Dawn of X, Vol. 10

X-Men: Age of Krakoa (Anthology Trades)

by Jonathan Hickman, Benjamin Percy, Tini Howard

The Dawn of X is full of dangers! As a nightmare becomes real for theNew Mutants, Nightcrawler leads an eerie mission into the unknown! Meanwhile, Mister Sinister fi nds a use for Krakoa's troublemakers. Meet his new Hellions: Scalphunter, Wild Child, Empath, Nanny, Orphan-Maker, Psylocke...and Havok?! They're the team you're going to hate to love! Wolverine faces a combined assault from Lady Deathstrike, Sabretooth and Doctor Cornelius - but the Flower Cartel might have enlisted his worst foe of all! The X-Men have their hands full with some cosmic heavy hitters - the Brood, the Shi'ar Imperial Guard and the Starjammers! And London is burning! As Britain goes to war with Krakoa, its Captain is faced with her hardest decision yet! Collecting NEW MUTANTS (2019) #9, GIANT-SIZE X-MEN: NIGHTCRAWLER, HELLIONS #1, WOLVERINE (2020) #2, X-MEN (2019) #9 and EXCALIBUR (2019) #10.

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

184 pages, Paperback

First published November 10, 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

[Oscar · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not that good.

[Adam Stone · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mixed bag of issues finds itself not just leaning but about to fall on some thin premises. X-Force is currently my least favorite of the X-books. After an interesting Colossus/Domino issue a couple of trades ago, the series is just running around in circles with the characters repeating their intentions and their tragic back stories ad nauseum. Also, if I didn't know better I would suspect Benjamin Percy has never read a comic with Jean Grey in it before, as she behaves wildly inconsistently with every portrayal I've ever read. And I've read nearly all of the sixty years of X-related books. I also went from really hating the art at the beginning of the issue, where it seemed pretty reminiscent of "Fallen Angels" to just not really enjoying it. 1/5 stars.

I have previously mentioned my disinterest in the magic portion of the Marvel Universe, particularly as it pertains to Excalibur, but Tini Howard's dialogue and character work on this issue won me over. I do feel this series is getting better with every issue, and I'm not dreading the impending X Of Swords crossover event as much as I was earlier. I'm also enjoying Marcus To's use of facial grammar and body language in this title. 4/5 stars.

Apart from familiar Alan Davis art, and one scene of plot development, the Giant Sized Nightcrawler issue felt like tangentially related filler rather than a showcase of Nightcrawler. While they've shown up a couple of times in X-history, I'd forgotten what the Sidr were, and doing research didn't make me nostalgic for their involvement. I'm assuming Jonathan Hickman is going to use them again sometime during this Dawn Of X era, otherwise this issue was a joyless waste of time. 2/5

I think The Hellions has potential. I'm not in love with the first issue, but it has some interesting ideas, particularly about how Empath fits into mutant culture. Quippy Sinister and Babysitter Psylocke may take some getting used to, but I did chuckle at some Sinister lines, though not as often as I rolled my eyes at Overreacting Cyclops, who I was hoping not to encounter again. 3/5

New Mutants continues to come in second to the flagship title for my favorite part of Dawn Of X. I'm enjoying the integration of New Mutants and Generation X's lineups, as well as how the previously seperated halves of this team are just now forming one cohesive unit. The coloring and thick lines of Flaviano's art isn't my favorite style but it worked really well in this particular issue. He seems destined to draw an amazing horror book. 4/5

I'm still enjoying this format of collecting the X-books, but I certainly wouldn't recommend anyone start with this volume.

[Malum · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not the best Dawn of X. I out this down for several days and just forgot about it until I finally forced myself to finish it.

Nightcrawler and New Mutants were fairly forgettable, Wolverine is confusing, X-Men was the best of the bunch but felt pretty brief story-wise, and Excalibur is turning into The Power Rangers. The worst offender, though, is Hellions because someone at Marvel is desperate to make a Psylocke/Mr. Sinister book work and they keep pushing it on us despite Fallen Angels tanking hard. They also chose to make Mr. Sinister a dopey comedy relief now for some reason. He spends the entire issue acting like he's in a wacky comedy while everyone around him acts like they are in a thriller and it just falls so very flat.

[Hanieh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite DoX book tbh. For me it's a 3 /5. Here's my review on each issue:


X-FORCE #10 : 3.5/5
I think it's gettin a bit cliche but still quite interestin.lookin forward to see where this will go from here.

WOLVERINE #2 :3/5
It was ok, that's all Comes to mind.

GIANT-SIZE X-MEN: NIGHTCRAWLER: 3./5
It felt classic. And I enjoyed what they did with it for the sake of the feeling mostly.

HELLIONS #1 : 2/5
I don't like how much magic is bein brought into this world but anyway. The whole sinister/Psylocke vibe didn't work for me.

NEW MUTANTS #9: 2/5
Just givin this one more shot(ughhhhhhh)


EXCALIBUR #10: dropped

[Matt · Rating 2 out of 5]

COLLECTS NEW MUTANTS (2019) #9, GIANT-SIZE X-MEN: NIGHTCRAWLER #1, HELLIONS #1, X-FORCE (2019) #10 and EXCALIBUR (2019) #9

I was really excited at the start of Hickman's "X-Men" run with both "House of X" and "Powers of X," but I've been slowly losing interest in this era of Marvel's Mutants. It feels like all of the momentum they had has been lost. With the previous nine "Dawn of X" collections, I've taken time to rank each of the issues in each of the collections, but I didn't really like any of these issues, so I'm going to pass on that for today.

[Liv]

why we're giving more screentime to a literal infant every volume than we are to a complex antihero POWERHOUSE aka mystique is a mystery to me but the eco/plant horror continues to enthrall

[ScottIsANerd (GrilledCheeseSamurai) · Rating 3 out of 5]

meh.

[Blindzider · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had to skip Vol 8 and 9 because they weren't available to me, but I'm moving ahead anyway so I don't get too far behind.

X-Force continues to be the hard-hitting, action movie. Not sure if something is intentionally going wrong with Beast or the X-Office just continues to use him as the catalyst for stories. Despite being one of the smartest people he's still making decisions that only cause harm.

Excalibur is...the same. The Otherworld/Saturnyne stuff has never interested me and still doesn't.

Giant-Size X-Men: Nightcrawler is a reread for me. Davis' art is still pretty darn good, only slightly less "sharp" than it used to be back in the day. The story's purpose seems to be to do a few small things: flashback to an early menace, introduce (or reintroduce?) two mutants, along with revealing a secret about Doug (although it seems obvious when you think about it.)

Hellions was definitely the highlight of this volume. If you can get past the ludicrous initial premise, it's fun and funny and ripe for some visceral action. The art is fantastic and fits the tone of the book. Sort of a Dirty Dozen/Suicide Squad feel, putting together a bunch of rejects and misfits and hope for the best.

New Mutants - meh. Other than seeing the bulk of the team back together, neither the story nor the art were anything to get excited about.

[Matty Dub · Rating 3 out of 5]

X-Force #10
This floronic threat seems a little pointless in the grand scheme of things once you get to the end and how easily it’s dispatched by Jean. Not the best X-Force issue but it looks great and 👀👀Wolvie gets a hot hot tub date.

Excalibur #9
I hate this book and how disjointed its various plot points are. It’s like the author is trying to be as obtuse and confusing as possible. Only good thing about it is its quickly over.

Giant Sized X-Men: Nightcrawler
This was a fun issue that had a great classic X-Men feel to it and that feeling was enhanced by the always good Davis art. We get a look at the state of Xavier’s mansion in Westchester and Lady Mastermind is introduced to Hickman’s X-books.

Hellions #1
This was so cool! Great humour infused debut for this team of mutant rejects. I so can’t wait to see what issue #2 has in store for us!

New Mutants #9
I’m so-so on this one too. Flashes of cool visuals among the mainly serviceable art, a story that feels classic but also unoriginal.... I’m still waiting for a good Brisson issue.

Weakest book so far I think.

[Myles Likes Tacos and Rice · Rating 4 out of 5]

These collections are great and flow well in a sort of Game Thrones several points of view style. Respect on the selection sequence

Variant selection at back is very Psylocke (Kwannon) heavy and there are few God Love Man Kills tributes

Oh and this is the one where Jean and Logan get....... That should've been the cover in my opinion,

[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.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hellions has started and I love the vibe already, loving Mr. Sinister. Going to finish the remainder of the Dawn of X trades that I own before I sell them, and just collect my favourite comics of the bunch.

[Judah Radd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good collection of issues. I really liked Hellions and X-Force. New Mutants and Excalibur were ok. The Giant Sized Nightcrawler was a bit boring. Overall, still digging DoX

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Black Tom has troubles. Sinister's new team. I do like his alternative to healthcare or incarceration even though I don't think that it would work in the real world.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

X-Read Backlog check-off
~ read in 2020

[Ghoster Alagamo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ah, *Dawn of X Vol. 10*, where the X-Men universe takes a delightful detour into the realm of chaos and confusion, leaving readers both entertained and scratching their heads. This volume is like a mutant potluck dinner where everyone brought their weirdest dish, and you're not quite sure if you love it or if you're just amused by the audacity.

First up, we have Nightcrawler leading an "eerie mission into the unknown." It's like sending your most charming friend to a haunted house, only to realize halfway through that he's more interested in the decor than the ghosts. Meanwhile, Wolverine is embroiled in a battle royale against Lady Deathstrike, Sabretooth, and Doctor Cornelius—it's like a family reunion gone terribly wrong, with claws and grudges aplenty[1][4].

Then there's Mister Sinister, who's decided that Krakoa's troublemakers need their own team. Enter the Hellions: Scalphunter, Wild Child, Empath, Nanny, Orphan-Maker, Psylocke...and Havok?! It's like someone threw darts at a board of names and decided this ragtag bunch was the next big thing. They're the team you’re going to hate to love—or maybe just hate[5][6].

The X-Men are juggling cosmic threats like the Brood and Shi'ar Imperial Guard while London's burning in the background. It's as if someone took a page out of a disaster movie script and thought, "Let's add aliens!" Meanwhile, Excalibur is apparently auditioning for a spot in The Power Rangers with its mystical escapades[2][4].

And let's not forget about Mr. Sinister's newfound role as comic relief. He's acting like he's in a sitcom while everyone else is stuck in a thriller. It's as if Marvel decided to throw in some slapstick comedy just to see if anyone would notice—or care[2][9].

In conclusion, *Dawn of X Vol. 10* is not your typical superhero saga; it's more like a mutant soap opera with a dash of absurdity. Whether you're here for the action or just to see how bizarre things can get, this volume delivers on both fronts. Just remember: it's not about understanding everything—it's about enjoying the ride!

[Rocky Sunico · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a weird mix of storylines as far as the ongoing X-titles go. I know these Dawn of X titles are meant to capitalize on the big relaunch of the X-titles and sort of better illustrate the connections between them. However, this is not a book that shows that the different creative teams are highly coordinated.

The creation of a new Hellions under Mr. Sinister was potentially the most interesting part of this book. It's a clear effort to make better use of some peripheral characters and then they dragged in Havoc for good measure. The Excalibur book really doesn't grip me all that much, and it continues to struggle along in this compilation. The New Mutants book is still pretty charming, but we're in the middle of setting up a new story arc - one that doesn't clearly explain how Cypher ends up quite involved in two different comics in a single compilation.

We see a fair amount of these characters jumping around and it shouldn't be a big deal. But when they put the issues together in a single book, it becomes a bit more noticeable.

[Dallas Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every story here is firing on all cylinders!!

X-Force is getting to the root *heh* of the issues of how they are functioning and the consequences they lay in their wake! All with creative takes on real world ancient religion! Just the best time all around!

Excalibur has fantastic character work and beautiful world building here!

This volumes Giant Size issue does Eyeboy a level of justice that is unprecedented! While giving lots of love to Nightcrawler, Doug, and Magik!

This generation of X-books does not let up on masterful takes on old team concepts, as seen with Hellions! So relieved to see Psylocke and Mister Sinister's story from Fallen Angels continued here in a way that rewards the dedicated reader but totally works if you've never read them too!
Also Curiel's coloring is a godsend here!

New Mutants is the weakest link in this volume, but it is still a fun and sadly realistic tackle of something this team is so built for!

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this volume more than other recent ones. Every issue contained is really good, except for Excalibur. That book just isn't very good despite having some good characters. Standout book is the first issue of Hellions. It's filled with characters I would not normally care about, but their inclusion all makes sense. The Nightcrawler book is great for nostalgia alone with the Alan Davis art and the classic characters. Nice to see some kind of mystery forming about Cypher's techno arm. But it's strange how none of his friends even ask him "hey, what's going on with your arm?" Did Hickman write all these characters as stupid? Or is there a bigger reason they all act kind of strange? Final thing I want to say about this collection is that X-Force has been the most consistant series, I think it keeps getting better.

[Martijn Van · Rating 4 out of 5]

X-Force 10: Th whole wich mather or who invades what question is a really interesting one. X-Force has a great cast. Right now, my favourite of the Dawn of X line. 4,5☆
Hellions 1: The 'empathy problem' questions asked at the beginning are awesome. There is a bit to much though-guy-talk but the overall premise? I like it a lot. 4 ☆
New Mutants 9: Nice to see the previous two new mutants stories finally combined and the awfull artstyle from the spacestory gone. The disobedience works great in this story, just like the horror elements. 4☆
Excalibur 9: Just another okay build-up with good art 3,5 ☆
Giant-size: Nightcrawler: Has a nice 80's feel to the art without getting nostalgic. Story not good or bad. Overall okay. 3,5 ☆

Overallscore: 3,9☆

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

By and large, this is a good volume. The issues in this volume pick up steam for a few of the titles that had lagged and put out a few filler issues. I am interested in the new Hellions title especially since it will link to Fallen Angels which, at the time, felt a tad random and pointless. Finally, you can some setup for X of Swords and a possible bigger payoff if Hickman pulls the crossover off. The one thing is the Giant Sized Nightcrawler. I liked it. It's fine. I like Nightcrawler but after Giant Sized Jean Grey and Emma Frost, it feels like a letdown. It would have been better if it had been an issue of New Mutants from Nightcrawler's POV.

[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)

[Charles Korb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hellions: I don't understand why this team exists at all. These people are punished for almost killing humans, which is something that happens in most other issues of all the series.

Nightcrawler: meh

X-force: as good an ending to the terra Verde plot as could have been hoped

Excalibur: I'm sure this is going to tie in but I don't really care about the plot here or the rehabilitation of ---Ā---

New Mutants: I like the meta plot here but isn't this what the Maurauders are supposed to be doing

[M.L.D. · Rating 3 out of 5]

x-force 10: whoo, the hot tub! But Jean's quitting the team?! Boo. 4/5

excalibur 9: better than most of this series has been 3/5

Giant Size x-men Nightcrawler: I enjoyed the cheesy, old-fashioned style of this one. 5/5

Hellions #1 : I...what? Havok is possessed by a demon? Is that new for this, or something that's been general knowledge? I like seeing Psylocke as part of the team, but for the most part, I don't care for these characters. 1/5

New Mutants #9: this is okaayyy 3/5

[Raul Reyes · Rating 3 out of 5]

X force 3.5

Excalibur 3
Stuff is happening, but I don’t remember any of what was happening before so this just isn’t hitting, I really think I’m going to drop reading these anthologies and read the series by trades

Giant Sized Nightcrawler 3
Should’ve leaned more into the horror haunted house vibe

Hellions 3.5
Not the most intriguing set up, especially because functionally I don’t understand the difference between this team and x force

New Mutants 4
Thank god the space arc is over

[C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better than the last volume in my opinion.

X-force continues to be good (I love Domino, though, so as much of her as I can get is always a good thing...), Excalibur not so much...

Hellions was a decent start if a little cliche. New Mutants looks to be better now that the silly space adventure is over with.

Still not in love, but it's serviceable escapism.

[Sarospice · Rating 3 out of 5]

I do like these catch all X men trades. Makes it easy to keep an eye on Marvel's mutants without a full commitment. This is a build up book, things getting set up - nothing really happening. Was fun to see The Sidri again and how they are evolving.

[Bekka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another brilliant part of the X-Men Dawn Of X run! Really liked the look into how others view Beast's actions, and how they deal with the more unstable mutants on Krakoa!
TW for mental instability, violence, grief, mind control, injury.

[Fredrick C · Rating 5 out of 5]

these volumes just keep getting better

Love this volume can’t wait to start. The next one storylines are ramping up introducing new dangers and excitement to keep everybody riveted to the pages. Can’t wait to start volume 11.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, I guess I read all these...so I've read this graphic novel. Technically. Still loving the Dawn of X X-Men books. So much new ground, finally, for thess stories to explore.