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X-Men (2019) (Single Issues)
X-Men (2019-2021) #17
STORM THE EMPIRE! When the Shi’ar Empire asks the X-Men for help, Cyclops, Storm and Marvel Girl answer the call.
25 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 27, 2021
4 people are currently reading
18 people want to read
About the author
Jonathan Hickman
1,228 books2,054 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
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
February 8, 2022
As if to prove my point from my review of the last issue, I really had no idea why Cyclops and Marvel Girl were wearing their X-Factor era duds. That said, this was a competently drawn issue, with the artist Brett Booth channeling his inner Jim Lee.
January 31, 2021
Scott, Jean e Ororo vengono convocati d'urgenza da Deathbird per aiutare gli Shi'Ar a ritrovare e a salvare la piccola imperatrice attualmente rapita dalle sue stanze.
Jean umilia la Guardia Imperiale, e si finisce rapidamente in un classico combattimento X-Men contro alieni arrabbiati e fanatici.
Menzione triste per Sam e Roberto messi a fare quasi da siparietto comico, non fosse che spesso non c'è neanche la comicità.
Disegni non all'altezza, per niente.
A questo punto per il bene della serie c'è da sperare che arrivi presto la creazione del nuovo team, e che si seguano le loro avventure invece di usare la serie come "contenitore" per "storie casuali ambientate a Genosha"...
Jean umilia la Guardia Imperiale, e si finisce rapidamente in un classico combattimento X-Men contro alieni arrabbiati e fanatici.
Menzione triste per Sam e Roberto messi a fare quasi da siparietto comico, non fosse che spesso non c'è neanche la comicità.
Disegni non all'altezza, per niente.
A questo punto per il bene della serie c'è da sperare che arrivi presto la creazione del nuovo team, e che si seguano le loro avventure invece di usare la serie come "contenitore" per "storie casuali ambientate a Genosha"...
January 29, 2021
Can we just...not talk about Brett Booth? I mean...do we have to?
Look, whatever you think about Booth or his art, the simple fact is that he was a really, really strange choice to illustrate an X-Men book...that's not supposed to be a nostalgia trip appealing to lovers of 90s comics...in the year 2021. This is just...odd. His artwork doesn't fit in this run, and in a weird way it made me feel uncomfortable in a way that I doubt it will in X-Men: Legends. This is just not how we draw the X-Men anymore. It's not bad. It's technically proficient. It just doesn't...fit.
The issue as a whole is an odd one, too. A strange bit of post-X Of Swords filler, that moves on some plot lines we last visited in the pages of Hickman's New Mutants. Except it's not New Mutants, so Scott, jean and Ororo take the forefront, while Sam and 'Berto are relegated to comic relief. But while their antics were delightfully amusing in the pages of New Mutants, here they fall a little flat.
I assume that a lot of this is set up for future stories (possibly involving Storm adventuring in space), but the actual story here is unsatisfying. We don't really know the kidnapped princess...we've not spent much time with the Shi'ar recently...so we don't really know what's at stake. Do the rebels really have a point? I mean...nobody voted for the Imperial Majestrix, did they?
Anyway, as I think I've made clear, this one just felt a little off.
I'm sure a lot of people will be raving about this being what X-Men comics are supposed to be like though. But, you know, it stopped being the nineties a while ago.
Look, whatever you think about Booth or his art, the simple fact is that he was a really, really strange choice to illustrate an X-Men book...that's not supposed to be a nostalgia trip appealing to lovers of 90s comics...in the year 2021. This is just...odd. His artwork doesn't fit in this run, and in a weird way it made me feel uncomfortable in a way that I doubt it will in X-Men: Legends. This is just not how we draw the X-Men anymore. It's not bad. It's technically proficient. It just doesn't...fit.
The issue as a whole is an odd one, too. A strange bit of post-X Of Swords filler, that moves on some plot lines we last visited in the pages of Hickman's New Mutants. Except it's not New Mutants, so Scott, jean and Ororo take the forefront, while Sam and 'Berto are relegated to comic relief. But while their antics were delightfully amusing in the pages of New Mutants, here they fall a little flat.
