that I couldn't have cared less about.

I'm a bit skeptical as to whether issue 12 will be included in this volume--all the marketing currently says no, but that issue was a lead-in to the X of Swords story that looks like it's going to be quite the epic X-Men event. It lays out some historical groundwork for where that story is going, but it also serves as a nice conclusion to the story of the Summoner and his Arakkii game, so I could see it being included here. It's inclusion or omission has no bearing on my rating of this book, however. Hickman has continued to expand on the X-Men mythology in fascinating new ways that other writers are going to be pulling from for decades to come.

Leinil Francis Yu does all of the artwork in this volume save for one issue, and as always, it is beautiful to look at. I hope they keep him on board this book for a long time, and that any fill-in artists are capable of achieving that same high standard. I've been an X-Men fan since the early 90s, but I don't think I've been this excited about them since those days. Can't wait to see where Hickman takes us on this journey.

[Molly™☺ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another mixed bag of ideas with varying success at execution that sees Magneto get to shine amongst a rather underwhelming backdrop of events. The world continues to feel intricate and lived in, and the art is top notch, however, it is incredibly unrewarding for those reading this run in isolation. The last volume consisted of set up, just for the next five issues to also mainly be set up. That’s not to say that this doesn’t have its good moments – Hickman definitely knows how to write when he wants to - but this is so far reminding me why the Krakoa era wasn’t, and isn’t, really for me.

[Rylan · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I love everything Hickman did in HOX/POX and the dawn of x relaunch as a whole I’m still finding Hickman’s main X-men book a bit lackluster. That’s not to say this book is bad by any means, far from it. I just feel like I’m waiting for the plot to kick off a bit. My review will most likely change when Hickman’s run is wrapped up and I go back and re read all of this.

[Lashaan Balasingam · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some really neat ideas explored in this volume, sometimes pushing the boundaries and breaking conventions, but the absence of cohesion in the narrative threads makes for a rougher ride than usual. This might be due to the recent Empyre event too though.

Yours truly,

Lashaan | Blogger and Book Reviewer
Official blog: https://bookidote.com/

[Matt Quann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This second volume isn’t as good as the first. There’s a requisite Empyre tie-in that’s okay, but not great. In any case, I think I’m now ready for X of Swords!

[Oscar · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's alot going on.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I continue to be moderately underwhelmed by the main X-Men series, but maybe that's a product of being so overwhelmed by House of X/Powers of X. This second volume continues the trend of the first with its unrelated glimpses into modern mutant life. I enjoy each glimpse on its own merits, but I'm still failing to see the larger narrative materialize.

And maybe there won't be one? Maybe House of X/Powers of X has led me to expect every Jonathan Hickman joint to build to some grand finale when that won't always be the case. Maybe I should just be reveling in the detailed story-telling and interesting character notes. I do like meeting all these mutants even if I generally have no idea who they are! Take Vulcan, for example. He plays a key role in this second X-Men volume. Appears to be related to Scott Summers, has fire powers, might have a living fire embedded in him (?), was maybe operated on by an alien race (?), and he drinks too much. Neat dude! Wish I had his backstory - happy to follow along as he battles the Cotati and his inner demons.

I guess I've written myself into being moderately excited for the next X-Men volume, but I still wish I could be super excited. Like, it'd be nice to want to see where something is going rather than merely looking forward to meeting more neat mutants.

[David Turko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Man this comic's fantastic. This was a 4 star book for me until the final issue that led me to bump it up to a perfect score. I'm still continuing to enjoy Hickman's run on the x-men. I'm not sure if its because he's a good writer or if the preceding years of x-men stories have been bad. Either way I love this and its wonderful to see some of my favorite characters shine in the spotlight. Mainly Cyclops and Magneto, their stories in this comic are beyond epic and I loved every moment of this.

[ScottIsANerd (GrilledCheeseSamurai) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Issue 7 and issue 11 were the highlights for me in this volume.

Don't get me wrong - I enjoyed the Brood stuff in the middle...but it couldn't compete with the philosophical questions raised in issue 7 or the buff, half-naked, Magneto being a hero in issue 11.

[Brian Garthoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I could’ve done without Marvel shoehorning Empyre into X-men but the series was largely unaffected by it. The Breakaway Xmen/Empyre is collected separately and all together decent, but 10 & 11 just feel tacked on and unnecessary. We’re a year into Hickman’s Xverse and it’s been solid overall with moments of greatness. Hoping this next full scale X of Swords event delivers something better and moves across each X series in a meaningful or just fun way.

