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X-Men (2019) #1-3
X-Men by Jonathan Hickman Omnibus
Jonathan Hickman ushered in a new era for all of mutantkind with HOUSE OF X and POWERS OF X — now, he and an array of superstar artists redefine the X-MEN! With the newly-founded island nation of Krakoa opening up limitless possibilities and empowering mutantkind at last, humans grapple uncomfortably with the new world order — and the X-Men must defend what they have built! As the X-Men create a new mutant culture and face threats like Hordeculture, Nimrod and the Vault, cosmic chaos descends in the form of the Brood, Starjammers and Shi’ar Imperial Guard! And can Storm beat a deadly threat from within before the clock runs out? Jonathan Hickman brings the X-Men to the world stage!
COLLECTING: X-Men (2019) 1-11, 16-21; Giant-Size X-Men: Jean Grey And Emma Frost (2020) 1; Giant-Size X-Men: Nightcrawler (2020) 1; Giant-Size X-Men: Magneto (2020) 1; Giant-Size X-Men: Fantomex (2020) 1; Giant-Size X-Men: Storm (2020) 1; material from Incoming (2019) 1
COLLECTING: X-Men (2019) 1-11, 16-21; Giant-Size X-Men: Jean Grey And Emma Frost (2020) 1; Giant-Size X-Men: Nightcrawler (2020) 1; Giant-Size X-Men: Magneto (2020) 1; Giant-Size X-Men: Fantomex (2020) 1; Giant-Size X-Men: Storm (2020) 1; material from Incoming (2019) 1
704 pages, Hardcover
First published December 7, 2021
41 people are currently reading
242 people want to read
About the author
Jonathan Hickman
1,228 books2,052 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 - 30 of 57 reviews
April 26, 2022
Hickman's X-Men stories were interesting on their own. They were no HoX/PoX, but they were very well-written stories about the core members of the cast.
Collected together, they read much better, because you can better understand how Hickman was playing the long game. The story of Orchis, the story of the Vault, it's all here, with beginnings, middles, and ends, and it's terrific X-Men.
Even the Giant-Size X-Men, which felt overstuffed when collected on their own, read much better as a part of this complete story.
A terrific core for the early(?) Krakoa era of X-Men that also (sadly) makes it much more obvious how bad the Gerry Duggan X-Men that followed was.
Collected together, they read much better, because you can better understand how Hickman was playing the long game. The story of Orchis, the story of the Vault, it's all here, with beginnings, middles, and ends, and it's terrific X-Men.
Even the Giant-Size X-Men, which felt overstuffed when collected on their own, read much better as a part of this complete story.
A terrific core for the early(?) Krakoa era of X-Men that also (sadly) makes it much more obvious how bad the Gerry Duggan X-Men that followed was.
January 8, 2023
I can see why people like this run so much. There’s quite a few great issues and minimal disruption from the X of swords event, a nice bookending arc too, with the forge stuff I had forgotten about after reading that huge omnibus. Near the end it suddenly does feel pretty disjointed, being at a ball and a kind of random previous issue. Unfortunate, as it was really great until the very rocky finale. Why you’d end it like that, I don’t know. I guess it’s supposed to whet your appetite for the hellfire gala but instead I just wondered what the heck was going on and why is there basically a cliffhanger something random and a setup to a completely different event…?
June 1, 2022
Hickman is so far my favorite comic writer and he has done the best thing to the X-men since Morrison took over for 50 issues. Each issue whether an arc or just a little one off adventure was perfect. My favorite story especially though was the Children of the Vault one. Darwin, Wolverine, and Synch is a trio I never knew I needed and after reading Synch has become one of my favorites among the X-men characters. Hickman is a god at writing comic books and even at just 21 issues he has left me satisfied.
All of the giant-sized issues are great even if they don’t exactly serve as something of importance to the character in the title.
Overall X-men by Jonathan Hickman was amazing and I could not have asked for anything better to happen to my favorite superhero team.
All of the giant-sized issues are great even if they don’t exactly serve as something of importance to the character in the title.
Overall X-men by Jonathan Hickman was amazing and I could not have asked for anything better to happen to my favorite superhero team.
October 1, 2022
It's Hickman so the writing is great and it's full of ideas with an overall story that takes time to develop.
Sadly it's Marvel too so we get a new artist every other issue and no consistent art style.
Otherwise despite us only getting the main x-men titles the story makes sense without all the sides titles that were part of the reboot.
All in all it's a title you need to own if you are either an X-Men fan or Hickman fan.
Sadly it's Marvel too so we get a new artist every other issue and no consistent art style.
Otherwise despite us only getting the main x-men titles the story makes sense without all the sides titles that were part of the reboot.
All in all it's a title you need to own if you are either an X-Men fan or Hickman fan.
June 22, 2021
Road to House of X part 5
Everything you need to know about the modern day X-men is collected in the volumes listed below.
A quick and easy way to get into the X-Men!
New X-Men: Omnibus
House of M (Paperback)
Uncanny X-Force by Rick Remender Omnibus
House of X/Powers of X (Hardcover)
X-Men by Jonathan Hickman Omnibus
Everything you need to know about the modern day X-men is collected in the volumes listed below.
A quick and easy way to get into the X-Men!
New X-Men: Omnibus
House of M (Paperback)
Uncanny X-Force by Rick Remender Omnibus
House of X/Powers of X (Hardcover)
X-Men by Jonathan Hickman Omnibus
February 4, 2025
In 2019, Marvel began a new initiative for the X-Men comics. Started by Jonathan Hickman, who wrote the two limited series House of X and Powers of X, this was to set up a new status quo for the X-Men known as the Krakoan age, in which various groups of mutants are living on the small island named Krakoa, which has become recognised as a nation and has increasingly grown in size. Beginning with the “Dawn of X” relaunch, Marvel published various titles to showcase these various mutant groups, including Hickman writing the flagship X-Men comic.
Usually when it comes to the X-Men, it’s like the Avengers or the Guardians of the Galaxy, a creative team would pick a selected bunch of characters that will be the roster which will cover the run. In the case of Hickman’s X-Men run, the team roster changes with every issue, which allows Hickman to show a variety of character dynamics. For Hickman, every mutant in Krakoa is an X-Man, including former villains like Magneto and Apocalypse, both of which are fellow members of the Quiet Council that governs the nation.
If there is one character who is closest to being the main protagonist of the book, it would be Cyclops, who as a leader of the X-Men, will follow Xavier’s journey into creating a brave new world for mutants, despite the possible repercussions of harm towards mutants. While other members of the Summers family have their moment, Hickman’s run is one big ensemble piece where he uses the cast of thousands to tell whatever story he wants, as opposed to a traditional superhero team narrative that you often associate with the X-Men.
Ranging from political debates, black ops-like infiltrations to alien invasions, the stories can vary, especially when you get the sense that Hickman is going crazy with his world-building and grand sci-fi ideas. Whether it is a deep dive into the world of the Children of the Vault or anything to do with Fantomex, whose backstory going all the way back to the pages of Grant Morrison’s New X-Men has always gone over my head. That said, the aforementioned Children of the Vault get the best storyline, as issues #5, #18 and #19 show Darwin, Synch, and X-23 infiltrating the Children's base of operations in Ecuador, where time flows differently as they survive many attacks and gathers intelligence for the next 100 years.
Hickman’s best writing is when he is more character-focused, as evident in his Giant-Size X-Men issues, each of which solely focused one character, whilst artists like Russell Dauterman get to flex their muscles with the Jean Grey/Emma Frost issue being a visually stunning tribute to Frank Quitely-drawn New X-Men #121. There are certain characters that Hickman brings out some amazing characterization, ranging from Magneto, Nightcrawler, Storm to Cyclops, who may try to fulfil his mentor’s dream, but even is not entirely on board with some of Krakoa’s traditions, such as a crucible. However, the standout is Mystique whose sole focus is about her difficult allegiance with the X-Men, just so that Mystique can request the resurrection of her beloved. Although Krakoa is seen to be this utopia for mutants, there is the worry that it would slowly become a dystopia, as depicted through the eyes of Mystique, setting up a new antagonist that the Krakoan leaders do not expect.
With a variety of artists across these twenty-three issues, the series can be visually jarring, but most of the artists deliver their A-game, as evident in the final issue that showcases the first Hellfire Gala where mutants get to show off their extravagant fashion sense that could rival the Met Gala. By the time you finish the omnibus, you are not witnessing the end of the Krakoan era, let alone Hickman’s time within this era as he wrote one last story afterwards with Inferno. As for his X-Men run, Hickman is not interested in telling a superhero team narrative, but a nation with its many inhabitants that have their own story to tell as they are living in a brave new world that is always under threat, outside and within.
Usually when it comes to the X-Men, it’s like the Avengers or the Guardians of the Galaxy, a creative team would pick a selected bunch of characters that will be the roster which will cover the run. In the case of Hickman’s X-Men run, the team roster changes with every issue, which allows Hickman to show a variety of character dynamics. For Hickman, every mutant in Krakoa is an X-Man, including former villains like Magneto and Apocalypse, both of which are fellow members of the Quiet Council that governs the nation.
If there is one character who is closest to being the main protagonist of the book, it would be Cyclops, who as a leader of the X-Men, will follow Xavier’s journey into creating a brave new world for mutants, despite the possible repercussions of harm towards mutants. While other members of the Summers family have their moment, Hickman’s run is one big ensemble piece where he uses the cast of thousands to tell whatever story he wants, as opposed to a traditional superhero team narrative that you often associate with the X-Men.
Ranging from political debates, black ops-like infiltrations to alien invasions, the stories can vary, especially when you get the sense that Hickman is going crazy with his world-building and grand sci-fi ideas. Whether it is a deep dive into the world of the Children of the Vault or anything to do with Fantomex, whose backstory going all the way back to the pages of Grant Morrison’s New X-Men has always gone over my head. That said, the aforementioned Children of the Vault get the best storyline, as issues #5, #18 and #19 show Darwin, Synch, and X-23 infiltrating the Children's base of operations in Ecuador, where time flows differently as they survive many attacks and gathers intelligence for the next 100 years.
Hickman’s best writing is when he is more character-focused, as evident in his Giant-Size X-Men issues, each of which solely focused one character, whilst artists like Russell Dauterman get to flex their muscles with the Jean Grey/Emma Frost issue being a visually stunning tribute to Frank Quitely-drawn New X-Men #121. There are certain characters that Hickman brings out some amazing characterization, ranging from Magneto, Nightcrawler, Storm to Cyclops, who may try to fulfil his mentor’s dream, but even is not entirely on board with some of Krakoa’s traditions, such as a crucible. However, the standout is Mystique whose sole focus is about her difficult allegiance with the X-Men, just so that Mystique can request the resurrection of her beloved. Although Krakoa is seen to be this utopia for mutants, there is the worry that it would slowly become a dystopia, as depicted through the eyes of Mystique, setting up a new antagonist that the Krakoan leaders do not expect.
With a variety of artists across these twenty-three issues, the series can be visually jarring, but most of the artists deliver their A-game, as evident in the final issue that showcases the first Hellfire Gala where mutants get to show off their extravagant fashion sense that could rival the Met Gala. By the time you finish the omnibus, you are not witnessing the end of the Krakoan era, let alone Hickman’s time within this era as he wrote one last story afterwards with Inferno. As for his X-Men run, Hickman is not interested in telling a superhero team narrative, but a nation with its many inhabitants that have their own story to tell as they are living in a brave new world that is always under threat, outside and within.
September 15, 2022
Hickman is so frustrating. His ideas are wonderfully fantastical in the Grant Morrison sense, but he goes all in on weirding up the plot where it becomes obtuse and impossible to follow, while his characters become shallow blips on the side of the road. Seriously, I’ve seen mannequins with more personality.
The trouble also is the X-Men. On paper, they’re a super cool team. Except in 2022, there’s a thousand concurrent, interweaving storylines, lateral and sub-team ups. Where, if the story builds upon various plot lines and you haven’t read them all, you will be horribly and irrevocably lost.
But how about that artwork.
The trouble also is the X-Men. On paper, they’re a super cool team. Except in 2022, there’s a thousand concurrent, interweaving storylines, lateral and sub-team ups. Where, if the story builds upon various plot lines and you haven’t read them all, you will be horribly and irrevocably lost.
But how about that artwork.
April 7, 2022
It's incredible. It's dense. It's an overarching and expansive look at the world and people of the Krakoan era of X-Men. That said, this is not much of a "super hero book". Hickman is much more interested in worldbuilding, character moments and connections and continuity complexity and depth. And he knocks it out of the park with that goal throughout. Every issue is so full of stuff that it's hard to describe just how much content is packed into these 23 chapters. It reads a lot more like Bronze Age comics with how much story is in each issue. And I mean that in the best possible way. The "decompressed" era was B O R I N G and this is anything but.
Obviously read House of X/Powers of X first, and probably pick up X of Swords for the middle and The Hellfire Gala & Inferno for the epic finale, but if you're any kind of X-fan, read this run. You will not be dissapointed.
Obviously read House of X/Powers of X first, and probably pick up X of Swords for the middle and The Hellfire Gala & Inferno for the epic finale, but if you're any kind of X-fan, read this run. You will not be dissapointed.
April 3, 2022
After the amazing start that was House of X / Powers of X, this becomes a discombobulated mess that jumps all over the place, even when including the #13-15 issues of the separate X of Swords book in the reading experience. Some great art, but cohesion sorely lacking. I really wanted to like this…
November 19, 2023
X-Men by Jonathan Hickman and various artists.
Jonathan Hickman shakes up the X universe, and makes a new playground for the X-Men that contains so many ideas to play with. The Vault, the orchis, Krakoa, no more Mansion, no more school, and the mutants, focusing on, well the mutants.. Hickman knows his X stuff and pays tribune to the masters before him. His X-Men is very similair with Claremont in a way, but also very much his own. Sciencefiction plays a big part, huge teams, a big world that is used in a big way. Lots of ideas are fantastic but i do have some issues with The Crucible. Its get used alot and its a cool feature, but it also takes way tension and the sense that people can die (altthough death is never infinite in comics) its also very noticable that former villains like Apocalypse and Magneto have big roles and Professor X is almost villain like aswell, but again Hickman knows his X-Men and its core members. Not every issue is good, it has some filler, but Hickman does resurrect the Xmen in a good way nontheless.
3.5 stars
Jonathan Hickman shakes up the X universe, and makes a new playground for the X-Men that contains so many ideas to play with. The Vault, the orchis, Krakoa, no more Mansion, no more school, and the mutants, focusing on, well the mutants.. Hickman knows his X stuff and pays tribune to the masters before him. His X-Men is very similair with Claremont in a way, but also very much his own. Sciencefiction plays a big part, huge teams, a big world that is used in a big way. Lots of ideas are fantastic but i do have some issues with The Crucible. Its get used alot and its a cool feature, but it also takes way tension and the sense that people can die (altthough death is never infinite in comics) its also very noticable that former villains like Apocalypse and Magneto have big roles and Professor X is almost villain like aswell, but again Hickman knows his X-Men and its core members. Not every issue is good, it has some filler, but Hickman does resurrect the Xmen in a good way nontheless.
3.5 stars
June 2, 2023
I didn't really know what was going on... I think this issue was made to start off the individual issues for different characters/teams so I really only got bits of story but the Children of the Vault arc is completed and it was great. The art is stunning!
August 28, 2023
Me gustó mucho. Es verdad que leyendo las otras series se entiende mejor el contexto, pero las historias que plantea Hickman son muy buenas y se entienden por sí mismas. Ahora me queda Inferno que es el cierre de esto.
April 9, 2023
Love this iteration of the X-Men, trying my best to catch up before I go back and read some older stuff.
Really looking forward to seeing what's next in the Krakoa saga.
Really looking forward to seeing what's next in the Krakoa saga.
February 25, 2024
Mixed feelings... which is how I usually feel about Hickman's work for Marvel. I usually dig ambitious, high scifi. Some really cool concepts are explored here and there's also a lot of political manoeuvring. Hickman's dense plot-lines do fascinate me on an intellectual level, but I need more focus on the characters to really give a damn. A dash humor would counterbalance the gravitas of it all. Why so serious?
3.5 stars
3.5 stars
July 17, 2022
First reread since reading the issues. The omnibus collects xmen and giant size xmen, but it’s missing the x of swords tie in issues.
Hickman’s Xmen series was always interesting, and some of these issues are the best of the Dawn of X line. The art is great for the most part, though I do think Linel Francis Yu maybe wasn’t the best fit. There was a general sense of alienation to Hickman’s writing, which led many to have “are the xmen the bad guys now” takes, and I don’t think Yu’s stiff figures and sometimes creepy faces really helped that. It didn’t strike the balance of tone that Larry’s and Silva did in Hox Pox.
My biggest complaint is more about the whole line, which falls in part on Hickman as the “Head of X” and a bit on some of the other writers in the line (many of whom just didn’t bring their A game or enough imagination) but probably the bulk of the blame belongs to the editors at Marvel. Head of X or not, I cannot imagine Hickman had taken on all the roles of an editor, and everything I have read from him and others make it sound like he was primarily supportive and hands off.
Either way, my main problem is that the line felt far too unfocused. Sure, the close collaboration they had let them do fun stuff with the timeline, but it really feels like there were some major gaps in story potential and a real lack of focus. Many of these issues feel like Hickman is tossing up layups for some other writer who never takes the ball. Maybe he was planting seeds for himself for later, and maybe his early exit was what fucked everything up. That may explain some of the unresolved threads in these issues but not the other part. In short, the line was a disappointment after the incredible height of Hox/Pox. The quality of the work put out by the other writers and the clear roadblocks that Hickman ran into (storm was supposed to get pregnant, Franklin was supposed to be a mutant, etc) when he should have been given carte blanche almost certainly played a part in him leaving.
Hickman’s Xmen series was always interesting, and some of these issues are the best of the Dawn of X line. The art is great for the most part, though I do think Linel Francis Yu maybe wasn’t the best fit. There was a general sense of alienation to Hickman’s writing, which led many to have “are the xmen the bad guys now” takes, and I don’t think Yu’s stiff figures and sometimes creepy faces really helped that. It didn’t strike the balance of tone that Larry’s and Silva did in Hox Pox.
My biggest complaint is more about the whole line, which falls in part on Hickman as the “Head of X” and a bit on some of the other writers in the line (many of whom just didn’t bring their A game or enough imagination) but probably the bulk of the blame belongs to the editors at Marvel. Head of X or not, I cannot imagine Hickman had taken on all the roles of an editor, and everything I have read from him and others make it sound like he was primarily supportive and hands off.
Either way, my main problem is that the line felt far too unfocused. Sure, the close collaboration they had let them do fun stuff with the timeline, but it really feels like there were some major gaps in story potential and a real lack of focus. Many of these issues feel like Hickman is tossing up layups for some other writer who never takes the ball. Maybe he was planting seeds for himself for later, and maybe his early exit was what fucked everything up. That may explain some of the unresolved threads in these issues but not the other part. In short, the line was a disappointment after the incredible height of Hox/Pox. The quality of the work put out by the other writers and the clear roadblocks that Hickman ran into (storm was supposed to get pregnant, Franklin was supposed to be a mutant, etc) when he should have been given carte blanche almost certainly played a part in him leaving.
July 20, 2022
hey queen! girl you have done it again, constantly raising the bare for us all and doing it flawlessly. i’d say i’m surprised but i know who you are. i’ve seen it up close and personal. (hickman combined the best of claremont and morrison. he’s made the x-men the most exciting thing in big 2 comics after two decades of [mostly] garbage. the way i view storytelling and my bank account will never be the same.)
October 28, 2024
Not really a fan of how the book was laid out. So many different stories that didn't affect each other or lead to a conclusion by the end. Felt like a mismatch of random X-Men adventures. The adventures themselves were interesting and fun though.
June 12, 2022
Hickman doesn’t write bad comics. Did this live up to the promise of HOX/POX? Probably not. But it’s still easily one of the best books Marvel’s put out in a while.
April 19, 2023
I'm a little conflicted about how to rate this one. I'll try writing the text of the review and see where that gets me.
House and Powers of X was bold relaunch of the X-Men line that came bearing all of the crazy ideas that you'd expect from Jonathan Hickman. With that out of the way, you could only wonder what his run on the line's flagship title would be like, and...it's no HoX/PoX, let me tell you.
Hickman's tenure on the X-Men book, collected almost in its entirety in this omnibus (we'll talk about that later), reads more like an X-Men TV show. Each issue or pair of issues tells a different, self-contained story about the various going-ons in the Krakoan Age of the mutants. This stuff is great for worldbuilding, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't totally absorbed by this book whenever I picked it up.
I like that Krakoa isn't just a mutant paradise - that'd be boring! This is a setup that's built on bloody and shady foundations, and the mutants now have these weird practices that are very cultish. Every single mutant is totally onboard with what's happening on Krakoa, so the reader is left to figure out for themselves if this is all really okay. Particularly, when the mutants talk about themselves and their relation to the humans, they come dangerously close to being prejudiced against humans themselves - gaze not into the abyss and all that.
But if you're like me and you dipped your toes into this run expecting the sort of plotting and payoff that we saw in his Fantastic Four and Avengers runs, you're out of luck there! Every time Hickman starts a new plot thread, he finishes it up himself a few issues later. The upside of this is that HoX/PoX, this omnibus and maybe Inferno make for a pretty tight X-Men story. I guess my problem is that it didn't quite meet my expectations, and idk, is that Hickman's fault? Of course, all this is complicated by the fact that the X-Men team was beheaded too early, so maybe Hickman did have a plan for all this.
All this stuff aside though, it's Jonathan Hickman. His writing isn't for everybody, but if it is for you, there's more than enough to like about his run on the title. The story is backed by some jaw dropping visuals, for which this omnibus is perfect!
Now, I do wanna talk about the omnibus in particular, because I have a few problems with what Marvel has done here. I'll start with something that I thought was kinda funny - Marvel has left out the X-Men issues that were part of X of Swords, so this book will jump from issue #12 to #17. What makes this hilarious is that the story does not skip a beat, and the characters even imply that the events of X of Swords didn't matter to the cast of this series.
Less funny is the exclusion of Hickman's issues of New Mutants, which I had to go out of my way to read. A lot of this book deals with the Krakoan X-Men's interactions with their old buddies at the Shi'ar Empire, not to mention the Empyre tie-ins. That storyline is established in New Mutants, and the simple summary in here isn't enough to cover it.
The most egregious one of all, though, is the exclusion of the X-Force issue in which someone tries - and succeeds - in assassinating Xavier. I know that wasn't written by Jonathan Hickman, but it does come up in this series, and early on at that! I was pretty floored when Xavier called out humans for attempting to kill him, and I started flipping back to see if I'd somehow missed this.
While we're at it, why not throw in Planet-Size X-Men too? It was one issue!
Overall, like I said before, you can pick up HoX/PoX, the X-Men omnibus and Inferno and have a pretty good story going. I did check into the other comics in this line, and I wasn't impressed with either of them. The story isn't as interconnected across the books as I thought it'd be - even skipping the Xavier assassination issue of X-Force isn't really much of a loss. As much as I've complained about the things that were missing from this omnibus, it's priced quite reasonably, so why not?
Just check your expectations as you go in.
House and Powers of X was bold relaunch of the X-Men line that came bearing all of the crazy ideas that you'd expect from Jonathan Hickman. With that out of the way, you could only wonder what his run on the line's flagship title would be like, and...it's no HoX/PoX, let me tell you.
Hickman's tenure on the X-Men book, collected almost in its entirety in this omnibus (we'll talk about that later), reads more like an X-Men TV show. Each issue or pair of issues tells a different, self-contained story about the various going-ons in the Krakoan Age of the mutants. This stuff is great for worldbuilding, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't totally absorbed by this book whenever I picked it up.
I like that Krakoa isn't just a mutant paradise - that'd be boring! This is a setup that's built on bloody and shady foundations, and the mutants now have these weird practices that are very cultish. Every single mutant is totally onboard with what's happening on Krakoa, so the reader is left to figure out for themselves if this is all really okay. Particularly, when the mutants talk about themselves and their relation to the humans, they come dangerously close to being prejudiced against humans themselves - gaze not into the abyss and all that.
But if you're like me and you dipped your toes into this run expecting the sort of plotting and payoff that we saw in his Fantastic Four and Avengers runs, you're out of luck there! Every time Hickman starts a new plot thread, he finishes it up himself a few issues later. The upside of this is that HoX/PoX, this omnibus and maybe Inferno make for a pretty tight X-Men story. I guess my problem is that it didn't quite meet my expectations, and idk, is that Hickman's fault? Of course, all this is complicated by the fact that the X-Men team was beheaded too early, so maybe Hickman did have a plan for all this.
All this stuff aside though, it's Jonathan Hickman. His writing isn't for everybody, but if it is for you, there's more than enough to like about his run on the title. The story is backed by some jaw dropping visuals, for which this omnibus is perfect!
Now, I do wanna talk about the omnibus in particular, because I have a few problems with what Marvel has done here. I'll start with something that I thought was kinda funny - Marvel has left out the X-Men issues that were part of X of Swords, so this book will jump from issue #12 to #17. What makes this hilarious is that the story does not skip a beat, and the characters even imply that the events of X of Swords didn't matter to the cast of this series.
Less funny is the exclusion of Hickman's issues of New Mutants, which I had to go out of my way to read. A lot of this book deals with the Krakoan X-Men's interactions with their old buddies at the Shi'ar Empire, not to mention the Empyre tie-ins. That storyline is established in New Mutants, and the simple summary in here isn't enough to cover it.
The most egregious one of all, though, is the exclusion of the X-Force issue in which someone tries - and succeeds - in assassinating Xavier. I know that wasn't written by Jonathan Hickman, but it does come up in this series, and early on at that! I was pretty floored when Xavier called out humans for attempting to kill him, and I started flipping back to see if I'd somehow missed this.
While we're at it, why not throw in Planet-Size X-Men too? It was one issue!
Overall, like I said before, you can pick up HoX/PoX, the X-Men omnibus and Inferno and have a pretty good story going. I did check into the other comics in this line, and I wasn't impressed with either of them. The story isn't as interconnected across the books as I thought it'd be - even skipping the Xavier assassination issue of X-Force isn't really much of a loss. As much as I've complained about the things that were missing from this omnibus, it's priced quite reasonably, so why not?
Just check your expectations as you go in.
March 26, 2023
This was an interesting and expansive read!
So this is pretty much for the most part Hickman just having fun like having random team ups, no specific team for the most part but just going around Krakoa and having fun like the initial arcs with Cyclops and his family, whats going on at the summit with the big 3 and having fun, consistent team ups with the Shi'aar considering his penchant for writing cosmic stuff and I like all the stories of it, and the one where they have to rescue Xandra was awesome and really gave a lot of cool moments!
The tie-ins with the brood story was good, then the different one-shots which looked at Nightcrawler, magneto seems to be setting up some stuff but its still a good one time read and sort of shows how content these characters have become and I love that, the stuff with Storm was interesting and they could have done more to explore like what really it was that infected her and why and so there's a missed opportunity there!
The stuff with King broo was awesome and then empyre was okayish, the best part was the Summoners and setting up the stage for XOS, like not kidding the stuff with Apocalypse especially in that crucible story gotta be some of the best Apocalypse is written, he is dominant, tough and those epic one-liners are just unforgettable and like the stand out issue here and my favorite!
The stuff with Synch and Laura was dark but also sets up Children of the vault/Post-humans as big enemies for the team and thats fun to explore too, plus not kidding that story with Synch giving him that deep characterization and again lost love elements here too was awesome and maybe makes you like them. Plus Mystique's plans and Nimrod.. those are done over the course of issues, like suddenly you pick up with them and I like it for that.
So yeah like I said, Hickman's pre-mature departure may rub people the wrong way but he sets up so much here that for future writers its a gold-mine to dig through and also some solid stories and plots and characterizations, and truly the highlight of what this Krakoan age means.
There were so many artists and because of that maybe it will be a bit inconsistent but you know some might like it.
So yeah overall a good read, sets up a lot of stories and you will have a good time reading it!
So this is pretty much for the most part Hickman just having fun like having random team ups, no specific team for the most part but just going around Krakoa and having fun like the initial arcs with Cyclops and his family, whats going on at the summit with the big 3 and having fun, consistent team ups with the Shi'aar considering his penchant for writing cosmic stuff and I like all the stories of it, and the one where they have to rescue Xandra was awesome and really gave a lot of cool moments!
The tie-ins with the brood story was good, then the different one-shots which looked at Nightcrawler, magneto seems to be setting up some stuff but its still a good one time read and sort of shows how content these characters have become and I love that, the stuff with Storm was interesting and they could have done more to explore like what really it was that infected her and why and so there's a missed opportunity there!
The stuff with King broo was awesome and then empyre was okayish, the best part was the Summoners and setting up the stage for XOS, like not kidding the stuff with Apocalypse especially in that crucible story gotta be some of the best Apocalypse is written, he is dominant, tough and those epic one-liners are just unforgettable and like the stand out issue here and my favorite!
The stuff with Synch and Laura was dark but also sets up Children of the vault/Post-humans as big enemies for the team and thats fun to explore too, plus not kidding that story with Synch giving him that deep characterization and again lost love elements here too was awesome and maybe makes you like them. Plus Mystique's plans and Nimrod.. those are done over the course of issues, like suddenly you pick up with them and I like it for that.
So yeah like I said, Hickman's pre-mature departure may rub people the wrong way but he sets up so much here that for future writers its a gold-mine to dig through and also some solid stories and plots and characterizations, and truly the highlight of what this Krakoan age means.
There were so many artists and because of that maybe it will be a bit inconsistent but you know some might like it.
So yeah overall a good read, sets up a lot of stories and you will have a good time reading it!
March 18, 2024
It’s a bit scatterbrained as a collection, and if I hadn’t read both X of Swords and Hellfire Gala alongside it—which wasn’t nearly as difficult as it could’ve been—I might rate this slightly lower, since it essentially lacks a driving sense of momentum. But taken as the backbone of the broader story Hickman and company are creating, this is quite the achievement. It builds off the exciting rebranding of HoX/PoX with more thought and care than I’m used to seeing from a major relaunch. The soul of these stories is familiar, and doesn’t stray too far from what we usually associated with the X-Men, but the trappings around them are bold and big and fascinating to watch unfold. All of the art is good-to-great, as well, and I really appreciate how consistent the style of this era is even when drawn by an ever-growing collection of artists.
The anthology-adjacent structure works, too, and, even if it does lead to some inconsistent plotting on a broader scale, it gives Hickman time to dig into various characters and ideas in ways I often found very refreshing. Are there a few too many issues that don’t amount to much independently or collectively? I think so, but even the “filler” here—although I loathe that word—is rarely uninteresting. My biggest complaint is probably how rushed the ending feels. After 20 issues (and more, if you include the crossovers), Hickman’s time as the lead ends abruptly. It feels like we’re still in the early stage of this story, and seeing its architect step aside from the driver seat this early is a little disappointing. Admittedly, he had spent several years on the book by the time he got here, so I don’t begrudge the decision, especially considering how definitive an identity he created. I can’t say I expected to find myself this into a mildly convoluted X-Men saga, but I’m glad to be here! I’m eager to see if the next phase of stories keep their hooks in me the way this one did.
The anthology-adjacent structure works, too, and, even if it does lead to some inconsistent plotting on a broader scale, it gives Hickman time to dig into various characters and ideas in ways I often found very refreshing. Are there a few too many issues that don’t amount to much independently or collectively? I think so, but even the “filler” here—although I loathe that word—is rarely uninteresting. My biggest complaint is probably how rushed the ending feels. After 20 issues (and more, if you include the crossovers), Hickman’s time as the lead ends abruptly. It feels like we’re still in the early stage of this story, and seeing its architect step aside from the driver seat this early is a little disappointing. Admittedly, he had spent several years on the book by the time he got here, so I don’t begrudge the decision, especially considering how definitive an identity he created. I can’t say I expected to find myself this into a mildly convoluted X-Men saga, but I’m glad to be here! I’m eager to see if the next phase of stories keep their hooks in me the way this one did.
June 12, 2022
Very happy I read this all in one go. Jonathan Hickman really does love to set things up and once you think he’s forgotten about what he’s set up he pays it all off. Highly reccomend this era of X-Men to anyone wanting to try X-Men for the first time cause while it may be a little lore heavy at the start its very easy to pick everything up and fall in love with these characters. My only real complaint is that since most of the issues are just one and done stories there were a few that didn’t quite meet the high standard of Hickman’s usual work but theres so many issues in this omnibus that even if you read mediocore issue the next one is gonna be great.
Beautiful art throughout. Every character is so well drawn that I find myself having a new favourite mutant design every issue. Russel Dauterman should illustrate every book his work on this and Thor is perfect.
However the main flaw of the book is that Glob is not in it so I have to give this a 0/10
Beautiful art throughout. Every character is so well drawn that I find myself having a new favourite mutant design every issue. Russel Dauterman should illustrate every book his work on this and Thor is perfect.
However the main flaw of the book is that Glob is not in it so I have to give this a 0/10
June 25, 2023
This started off fairly strong, then it got messy and uninteresting. This whole krakoa era to me is just a mess. All of the series are tied in in such a way that if you don’t read everything then you’ll get lost quickly.
I enjoyed the first few issues of this, but I didn’t read x of swords so that confused me in this book.
I’m started to get a trend with Hickman. He’s great at plotting and setting up the grand scale of things, but making you care about the characters is not in his wheelhouse. I just didn’t care about anyone or anything. Not being able to die took out all tension in this story. What makes the reader invested in a crazy battle scene? That the heroes may not all get out alive. In this they will just be resurrected if anything happens to them.
The family banter and slice of life stuff (which is why I love x-men) just didn’t hit the spot here. Overall this had promise, but ultimately failed
I enjoyed the first few issues of this, but I didn’t read x of swords so that confused me in this book.
I’m started to get a trend with Hickman. He’s great at plotting and setting up the grand scale of things, but making you care about the characters is not in his wheelhouse. I just didn’t care about anyone or anything. Not being able to die took out all tension in this story. What makes the reader invested in a crazy battle scene? That the heroes may not all get out alive. In this they will just be resurrected if anything happens to them.
The family banter and slice of life stuff (which is why I love x-men) just didn’t hit the spot here. Overall this had promise, but ultimately failed
August 4, 2023
Hickman and a slew of artists do tremendous work here, thoroughly re-booting the X-Men as a franchise in a way this long-term fan feels no one else really ever has. Hickman's run takes threads we've seen played with for years now--going all the way back to the Schism storyline--but makes them feel truly fresh. His investigation of what this all means for mutants as a culture separate from ethnicity, race nationality etc. is really interesting. Although despite some event interruptions (Empyre? Remember Empyre?) the main-line books collected here are all very internal X-Men about X-Men, quite inward looking. The storytelling is much less driven by the desire to strew punches, bodies and blood, instead focusing on world-building through characters, and I loved it. I miss the slightly more superheroic stuff that we normally get--you know, saving a world that "hates and fears" them--but this is really, really good too.
