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X-Men (2019)
X-Men, Vol. 3
One era ends and a new one begins as Jonathan Hickman's acclaimed run enters the Reign of X!
In the Earth-shattering X OF SWORDS, the Captain Commander of Krakoa makes a fateful decision that will affect the island-nation's residents! And when the Shi'ar Empire asks the X-Men for help, Cyclops, Storm and Marvel Girl answer the call! Elsewhere, the door to the Vault swings open at last. But time moves differently in the Vault—and for the beings who emerge, it's been a very, very long time since they entered! And Krakoa's future is at stake when one of mutantkind's greatest threats re-emerges: Nimrod is online! Then, it's time for the Hellfire Gala—and a changing of the guard, as Krakoa's very first team of elected X-Men debuts!
COLLECTING: X-MEN (2019) #16-20
In the Earth-shattering X OF SWORDS, the Captain Commander of Krakoa makes a fateful decision that will affect the island-nation's residents! And when the Shi'ar Empire asks the X-Men for help, Cyclops, Storm and Marvel Girl answer the call! Elsewhere, the door to the Vault swings open at last. But time moves differently in the Vault—and for the beings who emerge, it's been a very, very long time since they entered! And Krakoa's future is at stake when one of mutantkind's greatest threats re-emerges: Nimrod is online! Then, it's time for the Hellfire Gala—and a changing of the guard, as Krakoa's very first team of elected X-Men debuts!
COLLECTING: X-MEN (2019) #16-20
144 pages, Paperback
First published August 10, 2021
32 people are currently reading
230 people want to read
About the author
Jonathan Hickman
1,221 books2,037 followersJonathan 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
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 85 reviews
August 4, 2023
Five distinct comic book issues, pretty much five short stories, as ever these are very big ideas confusingly executed by Hickman; the stories range from overwritten to quite good and back again. Too many stories, too many mutants, not enough craterisation, breathing spaces and /or consistent art. It feels like Hickman's Avengers all over again, for me, all that glistens is not gold. Still manages to be a 7 out of 12, Three Star read pour moi.
2023 read
2023 read
May 23, 2022
Hickman finishes off his X-Men run with more vignettes. It's not a storytelling device that I crave because the stories often lack characterization. These issues are all world-building and foreshadowing of more events to come. Each story has a different artist. I'm not really sure why Jean Grey and Cyclops were wearing their X-Factor uniforms in the Brett Booth issue. Maybe he just really likes the designs? Regardless his art was the most dated looking of the artists in this book.
March 25, 2022
I feel like Jonathan Hickman's plans for the X-Men was lost circa X of Swords, clearly ruined by editorial pressure, so it's no surprise to me that his run on the X-Men is already wrapping up. House of X/Powers of X was such a massive hit that the suits at Marvel decided to greenlight as many spin-offs as possibles to cash-in on its success, and this lead to a massive shift in direction.
Reign of X have not been as good as Dawn of X, and this last volume of the core series was no different, while the Children of the Vault was a good story arc, it was resolved in just a couple of issues, almost as if Hickman was working on this new exciting storyline then suddenly gets called to a Marvel meeting where they tell him,
"Hey man, we need to wrap this up, we need more money, we already have plans for more relaunches, more events, more series, we'll give you a mini-series to wrap this up, is that ok with you? Thanks my man, you're the best!"
Ah, I bet those conversations were not so different, Marvel is pretty transparent these days, all they care about is money, through and through, and their product keeps getting stained with greed.
Reign of X have not been as good as Dawn of X, and this last volume of the core series was no different, while the Children of the Vault was a good story arc, it was resolved in just a couple of issues, almost as if Hickman was working on this new exciting storyline then suddenly gets called to a Marvel meeting where they tell him,
"Hey man, we need to wrap this up, we need more money, we already have plans for more relaunches, more events, more series, we'll give you a mini-series to wrap this up, is that ok with you? Thanks my man, you're the best!"
Ah, I bet those conversations were not so different, Marvel is pretty transparent these days, all they care about is money, through and through, and their product keeps getting stained with greed.
November 6, 2025
EN I enjoyed all the stories included here, especially the assault on the Children of the Vault carried out by three X-Men.
A pleasant read.
--
PT Gostei de todas as histórias aqui incluídas, especialmente do assalto aos Children of the Vault levado a cabo por três X-Men.
Uma leitura agradável.
A pleasant read.