I assume that a lot of this is set up for future stories (possibly involving Storm adventuring in space), but the actual story here is unsatisfying. We don't really know the kidnapped princess...we've not spent much time with the Shi'ar recently...so we don't really know what's at stake. Do the rebels really have a point? I mean...nobody voted for the Imperial Majestrix, did they?
Anyway, as I think I've made clear, this one just felt a little off.
I'm sure a lot of people will be raving about this being what X-Men comics are supposed to be like though. But, you know, it stopped being the nineties a while ago.
March 17, 2021
Wow the art was awful. Like a cheap ass looking version of 90's art and 90's art for the most part in mainstream was terrible. So this is a bad thing. Also the first half is very wordy and not all that interesting. Luckily Hickman pulls it together by the second half but truly one of the ugliest issues I've seen in awhile. A 2 out of 5.
April 12, 2021
Excellent!
The story is dense without feeling like there's too much going on. No boring back story reports from Beast. Sunspot and Cannonball being the funniest bromance in the galaxy. It feels good to love X-Men again.
Whatever happened to Bishop's Shi'ar daughter? 🤔
The story is dense without feeling like there's too much going on. No boring back story reports from Beast. Sunspot and Cannonball being the funniest bromance in the galaxy. It feels good to love X-Men again.
Whatever happened to Bishop's Shi'ar daughter? 🤔
January 31, 2022
This is getting back on track: Xandra Neramani, the child of the Shi'ar Empress and Charles Xavier, is kidnapped, and it's up to the X-Men to save her. Fun, set in space, and I'm hoping this means the series is just getting better for me.
February 3, 2021
More like 1.5 stars. This didn't work for me on a number of levels. Where to start? Not even acknowledging a single event from the previous issue? Come on! The Sunspot/Cannonball banter? A full page transcript of dialogue plus about two pages of panels dedicated to this is excessive (See Cypher and Bei's reception in the latest issue of New Mutants for how to handle this properly). Outer space? Again? Was Storm shooting lightning bolts from her hands? Can she even do that? Speaking of Storm, she's been pretty busy with the Marauders. I'm impressed she found some time for intergalactic travel. The art is ok and I can appreciate having a storyline in a self-contained, single issue as a break from all the crossovers, events, etc. But I expect better than this.
February 12, 2021
Can a benign monarch be better than a democracy? Xandra Neramani says she plans to improve the lives of her subjects but I find it hard to believe that anyone sitting on a throne will ever not prioritize staying in power above any other concerns.
And why are Jean, Scott, and Ororo helping the Shi'ar empire squash a rebellion by the Stygian people who want to be free? Sometimes the political alignment of X-Men missions make no sense to me.
Artwork is beautiful but too busy with details. The background overwhelms the characters sometimes that instead of helping them stand out, the figures fade into the scene. It would've been better if the background colors were muted so that the reader's visual focus is on the fighting mutants and aliens.
And why are Jean, Scott, and Ororo helping the Shi'ar empire squash a rebellion by the Stygian people who want to be free? Sometimes the political alignment of X-Men missions make no sense to me.
Artwork is beautiful but too busy with details. The background overwhelms the characters sometimes that instead of helping them stand out, the figures fade into the scene. It would've been better if the background colors were muted so that the reader's visual focus is on the fighting mutants and aliens.
January 28, 2021
I hated the artwork. I'm not an artist and can't really put into words what my issues are, but the proportions of people felt off, and it felt over-penciled.
This was something of a rushed, one-off adventure rescuing Xandra from a kidnapping plot. Scott and Jean did most of the talking, with Storm tagging along. Scott and Jean were inexplicably wearing their X-Factor costumes, while Storm remained in the same costume she has had for a while recently. Periodically, Berto and Sam provided what we were supposed to interpret as comic relief, I guess? Even though it wasn't funny?
Comic book writers seem convinced that any time they write a man who brings up non-sequiturs, especially if they are effeminate or a pop culture reference, that is "funny." Here, the idea that Berto likes to take baths is meant to be... Humorous?
This would be a really bad issue if not for the fact that a simple kidnapping rescue operation is a breath of fresh air. It's exactly the kind of simple, black-and-white superhero action that we have all been missing.
So, you can have 3 stars.
This was something of a rushed, one-off adventure rescuing Xandra from a kidnapping plot. Scott and Jean did most of the talking, with Storm tagging along. Scott and Jean were inexplicably wearing their X-Factor costumes, while Storm remained in the same costume she has had for a while recently. Periodically, Berto and Sam provided what we were supposed to interpret as comic relief, I guess? Even though it wasn't funny?
Comic book writers seem convinced that any time they write a man who brings up non-sequiturs, especially if they are effeminate or a pop culture reference, that is "funny." Here, the idea that Berto likes to take baths is meant to be... Humorous?
This would be a really bad issue if not for the fact that a simple kidnapping rescue operation is a breath of fresh air. It's exactly the kind of simple, black-and-white superhero action that we have all been missing.
So, you can have 3 stars.
March 5, 2021
The Shi'Ar Empire owes Storm a Favor.
Al Ewing planted seeds of conflict between the X-Men and the Guardians of the Galaxy, especially Emperor Hulkling.
Shi'Ar is a space empire.
So...we're getting X-Men Vs Guardians, aren't we?
Al Ewing planted seeds of conflict between the X-Men and the Guardians of the Galaxy, especially Emperor Hulkling.
Shi'Ar is a space empire.
So...we're getting X-Men Vs Guardians, aren't we?
January 29, 2021
Better than average, verging on very good but the art felt a little off for some reason and the adventure itself. It was action packed and fun but it continues my irritation with the X-Men title as the, supposedly, main X title it's been an inconsistent mess since the relaunch. Some brilliant one offs but no consistent narrative to tell, it's almost a plot hole filler which seems a waste of a good title.
This issue though, better than most.
As a side note, the X-Men vote.... Not sure how that will end and also, when will they be releasing this title if they haven't even got the lineup sorted?
This issue though, better than most.
As a side note, the X-Men vote.... Not sure how that will end and also, when will they be releasing this title if they haven't even got the lineup sorted?
February 13, 2022
Missed opportunity.
This story for what it is was well done but there was an opportunity here for more. As amazing it to see Brett Booths pencils on this it was a missed opportunity with an artist of his caliber you gotta give me more.
This story for what it is was well done but there was an opportunity here for more. As amazing it to see Brett Booths pencils on this it was a missed opportunity with an artist of his caliber you gotta give me more.
January 30, 2021
Absolutely adore these uniforms and always love seeing the X-Men's place in the wider marvel universe
February 6, 2021
I love any story HEAVY on Storm. ⚡⛈️⚡💥
February 15, 2021
Horrible art from a horrible artist - ruins an otherwise nice issue.
February 18, 2021
Empty nest
March 31, 2021
no clue what’s going on but it’s very pretty
May 30, 2021
Fun little story and i loved the art not sure about all the hate for the art it was so good maybe doesn’t fit the Hickman tone but it worked for this issue.
April 8, 2022
X-men are firing on all cylinders. Really showing they aren’t just heroes of Earth but if the beyond. Good read, great pace and action.
July 7, 2025
really liked the art here, reminded me of Jim Lee. The inclusion of the Shi’ar felt reminiscent of Claremont. I enjoyed this issue, but it did feel like filler.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 12, 2024
Anything with Cannonball and Sunspot is immediately a win, except if written by Vita Ayala… **** it, Ed Brisson too.
Cyclops Jean and Ororo are summoned by deathbird to retrieve Xandra who has been kidnapped by Urr. The three along with smasher find out who helped on the inside which led to them confronting Urr. The rebellion is crushed and Ororo gains favor from Xandra.
Urr is made a diplomat, “hypocrisy is a worse fate than death.”
Cyclops Jean and Ororo are summoned by deathbird to retrieve Xandra who has been kidnapped by Urr. The three along with smasher find out who helped on the inside which led to them confronting Urr. The rebellion is crushed and Ororo gains favor from Xandra.
Urr is made a diplomat, “hypocrisy is a worse fate than death.”
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews