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X-Men: Age of Krakoa (Anthology Trades)
Reign of X, Vol. 2
Deadly dangers threaten the Reign of X! The New Mutants are on the loose in the Wild Hunt. Meanwhile, the Maruaders deal with a murderous mutiny! The shocking events of X OF SWORDS have forever changes, and some things that were lost cannot be replaced. Omega Red is harboring a deadly secret, and X-Force must brave the depths of the sea — where a deadly discovery reveals a dark side of Krakoa! And when the Shi’ar Empire asks the X-Men for help, Cyclops, Storm and Marvel Girl will answer the interstellar call to battle! Collecting NEW MUTANTS (2019) #14, MARAUDERS (2019) #16, EXCALIBUR (2019) #16, X-FORCE (2019) #15-16 and X-MEN (2019) #17.
160 pages, Paperback
First published July 27, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
January 4, 2026
Decent volume.
August 8, 2021
Another good chapter in Hickman's X-Men saga. For once, the titles besides X-Men were a little better entries than Hickman's book. Excalibur remains a good read, and Captain Britain and Megan's kid is a cute character. I also like the direction of New Mutants, and X-Force maintains its dark vibe. Beast has become a particularly conniving character, and his schemes may come to a head soon. I would say that Reign of X has not been as good as Dawn of X so far (outside of Marauders, which remains excellent), but it is still a good comic book series that is most definitely worth reading.
August 21, 2021
New Mutants brings the Shadow King back and focuses on some of the younger mutants. Interesting that there doesn't seem to be much in the way of educational or recreational opportunities on Krakoa for kids. Marauders focuses on Emma and Kate dealing with Shaw, and it's deeply satisfying, apparently neutralizing him but implying that he isn't entirely out of tricks. Excalibur is largely focused with trying to deal with the aftereffects of X of Swords. I still find this book fine on average but nothing that exciting. X-Force adds a few shades of grey to Krakoa and Beast both, interesting concepts even though the zombies that comes with aren't that exciting. Finally, X-Men is a shi'ar story, and didn't really do anything for me. Overall, this volume is fine, with some bright spots. Not the best of this era of X-Men.
October 30, 2021
Standard formula with these trades to but the World Building in the front (post X of Swords) and the action issues in the back. The X-Force issues actually work better back to back than when read monthly.
The only extras in this are Booth sketches from the lovely X-Men story that closed the book
The only extras in this are Booth sketches from the lovely X-Men story that closed the book
May 25, 2022
This whole collection is very good… but the highlight is Brett Booth’s Jim Lee-esque artwork in the main X-Men title. Gorgeous.
August 19, 2021
New Mutants 14: Good continuation and build up. Artstyle doesn't fit that well, hopefully further down the storyline it will. 3,5☆
Marauders 16: Finally revenge served cold! Curious where the story goes next. Frost & Pryde are a great duo. 4☆
Excalibur 16: This 'Reign of X' seems to be about merging powers. Overall good and nice start for a sequel to X of Swords. 3,5☆
X-Force 15: Horror! Beast becomes more and more intresting as a character. 4☆
X-Force 16: Great tension and build-up. X-Force could become my favourite storyline post X of Swords. 4☆
X-Men 17: Man this was bad. Like Spawn in he 90's bad. Stupid villain and art. Weakest X in a long time. 1,5☆
Overall 3,5☆
Marauders 16: Finally revenge served cold! Curious where the story goes next. Frost & Pryde are a great duo. 4☆
Excalibur 16: This 'Reign of X' seems to be about merging powers. Overall good and nice start for a sequel to X of Swords. 3,5☆
X-Force 15: Horror! Beast becomes more and more intresting as a character. 4☆
X-Force 16: Great tension and build-up. X-Force could become my favourite storyline post X of Swords. 4☆
X-Men 17: Man this was bad. Like Spawn in he 90's bad. Stupid villain and art. Weakest X in a long time. 1,5☆
Overall 3,5☆
September 6, 2023
4.5 stars
March 19, 2022
A mixed bag of mutant hijinks.
I appreciate the art in New Mutants, it's definitely reminiscent of Bill Sienkiewicz's art without being completely derivative. I would love to see more of this art. The story I could do without. I haven't yet connected with a Vita Ayala story. Even though I like the characters she uses, and I find the conceit interesting, the dialog and the minor plot points just don't connect with me. Also, it's weird to see the younger genertion of mutants, who've been around for fifteen years or so appear to be de-aged. Did I miss that somewhere during Dawn Of X or X of Swords? X-23 seems about half a decade younger than she's been in any other title I've seen her in.
Marauders was great. I loved every character's motivations and actions, and can't wait to see where this book is headed. It's the highlight of the volume for me.
Excalibur was also a nice surprise. Through no fault of the creative team, I've not been into this book, simply because I don't care about the Avalon/Captain Britain corps portion of the Marvel Universe. But Tini Howard has some great character beats in this issue.
X-Force has been one of the standout titles since it started up in Dawn Of X, and it shows no signs of slowing down. I like that every time it looks like the story is going to pause and have the characters mull over the current storyline, there's a completely new and unexpected development that they wrap up in an issue or two before they can go back and get their bearings again. I also loved the art on this.
The X-Men issue was the biggest disappointment. I liked the message, and I enjoyed that the X-Men were in throwback uniforms but I just don't care about Sh'iar politics. This all seemed to setup some future Storm story, which I hope will be more exciting than this issue.
I appreciate the art in New Mutants, it's definitely reminiscent of Bill Sienkiewicz's art without being completely derivative. I would love to see more of this art. The story I could do without. I haven't yet connected with a Vita Ayala story. Even though I like the characters she uses, and I find the conceit interesting, the dialog and the minor plot points just don't connect with me. Also, it's weird to see the younger genertion of mutants, who've been around for fifteen years or so appear to be de-aged. Did I miss that somewhere during Dawn Of X or X of Swords? X-23 seems about half a decade younger than she's been in any other title I've seen her in.
Marauders was great. I loved every character's motivations and actions, and can't wait to see where this book is headed. It's the highlight of the volume for me.
Excalibur was also a nice surprise. Through no fault of the creative team, I've not been into this book, simply because I don't care about the Avalon/Captain Britain corps portion of the Marvel Universe. But Tini Howard has some great character beats in this issue.
X-Force has been one of the standout titles since it started up in Dawn Of X, and it shows no signs of slowing down. I like that every time it looks like the story is going to pause and have the characters mull over the current storyline, there's a completely new and unexpected development that they wrap up in an issue or two before they can go back and get their bearings again. I also loved the art on this.
The X-Men issue was the biggest disappointment. I liked the message, and I enjoyed that the X-Men were in throwback uniforms but I just don't care about Sh'iar politics. This all seemed to setup some future Storm story, which I hope will be more exciting than this issue.
October 23, 2021
Despite being Vol 2 of Reign of X (purportedly the second phase of X-Men) these books are still wrapping up the previous storylines.
New Mutants - they continue to try and use artists that evoke Bill Sienkiewicz style. They are also having the original NMs start to be mentors for more younger ones. The last page is a cliffhanger with the return of an old foe. Still "meh" to me. It feels like they just don't know what to do with the characters. The older readers want them to grow up but Marvel seems to want to keep them as kids.
Marauders - Emma and Katherine get their revenge on Shaw. It's not terribly fulfilling or unexpected.
Excalibur - Somehow I missed the previous issue or wasn't paying attention, but I was a little lost. It's an "epilogue" issue, both a breather and a chance for the characters to absorb what just happened in the last conflict. A major change in direction and new focus. I was only mildly interested before and I don't think I'm any more inclined to read it. If you were into it before, there's nothing wrong with this issue, just not for me.
X-Force - The first of these two issues have the Beast dealing with the ramifications of his actions last issue. Marvel has really gone all the way with transforming him into seemingly what the Grey Beast was. His heart and soul are completely gone now and is embodied completely in Colossus. The second issue showcases more of Forge's ability and another clue that something else is going on with the island.
X-Men - I've remarked on this before, but it's like a flashback to the 90's. Scott and Jean wearing their X-Factor costumes for some reason, using Brett Booth to evoke the art from that era. It's a quick adventure with the Shiar, setting up the political side of that empire.
New Mutants - they continue to try and use artists that evoke Bill Sienkiewicz style. They are also having the original NMs start to be mentors for more younger ones. The last page is a cliffhanger with the return of an old foe. Still "meh" to me. It feels like they just don't know what to do with the characters. The older readers want them to grow up but Marvel seems to want to keep them as kids.
Marauders - Emma and Katherine get their revenge on Shaw. It's not terribly fulfilling or unexpected.
Excalibur - Somehow I missed the previous issue or wasn't paying attention, but I was a little lost. It's an "epilogue" issue, both a breather and a chance for the characters to absorb what just happened in the last conflict. A major change in direction and new focus. I was only mildly interested before and I don't think I'm any more inclined to read it. If you were into it before, there's nothing wrong with this issue, just not for me.
X-Force - The first of these two issues have the Beast dealing with the ramifications of his actions last issue. Marvel has really gone all the way with transforming him into seemingly what the Grey Beast was. His heart and soul are completely gone now and is embodied completely in Colossus. The second issue showcases more of Forge's ability and another clue that something else is going on with the island.
X-Men - I've remarked on this before, but it's like a flashback to the 90's. Scott and Jean wearing their X-Factor costumes for some reason, using Brett Booth to evoke the art from that era. It's a quick adventure with the Shiar, setting up the political side of that empire.
April 21, 2021
Spring 2020 (April);
Dawn of X (Vol. 11-16)
X of Swords (full)
Reign of X (Vol. 1-7)
** As a spoiler warning, do not read this review unless you've read all of the above issues, not just the volume where you've found this review. **
I did a massive multi-volume, multi-arc blitz recently and so I'm going to just drop a lot of what's hot here & going to be copying it down across a million books. My favorite thing literally is now and forever the Polycule going on in Summer House. I love his universe and am certainly very curious about the things still hiding in the shadows.
I'm glad Kitty found her way through that thing. I'm glad we didn't lose Betsy while we were in the other universe where death *sort of* sticks. Excalibur remains the most arrestingly gorgeous art. I'm still not interested in the one and only story comics know how to tell with Beast. I love the whole council and can't stop cooing over Erik as the Left Hand/Charles as the right (and even more so the bits where/how Jean & Scott are off to reform the X-Men #goodboy).
Jeanne & The Twins, in general, are back and I'm super duper in love with that. I really madly adore that there isn't any vast soap opera drama with any relationships or old bad blood that can't be given a new chance in Krakoa. There's such a breath of fresh air reading a lot of the choices Hickman and his writers have made. Illyana remains a badass demon-sorceress at all times, and Ororo remains a goddess. I loved all the Giant-Size art across Emma, Jean, Ororo.
Dawn of X (Vol. 11-16)
X of Swords (full)
Reign of X (Vol. 1-7)
** As a spoiler warning, do not read this review unless you've read all of the above issues, not just the volume where you've found this review. **
I did a massive multi-volume, multi-arc blitz recently and so I'm going to just drop a lot of what's hot here & going to be copying it down across a million books. My favorite thing literally is now and forever the Polycule going on in Summer House. I love his universe and am certainly very curious about the things still hiding in the shadows.
I'm glad Kitty found her way through that thing. I'm glad we didn't lose Betsy while we were in the other universe where death *sort of* sticks. Excalibur remains the most arrestingly gorgeous art. I'm still not interested in the one and only story comics know how to tell with Beast. I love the whole council and can't stop cooing over Erik as the Left Hand/Charles as the right (and even more so the bits where/how Jean & Scott are off to reform the X-Men #goodboy).
Jeanne & The Twins, in general, are back and I'm super duper in love with that. I really madly adore that there isn't any vast soap opera drama with any relationships or old bad blood that can't be given a new chance in Krakoa. There's such a breath of fresh air reading a lot of the choices Hickman and his writers have made. Illyana remains a badass demon-sorceress at all times, and Ororo remains a goddess. I loved all the Giant-Size art across Emma, Jean, Ororo.
February 8, 2025
New Mutants: the team battle was fun, and I'm interested to see if the shadow king is welcome on krakoa
Marauders: part of this is reading it as collections rather than monthly issues where it would only have been a few months since Shadowcat came back but it feels like I have read so many issues between them and now that this revenge seems weirdly delayed (also it again struggles to work around the question of why you would not just kill yourself at the slightest inconvenience if you can resurrect)
Excalibur: in some sense I get that they have to struggle to get Betsy back but it seems like such a foregone conclusion that the struggle kind of feels like vamping
X-force: what a weird anti-climactic end to the Russian traitor plot (for now? They still have the cerebro sword). Them fighting a giant monster helps ward of the moral greyness that permeates this series
X-Men: lots of people don't like it when the X-Men go to space but I love the shi'ar and, while I think the excuse for the X-Men involvement is flimsy, the story is fun and enjoyable
Marauders: part of this is reading it as collections rather than monthly issues where it would only have been a few months since Shadowcat came back but it feels like I have read so many issues between them and now that this revenge seems weirdly delayed (also it again struggles to work around the question of why you would not just kill yourself at the slightest inconvenience if you can resurrect)
Excalibur: in some sense I get that they have to struggle to get Betsy back but it seems like such a foregone conclusion that the struggle kind of feels like vamping
X-force: what a weird anti-climactic end to the Russian traitor plot (for now? They still have the cerebro sword). Them fighting a giant monster helps ward of the moral greyness that permeates this series
X-Men: lots of people don't like it when the X-Men go to space but I love the shi'ar and, while I think the excuse for the X-Men involvement is flimsy, the story is fun and enjoyable
July 8, 2022
New Mutants: nice mix of original New Mutants cast and some newer characters. Bringing back Warlock as something more than an arm. Seems like the first chapter in a good story. And Rod Reis is on art, you can't hate that.
Marauders: finally, the plot paid out after that event interrupted things.
Excalibur: who cares? At least the plot is simple: find missing friend.
X-Force: Cassara is my favorite artist doing an X-title today
X-Men: Brett Booth fills in on art. And since he needs to prove he was around back in the day, he puts Cyc and Jean Grey in their X-Factor costumes. Another space story, these are usually hit or miss.
Marauders: finally, the plot paid out after that event interrupted things.
Excalibur: who cares? At least the plot is simple: find missing friend.
X-Force: Cassara is my favorite artist doing an X-title today
X-Men: Brett Booth fills in on art. And since he needs to prove he was around back in the day, he puts Cyc and Jean Grey in their X-Factor costumes. Another space story, these are usually hit or miss.
August 3, 2022
3/5
Soooo let's make it fast i don't have much to say about this.
NEW MUTANTS #14 : 3/5
I have dropped this but the Art caught my eye and the story clearly had improved so i might come back to this.
MARAUDERS (2019) #16 :3/5
The revenge on Shaw was not unexpected but it's rather fulfilling. This is probably one of my favorites x-books in the new world.
EXCALIBUR (2019) #16 :2/5
I really have nth to say.
X-FORCE (2019) #15-16 :3/5
This is going well. I really hope beast gets what he deserves.
X-MEN (2019) #17 :4/5
Just like many times before it's the strongest one. I love the 90s vibe. The storyline and the art are fulfilling. It's like going home to our mutant land.
Soooo let's make it fast i don't have much to say about this.
NEW MUTANTS #14 : 3/5
I have dropped this but the Art caught my eye and the story clearly had improved so i might come back to this.
MARAUDERS (2019) #16 :3/5
The revenge on Shaw was not unexpected but it's rather fulfilling. This is probably one of my favorites x-books in the new world.
EXCALIBUR (2019) #16 :2/5
I really have nth to say.
X-FORCE (2019) #15-16 :3/5
This is going well. I really hope beast gets what he deserves.
X-MEN (2019) #17 :4/5
Just like many times before it's the strongest one. I love the 90s vibe. The storyline and the art are fulfilling. It's like going home to our mutant land.
November 29, 2022
The old new mutants decide they'd like to teach and train the new new mutants. What else is there to do? Emma and Kate beat the crap out of Sebastian Shaw for his silence.... Reverse the roles and how PC is this? Doesn't come across as empowering in a universe where no one can die anyway.... Beast tries to turn Omega Red into a weapon instead of just stopping his murderous impulses ( cause they can do that now). A cool Namor cameo ( love how he calls others MUTANT like it's slang.... Girl, you're the first mutant.lol) The weak link is Excalibur because enough Otherworld and Captain Britain crap ....
January 22, 2025
X-Force is pretty fun, not to mention the artwork being incredible. That underwater scene in #16, waw!
Everything is pretty bland and fails to really capture my interest. The Krakao story seems to be using so many characters, it's stretching them all very thinly, leaving nothing but cardboard pawns who fill in a certain function. The synergy idea is just another spot on example of this. Mutants are recuced to what they can do, leaving no space for who they are.
I'll keep (speed-)reading these to get up to speed with where the X-Men are at in the whole story, but I can't seem to get to involved in any of it.
Everything is pretty bland and fails to really capture my interest. The Krakao story seems to be using so many characters, it's stretching them all very thinly, leaving nothing but cardboard pawns who fill in a certain function. The synergy idea is just another spot on example of this. Mutants are recuced to what they can do, leaving no space for who they are.
I'll keep (speed-)reading these to get up to speed with where the X-Men are at in the whole story, but I can't seem to get to involved in any of it.
August 21, 2021
Meh. All-around decent, but nothing special. My opinion has probably been tainted by the news that Hickman is leaving his position as the Head of X as I was expecting a middle and an ending for the main storyline seeds he had sewn in the beginning, but the other books have mostly been good enough that I'll stick around for a while longer and see how drastically the direction changes.
March 18, 2023
Ok ok I finally get it. You set up the cast, the locations, the overall plot direction, and then you pump out the stories as fast as you can. Soap opera. I can see how so many people have a love for this, I like it, and I really like some characters, but I'm not in love.
These collections are a good way to package up the soap opera. I think I need to mix things up though.
These collections are a good way to package up the soap opera. I think I need to mix things up though.
October 27, 2023
Better collection then the last but still struggle with the decision to format the series this way. It makes for a disjointed plot because several of the stories or arcs have little to do with each other. Excalibur still seems to be the weakest series. Also in this collection there's another issue that's a repeat from a dawn of x collection that is just out of place.
March 20, 2022
Hitting a better stride after the landing post X of Swords. The search for Betsy makes a great return to Excalibur, and Kitty’s one-two hit on Sebastian in Maurauders was definitely cathartic. Not sure how it will play out, but I’m in for the adventure.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 1, 2022
NEW MUTANTS (2019) #14 - 4/5 (I like the art style)
MARAUDERS (2019) #16 - 5/5 (love marauders)
EXCALIBUR (2019) #16 - 3.5/5
X-FORCE (2019) #15-16 - 5/5
X-MEN (2019) #17 - 3/5 (that's a weird art style and plot switch up, old-timey cliche story with art to match)
MARAUDERS (2019) #16 - 5/5 (love marauders)
EXCALIBUR (2019) #16 - 3.5/5
X-FORCE (2019) #15-16 - 5/5
X-MEN (2019) #17 - 3/5 (that's a weird art style and plot switch up, old-timey cliche story with art to match)
December 7, 2022
I've missed my X-Men teams so much! I especially enjoyed the Kate and Emma scenes against Sebastian, as well as Beast and Collosus's scenes!
TW for violence, mentions of xenophobia, fear of/mentions of death, grief, mind control, mentions of attempted murder, paralysis, kidnapping.
TW for violence, mentions of xenophobia, fear of/mentions of death, grief, mind control, mentions of attempted murder, paralysis, kidnapping.
January 2, 2022
Best Marauders ever as the Hellfire club works out some business!
May 5, 2022
A mixed bag that I mostly enjoyed.
May 4, 2023
Finally, the Black King gets his comeuppance, and the return of the Shadow King...
January 24, 2024
Some revenge. More threats from the sea. The dream is starting to fade.
May 20, 2024
It's cool how different the art styles are on the different titles
August 29, 2024
Por fin el momento que estaba esperando, y ¡no ha decepcionado!
October 19, 2024
As usual, the overall story continues with some stories entertaining and some not so much.
February 1, 2025
Me encantan los Merodeadores! Bonus points de este volumen por Tormenta.
February 14, 2025
five stars because sebastian flop finally got his shit rocked
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews