Dawn of X, Vol. 7

X-Men: Krakoan Era (Anthology Trades)

by Jonathan Hickman, Gerry Duggan, Tini Howard

The Dawn of X continues to evolve! As Verendi's plans against the X-Men's island home of Krakoa grow, the Marauders find themselves missing something vital! But where will Callisto of the Morlocks stand in the reshaped world of mutantkind? The new Excalibur face an old foe — but this time, they are the hunters rather than the game! Domino of X-Force is on an unlucky streak — can she find the source of her misfortune before the whole world starts to suffer? And at last, your favorite X-Man returns to his own series — yes, Wolverine is back! When an old foe with a grudge arrives on Krakoa, Logan must discover if there's more to this villain's sudden appearance than meets the eye!

COLLECTING: X-MEN (2019) #7, NEW MUTANTS (2019) #7, MARAUDERS (2019) #7, EXCALIBUR (2019) #7-8, and material from WOLVERINE (2020) #1.

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

160 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 24, 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

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wolverine has two excellent full-length stories. X-Men, Marauders and X-Force have been consistently good. Even Excalibur was better now that the Otherworld story is over. New Mutants finishes up its story by Hickman set in Shi'ar space.

[Oscar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good volume.

[johnny ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

not kate not kate not kate!!! wolverine #1 was just a treat!

[Malum · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume is missing New Mutants and X-Men, but makes up for it with a double-sized Wolverine #1. The first Wolverine story reads just like an X-Force story, with Wolverine and X-Force tracking down some criminals selling tainted drugs. The second story is Wolverine vs vampires, and also includes one of my favorite (and very underutilized) villains, Omega Red.

As for the other included issues, they were all pretty much slower paced stories all leading up to bigger things in their respective books. Also, for anyone looking for a resolution to the Marauders #6 massive cliff hanger, you'll have to wait until the next volume, because there isn't one here.

[Adam Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

This continues to be one of my favorite ways to read a family of titles. You get a better sense of time, you get a variety of storytelling styles, and if you don't like an arc, that's okay, there's probably going to be something else in the volume that you enjoy.

For me, the New Mutants issue was a fun Sunspot meta issue. I'm glad the space adventures are over, as they were fun but not riveting. But I like all the characters from the space story and the more Earthbbound story, and I'm curious how the characters will overlap when they are reunited.

Wolverine is an incredibly welcome change of pace from the Fallen Angels run which ran in volumes 1-6. I've never been a fan of the eight hundred Wolverine titles happening at the same time while he's also in two X-Men teams, X-Force, an Avengers team, and guest starring in Deadpool. This promises to be a character driven story featuring other X-Men, and tied into the main title. I am on-board for that. Kubert's art is great, as usual. And I really like the way Percy handles the dialogue here.

Marauders has been excellent since its debut, and while this issue lacks Kitty Pryde, Callisto, Emma Frost, and Bishop are used precisely and entertainingly here.

I've been down on Excalibur since it started. I don't care about either the magical British tropes, nor the continuity from the old Claremont series. The two issues here, focusing on the War Wolves and the amibiguity of Apocalypse's role in the new X-Universe were more intriguing than the previous issues. I did find myself wanting to skip through the second hunt sequence, but this was a vast improvement over previous issues.

The volume closes with a more introspective X-Men issues as Cyclops, Wolverine, and Nightcrawler grapple with what the mutant rebirthing process really means to their society. I quite enjoyed but understand why it wouldn't have been a good opener for the volume.

If you fell of the X-wagon at any point in the 21st century (and I understand why, really, I do), then I recommend starting at House of X/Powers of X and reading through these Dawn Of X books, and I think you'll find yourself in love with this franchise again. It's not flawless, but it's a much more enjoyable read than trying to follow X-Men, Excalibur, Marauders, Fallen Angels, X-Force, Wolverine, Cable, and X-Factor on their own.

[Matty Dub · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dawn of X v.7

Juicy bacon cheeseburger.
It’s be amazing but the great patty (X-men #7), gooey cheese (Marauders #7), crispy bacon (Wolverine #1) and fresh veggies (New Mutants #7) are stuck between stale old buns (Excalibur #7-8)!!

This is still my favorite volume yet on the strength of the best X-Men issue so far, a great start from Wolverine, the good New Mutants team showing up and Marauders being its always awesome self. The best thing about this book though? No Fallen Angels!

Yu is so good in this issue of X-Men, he’s been uneven but he shines here. Hickman’s voice for Cyclop is my favorite in all of his 57 year history. Aside from Excalibur’s mediocrity, the only knock against v.7 is there’s no X-Force and that’s doubly disappointing when Excalibur gets double billing.

Dawn of X continues to be a fantastic resurgence, resurrection, rebirth... whatever of the X-Men family of titles. I cannot wait to discover X-Factor and Cable have in store!

[Terrance · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best of these collections so far, and a good introduction to the next set of X-titles that are coming. Hickman's titles are the best of the bunch (New Mutants and X-Men), but Wolverine had a strong beginning and Excalibur gets better with each issue.

[Ada · Rating 2 out of 5]

*** January 23, 2023***
⭐2 – it was ok

The X-Men issue was the best one.

My status updates reflect all of the moments I went 'Huh?"

[A Broken Zebra · Rating 4 out of 5]

→ X-MEN #7 ... ☑
→ MARAUDERS #7 ... ☑
→ EXCALIBUR #7+8 ... ☑
→ NEW MUTANTS #7 ... ☒
→ WOLVERINE #1 ... ☑

[Myles Gerber · Rating 5 out of 5]

For the Dawn of X books, I’ll be reviewing each issue individually.

New Mutants #7: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Super fun conclusion to this arc! Incredibly funny issue with such well written characters and I absolutely adored Sunspot in this one. It’s always a 50/50 of whether I’ll find him funny or find him annoying, but here I definitely found him entertaining. Recap was hilarious, as were the Deathbird moments, and I think the story wrapped itself up in a very nice and satisfying way. Fun!

Wolverine #1: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Super interedting stuff going on with the Krakoan drugs! The violence it seems to be inducing is intriguing, mutant cults are freaky, and Wolverine is as Wolverine as ever. Loved this!

Marauders #7: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Interesting issue! Love Jumbo, art was very nice, interesting set-up for things but not a lot happened. Still, I enjoyed this one! Seeing Bishop in action was especially cool.

Excalibur #7-8: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Super fun issues! Fun antagonist and plot with the hunt for the Warwolves, the baby was super cute too, loving this cast and all the stuff they get involved in- overall this was just a fun time!

X-Men #7: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Wow. Crucible. Religion. Death. Rebirth. Mortality. Morality. The march towards the end never ending. Wow.

Overall these scores average out to 4.8/5. Awesome volume!! Lots of fun! Can’t wait to read more!

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

New Mutants was great, Wolverine was okay, Marauders was also okay, Excalibur was pretty good, and X-Men is what is keeping me coming back.

[Micah · Rating 4 out of 5]

losing fallen angels and adding an extra issue of marauders is good

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Warwolves are scary creatures. The concept of Crucible is interesting and thought provoking. Does eternity lose all meaning when you are essentially immortal?

[Judah Radd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good! Glad Fallen Angels is over. Really enjoying Marauders and X-Men. Wolverine is off to a slow start.

[Philip · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.6ish. The best collection yet. Hickman’s work on X-men in particular. One complaint is that Wolverine #1 was apparently a double issue and only half of it made it into this volume.

[George · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars
Only problem was that I wish marauders was about Kate being DEAD?! No one seemed to even notice!!

[Raul Reyes · Rating 3 out of 5]

New Mutants 3
I completely forgot the plot of the story, and the recap sunspot did was only for the last issue so the payoff didn’t work for me, sunspot was super annoying and when I found out cannonball wasn’t gay my heart broke a little, he gives off that vibe (like that charli xcx bi video) The art and the coloring were really nice but I really hope this ended the story’s plot and that we don’t follow sunspot and cannonball on future issues.

Wolverine 4.5
Really liked the story, although it wasn’t quite a ten just because it was an introduction, but the things it introduced like the mutant worshipping cult were really interesting, although Im curious why they decided to piggyback the story from the marauders book, since Logan wasn’t involved at all in the story, but hey I’m not complaining

Marauders 3.5
Idk it just wasn’t it for me, I still liked it, but not much happened

Excalibur 7: 3
Excalibur 8: 4
definitely glad they included both of these issues so you could read them back to back as that makes the experience so much better, I love stories of being on a pretty mansion that’s near the woods so it was tailor made for me, and I’m glad to say I did pick up the gay vibes of the blond guy, although he has this line “Because I'm tired of all of us homosexuals with superpowers acting like we don't keep track of one another.” And I think that it’s a really weird delivery of a line, also kind of confused why they act like sparing the life of one of the creatures is so merciful because regardless their species is still going to die, and they’re probably going to kill it once it reaches a certain age.

X-Men: 3.5
Interesting questions raised about coming back to life, but again it’s disappointing that there isn’t a plot and instead you have self contained stories about different aspects of the island

[C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably 3.5 but I wouldn't quite call it a 4.

I would say that this is my favorite volume so far of the Dawn books. The two worst books are either done (Fallen Angels) or more interesting this time around (Excalibur) which helps. The X-men issue actually shows a character grappling with the vast and sweeping changes that have happened (and this is really missing in these books in my opinion....) in a somewhat satisfying way.

Really, I think that if they had split off the timeline at the point where Moira spoke to Charles in HOX/POX, all of this would make so much more sense. The fact that we are being told that this is the normal 616 Marvel universe that we have known all along just makes for so many tiny, nagging issues with both the characters and world-building that one has to suspend their disbelief a lot harder than is typical with superhero books. I'm trusting Hickman to have a way of making this all make sense and work out but often I have to read these books twice to enjoy them because I find myself frustrated the first time through and then able to shut off my brain and have fun on second reading. I know I am a broken record on this one.

At any rate, the whole series is still very interesting. I do find myself missing some of the old X-men stories occasionally (and I do hope that we return to those sort of stories someday - maybe in Moira's next life?) but am fascinated by this take as well.

I just want to see more Mystique (and Destiny)....

[Michael Hicks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Volume 7 was a largely satisfying entry in Jonathan Hickman’s on-going reinvention of Marvel’s line of X-books.

The high water mark this time around is Hickman’s issue, which introduced the concept of the Crucible, a proving ground for mutants depowered by the Scarlett Witch way back when on M-Day. It’s a meaty concept, and Hickman’s script raises a number of spiritual and philosophical issues that provide some really compelling fodder.


The weakest link for me, though, has consistently been the Excalibur book, and this collection gathers a two-parter from that series. It’s fairly lamely executed and the attempts at humor were a bit too cheeky for my tastes.

I’m digging the overall landscape of this X-Men renaissance and the Big Idea uniting this corner of the Marvel Universe still feels fresh and compelling. I also appreciate the way these books are being collected in line-wide anthologies. I expect I’ll be in for the long haul as long as Hickman keeps guiding things along here.

[Sesana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good volume. Fallen Angels has been replaced by Wolverine, which is an instant, huge upgrade. New Mutants finishes up the mutants in spaaaaace storyline, I think, and it's a really fun issue to read. Excalibur has two issues here, both much more fun than anything previously seen. Kind of reminds me of vintage Excalibur, in a very, very good way. Marauders doesn't have Kate Pryde, but it also doesn't need her. The cast of this book has been wonderfully fascinating. Last is X-Men, and it's an interestingly philosophical issue, dealing with one of the new rituals grown up around the rebirth process. There are a lot of good, thoughtful questions, and I appreciate that Hickman lets readers make up their own minds. With the end of Fallen Angels, I think the line of X books is better than it's been in ages. I'm looking forward to seeing what X-Factor will bring to the table.

[Blindzider · Rating 3 out of 5]

Less to like in this volume. Marauders still moving forward. Excalibur actually has two issues in this volume, a title which I think I'm also going to stop reading. The team goes about fulfilling a request from Apocalypse to kill some Warwolves. They do this based on complete faith that he doesn't have some ulterior motive. Just doesn't make sense to me. Feels like the characters are all being forced (from a writing perspective) in order to move the plot along. X-Force is still decent and Wolverine was a strong start. Could have sworn New Mutants was in there and it was pretty good. More funny and even breaking the fourth wall a few times. The art even has a slight Sienkiewicz feel to it.

[Sarospice · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is cool. A catch all for the X-Men group of titles and with the current changes probably the best way to read them. The X-Men are no longer feared and hunted, they are The inhumans, better than us on their own private island kingdom and offering us drugs to keep us at bay. What to do when you have everything? Get bored it seems. Most characters are stuck in their heads with no direction now that death isn't even a threat. The best part IMO so far is seeing the villian mutants adjust to acceptance in this new society. Come on in, Omega Red! Oh but we gonna hold a grudge against, Scarlet Witch.

[Rocky Sunico · Rating 3 out of 5]

And thus ends my Dawn of X journey for now as I've run out of TPBs in my current collection. This volume was oddly disappointing in its scope, plus the fact it narrowed its focus to fewer titles, in this case X-Men, New Mutants, Marauders, Excalibur, and Wolverine.

X-Men continues to go all semi-mystical/philosophical in its continued efforts to define other facets of the new Krakoan mutant society. New Mutants is really pushing the limits and has gone full-on 4th wall breaking in terms of the lengthy recaps at the beginning of the issue. Excalibur...still weirds me out. And the Wolverine story was an X-Force lite adventure that I'm not quite sure where it's headed just yet.

[Frank Jarome · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m basically reusing a review across this series, as it seems to hold as things go on. Overall it’s a bunch of highs and lows. Some books are consistently excellent (Marauders, X-Force, Wolverine, and it looks like X-Factor & Hellions will join that group) while some are middling to mediocre (Excalibur being the worst of the lot, plus Cable being so-so, and the main X-Men book varying in quality from one issue to the next). I’m still reading, so the overall whole is quality, and the whole setting that they’ve established is still unique and intriguing. It’s like a house of cards that we know is doomed to fall eventually, it’s just a question of when and how)

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

COLLECTS MARAUDERS #7, NEW MUTANTS (2019) #7, EXCALIBUR (2019) #7-8, WOLVERINE (2020) #1 and X-MEN (2019) #7

I enjoy these random collections because they help give me a better understanding of the overall flow of "X" books that were coming out from month-to-month. This "Dawn of X" collections features a new "Wolverine" series, and I enjoyed that one. I also continue to really like "Marauders" and "X-Men," with "X-Men" being particularly philosophical and theological this time around.

Here is my ranking of the issues in this collection:

1. X-Men
2. Marauders
3. Wolverine
4. New Mutants
5. Excalibur #7
6. Excalibur #8

Final rating for the collection = 3.5 stars

[Martijn Van · Rating 4 out of 5]

X-Men: 4,5 ☆ Enter big religious and philosophical topics. The main serie is not the best overall story but it sure is the one with the best ideas.
Excalibur (double bill): 4 ☆ Love the fearmonging and politics. Builds on consequences and has good action.
Maruaders: 3,5 ☆ Good start to the second run/phase. I miss Kate, but this start works fine without her.
Wolverine: 3,5 ☆ Great 1st issue and nice sequel to the X-Force run. Really like the CIA/Drugrunners set-up.
New Mutants: 2 ☆ Annoying metahumour and wise cracks. Never really liked this spacerun and this ending is an anticlimax.

[M.L.D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

New Mutants #7: I liked it. Funny! 5/5

Wolverine #1: My biggest complaint: Kate Pryde was in this one, which made me hopeful that that particular plot had been resolved in Marauders & then I was SO SAD when I read the Marauders issue. Anywho, like the noir feel of this issue. 5/5

Marauders #7: ooh Callista! Also, yay [redacted]! 5/5

Excalibur #7: The Warwolves are sentient?! And it's okay to hunt them like vermin because they're bad? ffs 0/5

Exacalibur #8: Geez, two issues of this, featuring the slaughter of sentient beings? 0/5

X-Men #7: Horrible & intriguing. 5/5

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars! X-Men was good, raising some really interesting questions about Krakoa. Marauders left off in a crazy place last issue, but barely touched on any of that here. Still, one of the better books for sure. New Mutants is still fun too. The Wolverine story wasn’t bad, but I still can’t get into Excalibur. I’m glad we’re on a new story arc, but I still don’t care, and there were two issues of it in this volume. At least Fallen Angels is over. Overall, still really enjoying these!

[Justin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loving these new X-Men comics! These collections in particular are fantastic, as I'd never be able to keep up with the various series if they weren't all in collected in one place. Guess I ought to have put this in a review for Volume 1, but if you happen to be reading this for some reason and haven't started the series....then wtf are you reading a review of the seventh volume for? and go ahead and get busy at the beginning! On to Volume 8 and beyond....

[Sonic · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has been hard for me to rate. What we have is a Hickman-led mutant initiative. The sections re-printing X-Men by Hickman and Len Yu are thrilling and amazing.
Then there is the rest of it.
Mixed quality sums up the other offerings. (But they get better as it goes,...)
But I see what they are trying to do here, and so I will be generous and give 4 stars.