--
PT Gostei de todas as histórias aqui incluídas, especialmente do assalto aos Children of the Vault levado a cabo por três X-Men.
Uma leitura agradável.
April 28, 2021
Como siempre en esta serie oficial de los X-Men las aventuras se combinan no siempre dando una adecuada lógica y no terminas de ensamblar todo ni tener la certeza dónde continuará. Por un lado se muestra la "rebeldía" de Jean y Scott a seguir absolutamente todas las reglas de la nueva nación mutante de Krakoa, sobre todo con el hecho de priorizar sólo a la nación más que a ser héroes. Luego 1 solo número (?) que muestra la ayuda que prestan los X-Men a Xandra, la nueva gobernante Shiar del grupo extremista dirigido por el malvado Urr.
Los dos últimos números cuentan la interesante aventura (que dejamos en el número ... ya no me acuerdo) en La Bóveda de Darwin, Wolverine (X-23) y Synch. Ellos habían sido enviados a investigar, dentro encuentran a los hijos de la Bóveda, seres evolucionados que cada vez incrementan poderes. El resultado es terrible y también entretenido de ver.
Los dos últimos números cuentan la interesante aventura (que dejamos en el número ... ya no me acuerdo) en La Bóveda de Darwin, Wolverine (X-23) y Synch. Ellos habían sido enviados a investigar, dentro encuentran a los hijos de la Bóveda, seres evolucionados que cada vez incrementan poderes. El resultado es terrible y también entretenido de ver.
May 26, 2022
Stepping forward. In some ways this usca transitional books to msny man of the events going on with the Xmen, but it is slightly more of a step forward then just a transition. I would have given yhus 3.5 stars but I think it edged a round up, definitely not a drop down.
The book contains four stories over five issues. The first is the fall out from the X of Swords. This includes Krakoa, Arakko, the Quiet Council, the residents of both islands, and the Xmen.
The second story is more of a classic style of the Xmen in action answering a call from the Shi'ar Empire. This story have mu favorite artwork of the whole book. I also enjoyed the vlasdis style action. A reference to the Helfire Gala up coming series.
The next two issues are the conclusion to what happened inside the Vault. The reconnaissance them sent in and what they duscover. I like this story and because of the time displacement a lot of ground yo cover the timeline inbetween time periods was a good idea, but eould have prefered more visuals.
The final issue contains the birth of one of the Xmen's deadliest enemies in the future. This was the very first mission from issue one volume one. Also a promise made might also be brought to fruition.
A good volume heavier readcas the is so much going on and so much to come I the future. The book finishes with a cover gallery of full page spreads of the issue covers snd some varient covers.
The book contains four stories over five issues. The first is the fall out from the X of Swords. This includes Krakoa, Arakko, the Quiet Council, the residents of both islands, and the Xmen.
The second story is more of a classic style of the Xmen in action answering a call from the Shi'ar Empire. This story have mu favorite artwork of the whole book. I also enjoyed the vlasdis style action. A reference to the Helfire Gala up coming series.
The next two issues are the conclusion to what happened inside the Vault. The reconnaissance them sent in and what they duscover. I like this story and because of the time displacement a lot of ground yo cover the timeline inbetween time periods was a good idea, but eould have prefered more visuals.
The final issue contains the birth of one of the Xmen's deadliest enemies in the future. This was the very first mission from issue one volume one. Also a promise made might also be brought to fruition.
A good volume heavier readcas the is so much going on and so much to come I the future. The book finishes with a cover gallery of full page spreads of the issue covers snd some varient covers.
July 21, 2024
Ratings and links to previous reviews under the spoiler:
The main title always feels a bit fractured, following various storylines that don’t seem to have any real connection to each other - I assume this is all for some big payoff down the road, but for now it just makes me feel like Hickman is incredibly pretentious and is ruining the X-Men.
Two islands: Noto’s art is always lovely and this is intriguing despite the heavy handed “you are soft and we are strong and only know war” etc etc. Boring.
Shi’ar: Horrible art. What was the point of this issue?
The Vault: Hickman at his most pretentious, but I genuinely loved the emotional story arc that Synch got here. Do I have any better idea of what the Vault actually is after this? LOL no.
Nimrod: Xavier has alway been an ass but HOLY SHIT THIS IS FUCKED UUUUUPPPPPPPPP.
August 6, 2021
X-Men By Jonathan Hickman Volume 3
In a series of seemingly unconnected stories, Jonathan Hickman sets the stage for the next explosive stage of his X-Men run. What will be the aftermath of the Tournament Of Swords? What happens when three X-Men delve into the Vault? And then, to cap it all off, let's have a party - it's the first annual Hellfire Gala!
I wish I could pick Jonathan Hickman's brain. He has such a way of telling stories, and the fact that most of X-Men has been single or two-part stories that further the main status quo without having too much in the way of their own connective tissue and yet still manages to be enormously impressive every issue is just...wow. It's a bold move, to have your flagship title pushing things forward and letting the other books deal with the fallout, but it works very, very well.
That's not to say the individual stories aren't great - the two part Vault story is a character study for Synch, Wolverine, and Darwin that I never expected to see, while Mystique's growing fury in issue 20 is not going to end well for anyone. And the Hellfire Gala manages to be both a visual spectactle and a complete upset for the X-status quo all at once, and that's even before we delve into the Planet-Size X-Men one-shot.
On hand as always for art are a murderer's row of top talent - we have contributions from Brett Booth, Mahmud Asrar, Russell Dauterman, and Phil Noto among others. While Leinil Yu's absence is felt, his covers keep the series together.
Jonathan Hickman bids adieu to the flagship X-Men book, but no one could say he put all his toys away before closing the door. It gets thrown around a lot, but to say 'the X-Men will never be the same again after this' is really an understatement.
In a series of seemingly unconnected stories, Jonathan Hickman sets the stage for the next explosive stage of his X-Men run. What will be the aftermath of the Tournament Of Swords? What happens when three X-Men delve into the Vault? And then, to cap it all off, let's have a party - it's the first annual Hellfire Gala!
I wish I could pick Jonathan Hickman's brain. He has such a way of telling stories, and the fact that most of X-Men has been single or two-part stories that further the main status quo without having too much in the way of their own connective tissue and yet still manages to be enormously impressive every issue is just...wow. It's a bold move, to have your flagship title pushing things forward and letting the other books deal with the fallout, but it works very, very well.
That's not to say the individual stories aren't great - the two part Vault story is a character study for Synch, Wolverine, and Darwin that I never expected to see, while Mystique's growing fury in issue 20 is not going to end well for anyone. And the Hellfire Gala manages to be both a visual spectactle and a complete upset for the X-status quo all at once, and that's even before we delve into the Planet-Size X-Men one-shot.
On hand as always for art are a murderer's row of top talent - we have contributions from Brett Booth, Mahmud Asrar, Russell Dauterman, and Phil Noto among others. While Leinil Yu's absence is felt, his covers keep the series together.
Jonathan Hickman bids adieu to the flagship X-Men book, but no one could say he put all his toys away before closing the door. It gets thrown around a lot, but to say 'the X-Men will never be the same again after this' is really an understatement.
October 13, 2021
Muddling ever onward into mediocrity, the X-era that began with such promise now in turn promises to be promptly forgotten. The Forge? The Vault? Arakko? Who caaaaaaaaaaaaaaares...
You know things have gotten just too weird when even the time-displaced Summers clan are at a loss.
You know things have gotten just too weird when even the time-displaced Summers clan are at a loss.
October 9, 2021
Well Hickman’s main X-Men run is over and sadly it never picked up the way I hoped it would. HOX/POX was one of the best X-Men stories ever it’s such a shame Hickman’s main X-Men book couldn’t keep up. The thing that bums me out is that we are told this is all set up and then Hickman announced he’s leaving the franchise so I doubt we’ll see a lot of the stuff he planned in here except for what Inferno ties up.
October 27, 2021
Another volume of loose X-stories featuring obscure characters. Hickman writes it, so it feels like rich, dense content when it's not really, and no plot threads are ever resolved. Some parts are better than others: The Shiar issue is a fun aside, if seemingly a one-and-done with out-of-place 90s art. Similarly, the Krakoa/Arrako stuff in the first issue interested me, especially with Phil Noto's art, but was basically all introduction for a future narrative.
The two issues about the Children of the Vault felt like a deep cut just for the True Fanz! Nonetheless, they had that Hickman shine that made me think I was reading some critical literature. Again again again, though, no resolution. The Children are gonna get the X-Men...later! And Mystique takes on nu Nimrod...
It's exhausting being an X-fan, reading all this X-literature, and then returning to the main X-Men series only to find loose plot threads. I'm a big Hickman fan, I'll read whatever he creates, but the X-verse has been diluted to the point of disinterest. And this main series is apparently designed to be an endless spinning wheel. Case in point: the first issue ends with Scott Summer expressing an interest in creating a new team...a new X-Men team. Sure, we definitely need a rehash of the original gang because the 15 other X-teams aren't cutting it.
Rant aside, this volume was fine and I liked it while I was reading it, but I'm ready for something more from my X-adventures.
The two issues about the Children of the Vault felt like a deep cut just for the True Fanz! Nonetheless, they had that Hickman shine that made me think I was reading some critical literature. Again again again, though, no resolution. The Children are gonna get the X-Men...later! And Mystique takes on nu Nimrod...
It's exhausting being an X-fan, reading all this X-literature, and then returning to the main X-Men series only to find loose plot threads. I'm a big Hickman fan, I'll read whatever he creates, but the X-verse has been diluted to the point of disinterest. And this main series is apparently designed to be an endless spinning wheel. Case in point: the first issue ends with Scott Summer expressing an interest in creating a new team...a new X-Men team. Sure, we definitely need a rehash of the original gang because the 15 other X-teams aren't cutting it.
Rant aside, this volume was fine and I liked it while I was reading it, but I'm ready for something more from my X-adventures.
January 7, 2022
Not bad, but very episodic, and the stories don't really seem to tie together very much. The art is good throughout.
April 1, 2025
Some decent stories.
March 1, 2022
Like the previous two Hickman volumes, this one feels a little disjointed, with standalone or 2-issue story arcs that only seem loosely connected to the overall narrative.
The first story explores a little bit about how the two halves of the island Okkara, Krakoa and Arrako, are now supposed to join together after the Tournament of Swords event, but the two islands are unexpectedly not getting along and showing no interest in rejoining. The Quiet Council has some seats to fill but there's no resolution on that in this volume, while Scott Summers and Jean Grey decide they need to form a new team of X-Men, and they are going to let the people of Krakoa (and also the readers, oooh, how meta!) vote to decide who the final member to be on the team should be. Phil Noto's art is clean and detailed and very pleasant to look at.
The second issue deals with the new monarch-in-training of the Shi'ar empire having been kidnapped, and a small team of X-Men are dispatched to find her and bring her safely back to Chandillar. This was my least favorite story in the volume, as it's wrapped up so quickly that it all feels like inconsequential filler. Brett Booth's pencils were fine, but they're so 1990s EXTREME IMAGE!!!! that the art felt a little jarring compared to the rest of the book. But I have to admit, I did feel a little nostalgia for those early Image superhero comics reading this one.
The next two issues deal with Wolverine/X-23, Synch, and Darwin who were dispatched on a mission into the mysterious Vault in an earlier volume. These issues were interesting, but like the Shi'ar story, nothing feels very consequential compared to the amount of weight Hickman seems to be giving to it. There's supposedly a huge threat here but nothing about it feels particularly menacing. Mamud Asrar's art is very nice, and quite consistent with the rest of the book's art (minus the Brett Booth issue).
The final issue has Mystique being sent on a mission to blow up the Orchis Forge space station near the sun, where a group of humans are working to build the Nimrod sentinel that causes the mutants so many problems in future timelines. This is an obvious setup for the upcoming "Inferno" event, but it's resolved so hastily that it doesn't feel very satisfying. Franceso Mobili's artwork is absolutely gorgeous to look at.
So much of this volume feels rushed for no good reason, and I think I would have enjoyed this a lot more if the stories felt like they had a bit more room to breathe. Apparently this is all thanks to Marvel editorial deciding to kill off these stories prematurely, so we may never know what Hickman's actual plans for these ideas were.
The first story explores a little bit about how the two halves of the island Okkara, Krakoa and Arrako, are now supposed to join together after the Tournament of Swords event, but the two islands are unexpectedly not getting along and showing no interest in rejoining. The Quiet Council has some seats to fill but there's no resolution on that in this volume, while Scott Summers and Jean Grey decide they need to form a new team of X-Men, and they are going to let the people of Krakoa (and also the readers, oooh, how meta!) vote to decide who the final member to be on the team should be. Phil Noto's art is clean and detailed and very pleasant to look at.
The second issue deals with the new monarch-in-training of the Shi'ar empire having been kidnapped, and a small team of X-Men are dispatched to find her and bring her safely back to Chandillar. This was my least favorite story in the volume, as it's wrapped up so quickly that it all feels like inconsequential filler. Brett Booth's pencils were fine, but they're so 1990s EXTREME IMAGE!!!! that the art felt a little jarring compared to the rest of the book. But I have to admit, I did feel a little nostalgia for those early Image superhero comics reading this one.
The next two issues deal with Wolverine/X-23, Synch, and Darwin who were dispatched on a mission into the mysterious Vault in an earlier volume. These issues were interesting, but like the Shi'ar story, nothing feels very consequential compared to the amount of weight Hickman seems to be giving to it. There's supposedly a huge threat here but nothing about it feels particularly menacing. Mamud Asrar's art is very nice, and quite consistent with the rest of the book's art (minus the Brett Booth issue).
The final issue has Mystique being sent on a mission to blow up the Orchis Forge space station near the sun, where a group of humans are working to build the Nimrod sentinel that causes the mutants so many problems in future timelines. This is an obvious setup for the upcoming "Inferno" event, but it's resolved so hastily that it doesn't feel very satisfying. Franceso Mobili's artwork is absolutely gorgeous to look at.
So much of this volume feels rushed for no good reason, and I think I would have enjoyed this a lot more if the stories felt like they had a bit more room to breathe. Apparently this is all thanks to Marvel editorial deciding to kill off these stories prematurely, so we may never know what Hickman's actual plans for these ideas were.
March 23, 2022
2,5*
Seemingly disjointed stories (probably) paving the way for future storylines. A tad bit cryptic, as expected but no more than usual I guess.
Best mini-story imo is the Vault, beautifully illustrated by Mahmud Asrar.
Worst is the one with the Shi’ar, aggravated by Bret Booth on the drawing board, apparently stuck in a time loop sometime in the 90’s.
As far as I’m concerned the whole series- and whatever related title- didn’t deliver what HOX/POX seemed to promise
Seemingly disjointed stories (probably) paving the way for future storylines. A tad bit cryptic, as expected but no more than usual I guess.
Best mini-story imo is the Vault, beautifully illustrated by Mahmud Asrar.
Worst is the one with the Shi’ar, aggravated by Bret Booth on the drawing board, apparently stuck in a time loop sometime in the 90’s.
As far as I’m concerned the whole series- and whatever related title- didn’t deliver what HOX/POX seemed to promise
July 11, 2025
another boring volume… still the art is so good! i think the problem is that there’s too many mutants being focused on and the overarching plot isn’t that strong. the parts with x-men being voted for and synch and laura’s relationship were cool. also, x-men #20 variant cover is insane.
September 18, 2021
This contains issues 16-20, with chapters 12-15 in the X of Swords collection (still haven't read that.)
Something weird is going on with Krakoa and this other island. The ramifications are talked about in Issue 16, but it just comes off as a little weird and yet another seed for future story. There's no recap for what happened in X of Swords.
Issue 17 is a one-off (sort of) where Scott and Jean help out the Shiar. It ties in slightly with a New Mutants story arc, but the whole thing kind of comes out of nowhere. Not sure why they are wearing their original X-Factor uniforms. The art looks a little 90's-ish.
Chapters 18 and 19 are pretty good because they continue and wrap up the story about the Vault, featured many issues ago. Because the whole series is disjointed, it almost feels like these two were already done and could have appeared with part one, but purposely left till later. At least this wraps it up, but again, it's another seed planted for a future conflict.
Chapter 20 is, you guessed it, another seed for a future conflict. It is also a wrap-up of a previous issue from early on where Mystique is sent to the Orchis to spy on what appears to be the creation of Nimrod. At least this short story was concluded.
At this point it's quite clear that the entire series has been a breeding ground from Hickman. He turned the X world upside down with Hox/Pox, then proceeded to think of a bunch of new threats branching off from that. Some of the ideas are excellent, and have fresh, creative beginnings, while others are new rehashes of previous villains. My big complaint is when you step back and look at the series, it feels disjointed. There's an overall theme of the mutants settling into their new paradigm, but you can pull out one and two issue arcs and read them individually, without being burdened by any current continuity. Maybe that's intended but it doesn't offer the best experience for those reading straight through.
It's now been revealed that Hickman did come up with three acts, but Marvel decided to stretch out this current point in time (presumably at the beginning of the second act.). And Hickman is no longer writing the main X-Men series (and possibly none of the other X-Books.). This means we'll be headed to a long, meandering path to milk this new era as much as possible. It's almost guaranteed that it'll feel drawn-out and possibly have many dangling plot-threads but I guess that's the X-Men way.
Something weird is going on with Krakoa and this other island. The ramifications are talked about in Issue 16, but it just comes off as a little weird and yet another seed for future story. There's no recap for what happened in X of Swords.
Issue 17 is a one-off (sort of) where Scott and Jean help out the Shiar. It ties in slightly with a New Mutants story arc, but the whole thing kind of comes out of nowhere. Not sure why they are wearing their original X-Factor uniforms. The art looks a little 90's-ish.
Chapters 18 and 19 are pretty good because they continue and wrap up the story about the Vault, featured many issues ago. Because the whole series is disjointed, it almost feels like these two were already done and could have appeared with part one, but purposely left till later. At least this wraps it up, but again, it's another seed planted for a future conflict.
Chapter 20 is, you guessed it, another seed for a future conflict. It is also a wrap-up of a previous issue from early on where Mystique is sent to the Orchis to spy on what appears to be the creation of Nimrod. At least this short story was concluded.
At this point it's quite clear that the entire series has been a breeding ground from Hickman. He turned the X world upside down with Hox/Pox, then proceeded to think of a bunch of new threats branching off from that. Some of the ideas are excellent, and have fresh, creative beginnings, while others are new rehashes of previous villains. My big complaint is when you step back and look at the series, it feels disjointed. There's an overall theme of the mutants settling into their new paradigm, but you can pull out one and two issue arcs and read them individually, without being burdened by any current continuity. Maybe that's intended but it doesn't offer the best experience for those reading straight through.
It's now been revealed that Hickman did come up with three acts, but Marvel decided to stretch out this current point in time (presumably at the beginning of the second act.). And Hickman is no longer writing the main X-Men series (and possibly none of the other X-Books.). This means we'll be headed to a long, meandering path to milk this new era as much as possible. It's almost guaranteed that it'll feel drawn-out and possibly have many dangling plot-threads but I guess that's the X-Men way.
July 4, 2023
3.5 stars. There’s a lot going on in this volume. I feel like a lot is getting setup for future storylines to happen. The promise of the X-Men team and the election is exciting. The Shi’ar stuff was not really my thing. The Children of the Vault story was really interesting. And I loved the continuation (finally) of Mystique’s mission and agreement with Xavier and Magneto.
August 16, 2021
The main X-Men series still has the problem of following multiple, separate arcs. However, there is enough meat on the bones of these stories that they now feel more substantive and less chaotic. The story related to the vault is absolutely beautiful in both art and writing. But there is also an issue of utterly awful 90s style art within these pages. It is jarring and takes away some of the magic of the overall volume. The X-books have a lot of bloat across the expanse of releases, but these core stories feel engaging and authentic. It is a great read, but it also makes some of the other releases all the more upsetting.
October 19, 2021
A bit of a rushed ending to Hickman’s run and one of the few remaining issues feels wasted on a Brett Booth-drawn story about Shi’ar political drama, but the two issue resolution to the Vault infiltration from vol1 is spectacular and the follow up with Magneto and Xavier’s promised deal with Mystique (also revisited from vol1) is great too. Every issue is a blast to look at except the Brett Booth drawn one. I’m sad Hickman won’t be seeing through his full vision for the series himself, but hopeful the seeds planted here grow into stories that continue to be as cool and clever as this series’s highlights have been.
November 4, 2021
4.5
Ambitious, exciting, and complex in all the ways a Hickman story can be. A tighter story than his Avenger's work, whick makes this better. A much needed and brilliant makeover.
Ambitious, exciting, and complex in all the ways a Hickman story can be. A tighter story than his Avenger's work, whick makes this better. A much needed and brilliant makeover.
October 12, 2021
Getting us from the explosive "X of Swords" to the upcoming "Hellfire Gala", this Volume has a few tragic tales and comes off much more dramatic than I thought it would be. Still amazing work by Hickman though.
Highlights:
- Krakoa and Arakko are having trouble merging, even after everything that was sacrificed in Otherworld. Doug Ramsey tries to help them meet and discuss, but "The Great Ring of Arrakko" (much like Krakoa's Quiet Council) must meet and vote as well.
- Jean vacates her seat on the Council to join Scott in the formation of the new team of X-Men, to be announced at the Gala.
- Scott and Jean (in their old X-Factor uniforms for some strange reason) as well as Storm, head off to Shiar space to help search and rescue the Imperial Majestrix. Eventually they are joined by Cannonball and Sunspot, who provide some needed comic relief.
- Wolverine (Laura), Darwin and Synch head off to "The Vault" to assess the "Children of the Vault" (which is still kind of a confusing story to me). Going through a chaotic adventure of lots of fighting and chronal displacement, the 3 X-Men eventually have to die and resurrect to get away from their insane time together.
- Mystique undertakes a mission to infiltrate Orchis and make sure that Nimrod isn't resurrected. Her reward is the resurrection of her wife Destiny. She almost succeeds, but doesn't and Nimrod now stands to gain power and cause the downfall of the mutants. For some reason, Xavier and Magneto don't want Destiny resurrected... has something to do with Moira. I guess we'll see what happens.
Overall, an excellent Volume. Full of heartbreak and tragedy, but setting the serious tone for what's coming.
Recommend.
Highlights:
- Krakoa and Arakko are having trouble merging, even after everything that was sacrificed in Otherworld. Doug Ramsey tries to help them meet and discuss, but "The Great Ring of Arrakko" (much like Krakoa's Quiet Council) must meet and vote as well.
- Jean vacates her seat on the Council to join Scott in the formation of the new team of X-Men, to be announced at the Gala.
- Scott and Jean (in their old X-Factor uniforms for some strange reason) as well as Storm, head off to Shiar space to help search and rescue the Imperial Majestrix. Eventually they are joined by Cannonball and Sunspot, who provide some needed comic relief.
- Wolverine (Laura), Darwin and Synch head off to "The Vault" to assess the "Children of the Vault" (which is still kind of a confusing story to me). Going through a chaotic adventure of lots of fighting and chronal displacement, the 3 X-Men eventually have to die and resurrect to get away from their insane time together.
- Mystique undertakes a mission to infiltrate Orchis and make sure that Nimrod isn't resurrected. Her reward is the resurrection of her wife Destiny. She almost succeeds, but doesn't and Nimrod now stands to gain power and cause the downfall of the mutants. For some reason, Xavier and Magneto don't want Destiny resurrected... has something to do with Moira. I guess we'll see what happens.
Overall, an excellent Volume. Full of heartbreak and tragedy, but setting the serious tone for what's coming.
Recommend.
November 5, 2021
So many great story threads. And the art seems to never fail this series.
But as with much of this run, the many threads seem to set up so much and don't seem to go anywhere or come to any satisfying conclusion.
I understand Hickman and the X writers room are trying to properly set up the X-Men for it's future storytelling once Jonathan leaves the series. But so many things happening that get dropped the next or a couple of issues later to be practically never mentioned again.
But as with much of this run, the many threads seem to set up so much and don't seem to go anywhere or come to any satisfying conclusion.
I understand Hickman and the X writers room are trying to properly set up the X-Men for it's future storytelling once Jonathan leaves the series. But so many things happening that get dropped the next or a couple of issues later to be practically never mentioned again.
December 5, 2021
Pretty great, but I just found out that Hickman's X-Men run is over, and ended with issue 21. This volume's last issue was #20. Would it have been that difficult to include the final issue in this volume? The organization of the collections with Hickman's X-Men issues have been so chaotic. Hickman's X-Men volumes also skip over issues 12 to 15 because they were part of the X of Swords crossover, which is collected in its own book (that I found a little disappointing). Apparently Hickman's X-Men omnibus won't even contain those issues. I guess because they might not make sense if you don't read them in order with the mediocre issues from the other X-titles that are part of the crossover?
June 9, 2021
If there's something Hickman will do, it's write a love story that feels bigger than life. Everything he writes is a big attempt at Epicness, and he succeeds at that in his Laura/Everett and Raven/Irene arcs. Hell, I even felt for the Nazi doctor and her dead husband. Like in the previous issues, Hickman is just planting some seeds for the future stages of his master plan, but the little closure he gives in his final X-Men volume is satisfactory.
Could easily be a 5-star if X-Men #17 wasn't A HUGE STEAMING PILE OF HORSE SHIT. I will be very relieved if Hickman intended us to see the X-Men as villains in that story, or if Marvel asked him so hard to make government propaganda he outright wrote parody.
I haven't read many stories involving the Shi'ar empire so I don't know what has been its history with the X-Men, so I tried to just accept the fact that their friends with the people in its government. Alright. But this story makes the X-Men their clandestine COPS, making them fight (with little mercy or nuance, despite what Storm (a woman who grew up as a thief out of desperation in a post-colonial country, btw) might have said) against an extremist villain that explicitly represents poor people rising against a corrupt government. Later, as an afterthought, our little puppet empress says she'll "help" that impoverished region off-panel with money that Roberto surely got through dubious means. And we're supposed to think everything's changed and the Shi'ar empire is a just ruler that should face no consequences. Living in a country that's currently undergoing one of the biggest uprisings in its history against economic inequality and policial repression, this comic issue felt like I was spit on the face. And not in a good kinky way. Marvel's rising predilection for authoritarian alien empires (see: Empyre) is nothing but shameful. But well, now I know not to expect too much of these books.
Mystique, just burn everything down already.
Could easily be a 5-star if X-Men #17 wasn't A HUGE STEAMING PILE OF HORSE SHIT. I will be very relieved if Hickman intended us to see the X-Men as villains in that story, or if Marvel asked him so hard to make government propaganda he outright wrote parody.
I haven't read many stories involving the Shi'ar empire so I don't know what has been its history with the X-Men, so I tried to just accept the fact that their friends with the people in its government. Alright. But this story makes the X-Men their clandestine COPS, making them fight (with little mercy or nuance, despite what Storm (a woman who grew up as a thief out of desperation in a post-colonial country, btw) might have said) against an extremist villain that explicitly represents poor people rising against a corrupt government. Later, as an afterthought, our little puppet empress says she'll "help" that impoverished region off-panel with money that Roberto surely got through dubious means. And we're supposed to think everything's changed and the Shi'ar empire is a just ruler that should face no consequences. Living in a country that's currently undergoing one of the biggest uprisings in its history against economic inequality and policial repression, this comic issue felt like I was spit on the face. And not in a good kinky way. Marvel's rising predilection for authoritarian alien empires (see: Empyre) is nothing but shameful. But well, now I know not to expect too much of these books.
Mystique, just burn everything down already.
September 27, 2021
Hickman's X-Men short stories really seem to come together in this volume, as we finally start touching back on some of his major plots, blending them into a tapestry. "Sworded Out" (#16) is a great coda to the Swords of X crossover, proving the event has repercussions; The Vault stories (#18-19) are a fine continuation of one of our early plots, with Synch's ending in #19 being terrific; and "Lost Love" (#20) is great not just for continuing the Orchis plotline, but also for finally giving us the origin of Nimrod some three and a half decades after he first appeared!
(This would have me back rereading the earlier volumes, if not for the fact that there's a Hickman omnibus scheduled for January.)
(This would have me back rereading the earlier volumes, if not for the fact that there's a Hickman omnibus scheduled for January.)
April 30, 2023
Unrelated high concept stories told in thumbnail treatments.
Lots of scaffolding and structure, then wooden characterizations on the beautifully planned stage.
As I understand it - these are Hickman’s last chapters.
It’s sad that they are so cold. His attempts to shoehorn hard sci fi into a the medium have been a mixed blessing at best.
I hope the mutant books will bring back characters, personalities, and heart.
Lots of scaffolding and structure, then wooden characterizations on the beautifully planned stage.
As I understand it - these are Hickman’s last chapters.
It’s sad that they are so cold. His attempts to shoehorn hard sci fi into a the medium have been a mixed blessing at best.
I hope the mutant books will bring back characters, personalities, and heart.
September 7, 2021
Vol. 3 is more of a placeholder than a complete story in the aftermath of X of Swords and leading into the Hellfire Gala. Hickman is planting a lot of seeds that will either be harvested or ignored by future writers.
February 12, 2024
Massive ideas, confusing execution, and a whole lot of jumping around between vignettes leaves the whole thing reeling from a real lack of cohesion. Always interesting, though, even if it did leave me occasionally befuddled.
September 4, 2021
A volume dedicated to updating the many threads laid down in the first half-dozen issues and HoXPoX made for mostly great reading but it’s bittersweet because we already know that with Hickman leaving the X-line of books, the editors and other creators have no intentions of continuing those plot lines.
No more Orchis
No More Children of the Vault
Marvel never deserved Hickman’s genius
No more Orchis
No More Children of the Vault
Marvel never deserved Hickman’s genius
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