[André Habet · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m so greedy. I just want more of this world of krakoa, more philosophizing from Kurt, more partying among Vulcan, Sway and ?, more Quiet Council meetings. I don’t want any plot. I just want to hang. Krakoa forever baby.

[Joshua Q. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Why is every issue of this comic about a different storyline? What is happening

[Marcelo Soares · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hickman está entre nós.
E o que ele tá fazendo?
Pois é, muita coisa acontece por aqui, e, novamente, o que mais me impressiona não é tanto a história, mas os questionamentos depreendidos da história. Ah, claro, o Broo comendo o Ovo da Ninhada é tri, bem como o Vulcan, um personagem dos mais desnecessários na longa linha de desnecessidades que criam para os X-Men, enfrentando plantinhas assassinas na Lua também ficou tri.
Bom, a grande questão aqui é o Crucible - não sei como foi traduzido, mas, literalmente, o Cadinho -, uma espécie de ritual para sacrificar os mutantes que perderam os poderes no Dia M - Wandinha, Wandinha - e ressuscitá-los em toda a sua glória e plenitude.
Ao presenciar o ritual, o Noturno, um personagem com uma longa, e meio forçada, história de reflexão cristã, chega a conclusão de que ele precisa criar uma nova religião que aborde esses temas mais presentes na vida mutante, o que também soa uma pouco estranho porque ele próprio e, literalmente, todo mundo que já usou um uniforme X já ressuscitou no mínimo meia dúzia de vezes. Contudo insisto que o grande mérito dessa fase é trazer essas novas questões sobre uma mudança radical de paradigma na vida das pessoas e os questionamentos que surgem a partir dela. Por mais interessante que seja ver o Magneto tocar o terror com relativa facilidade nos alienígenas que estão invadindo Krakoa é muito mais interessante pensar se essa história - ainda mais contada pelo Exodus - demonstra porque ele é um dos grandes heróis da mutandade ou deixa claro porque ele é um dos vilões.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still feels like Hickman is spoiling our one-issue treatments for Marvel to farm out to other writers, and not all of them are compelling enough in their own, but still darned good X-Men comics.

OK, yes these vignettes are fun or interesting or illustrative vignettes. I was a little bummed at first when I realised there was no through-line narrative in this series, but at a higher zoom level this is the only narrative that counts isn’t it?

Zooming the lens in on one or another tension or aspect of the new X-culture - or taking a deep dark look at someone’s dark side - makes it that much easier for me to get to know this whole universe, without having to follow some gluey plot across five or six issues.

How do the ex-mutants re-integrate into the fold? And how do the philosophical implications land for others?

What’s it like for the ones who only feel alive when they’re beating a problem to death, if there’s no Big Threat left to fight beyond “who’s gonna help me finish these margaritas?”

Hickman is such an unconventional comics creator - he clearly enjoys the world-building, but moreso sharing his own “how do these pieces fit together?” process. I go back and forth between loving the grandeur and ambitious scope, and feeling like I’m being robbed of getting to know and follow one set of characters for “enough” time to understand them.

But what’s “enough” really? We all die too soon, there’s never enough time, and yet we waste way too much of that precious resource.

[Adam Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good mix. A very weighty issue asks some hard questions about the Krakoa experiment; some fun Brood space stuff; a fun enough tie-in to Empyre; and one of the biggest surprises of the Krakoa era with Hickman somehow making me interested in Vulcan. Issue #10 with Vulcan, Petra, and Sway was an unexpected highlight for me. Hickman's writing is funny, sharp, and still touching; I again don't really think Yu is a great match for it on art, but all in all it's still shaping up to be a great X-Men run.

[Chantaal · Rating 2 out of 5]

X-Men 2021 Dawn of X project continues!

Ratings and links to previous reviews under the spoiler:

House of X/Powers of X ⭐⭐⭐
X-Men, Vol. 1 ⭐⭐
Marauders, Vol. 1 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Excalibur, Vol. 1 ⭐⭐⭐
X-Men/Fantastic Four: 4X ⭐⭐⭐⭐
X-Force, Vol. 1 ⭐⭐
New Mutants (Hickman), Vol 1 ⭐⭐⭐
New Mutants (Brisson), Vol 1 ⭐⭐
Fallen Angels, Vol 1 ⭐
Giant-Size X-Men, Vol. 1 ⭐⭐⭐

I'm honestly baffled by where Hickman is taking the X-Men and the mutants. Nothing about this makes any sense. The characterization makes no sense. The plot is obtuse and confusing. Krakoa feels like one big weird death cult, for no reason at all.

I don't have anything else to say. It's disappointment after disappointment with Hickman.

[el · Rating 4 out of 5]

Guess I gotta go figure out how that brood story ended, which series is it in?