May 8, 2022
Hickman’s run has been great. It really feels like he’s tried to create something that bridges decades of very messy history and the ideas he has for the series future. I loves House of X/Powers of X, but I was also left with so many questions about this new paradise the mutants created. In this book, Hickman uses his own characters to ask those same questions, and it feels like a nod to the reader. It’s like he’s saying that you, the reader is justified in asking those things and what exactly is the cost of all of this. Hickman wants us to realize that you don’t get everything you ever wanted without paying for it somehow. We haven’t seen all the secrets, but he’s given us some hints and set up a solid foundation for years of storytelling in the X-universe. I loved this book, it felt like something completely new and like a story about a bunch of old friends at the same time.
June 22, 2022
Los 3 volumenes de X-Men de Jonathan Hickman, con los Giant size !!!, ¿que puede salir mal?, uno de los mejores escritores en los ultimos 15 años con una nueva visión de los mutantes.
LO BUENO: Hickman deja que su historia continue, que si la queria global, sea global...y todo sube, hay una politica inmensa en toda su obra, ese numero en que Xavier, Apocalypse y Magneto hablan con lideres undiales de su posicionamiento; el ataque de los Brood da miedo, mucho miedo , y lo de Arrako y el pasado de Apocalypse dejan con ganas de mucho mas, y cuando entran a la Boveda, pedazos numeros de ciencia ficción !!!, y hay artistas que se dejan la vida como el genio de B.B Silva, Rod Reis del que no sabia nada , Leinil Yu en la mitad de los numeros y un precioso Rusell Dauterman.
LO MALO: Hay momentos en que el arte no destaca, y le pega duro a la obra, hay momentos que Leinil Yu parece estar de afan y no te da un fondo ni rogandole, y por ahi esta Brett Booth y eso no puede salir bien.
LO BUENO: Hickman deja que su historia continue, que si la queria global, sea global...y todo sube, hay una politica inmensa en toda su obra, ese numero en que Xavier, Apocalypse y Magneto hablan con lideres undiales de su posicionamiento; el ataque de los Brood da miedo, mucho miedo , y lo de Arrako y el pasado de Apocalypse dejan con ganas de mucho mas, y cuando entran a la Boveda, pedazos numeros de ciencia ficción !!!, y hay artistas que se dejan la vida como el genio de B.B Silva, Rod Reis del que no sabia nada , Leinil Yu en la mitad de los numeros y un precioso Rusell Dauterman.
LO MALO: Hay momentos en que el arte no destaca, y le pega duro a la obra, hay momentos que Leinil Yu parece estar de afan y no te da un fondo ni rogandole, y por ahi esta Brett Booth y eso no puede salir bien.
November 29, 2023
Hickman’s main run on X-Men can largely be divided into three periods.
The first is what I would call the random arcs. Here are stories involving murderous botanists, posthuman vault dwellers, and alien invasions. The stories largely have little in common with one another and could come off very confused and pointless.
The second phase is largely defined by the lead up to and fallout from X of Swords along with Storm’s storyline explored in Giant Sized X-Men. These stories largely serve as satisfying self contained storylines with a true standout being the Fantomex one shot.
The third phase is what completely redeems this run for me. Here, Hickman expertly connected the previous events of House of X, X of Swords, and the various disparate storylines of the first period, creating an exciting and emotional conclusion to his X-Men series. The final issue masterfully ties in the countless threads of the other issues as the X-Men must come to terms with the emergence of Nimrod.
Overall, while it struggles somewhat in the beginning, sticking with this book was a great experience and led to a thoroughly satisfying conclusion.
The first is what I would call the random arcs. Here are stories involving murderous botanists, posthuman vault dwellers, and alien invasions. The stories largely have little in common with one another and could come off very confused and pointless.
The second phase is largely defined by the lead up to and fallout from X of Swords along with Storm’s storyline explored in Giant Sized X-Men. These stories largely serve as satisfying self contained storylines with a true standout being the Fantomex one shot.
The third phase is what completely redeems this run for me. Here, Hickman expertly connected the previous events of House of X, X of Swords, and the various disparate storylines of the first period, creating an exciting and emotional conclusion to his X-Men series. The final issue masterfully ties in the countless threads of the other issues as the X-Men must come to terms with the emergence of Nimrod.
Overall, while it struggles somewhat in the beginning, sticking with this book was a great experience and led to a thoroughly satisfying conclusion.
June 19, 2022
Great world building for the new age of Krakoa. Following up on threads from HoxPox and planting seeds for future story lines. Hickman really playing the long game with some issues that might seem disconnected at first, but always return in exciting ways. For example the appearance of Arakko which eventually leads to X of Swords, or the Children of the Vault storyline. Reading everything in this collection, it’s obvious he’s weaving a bigger tapestry. A big shame that he didn’t get to continue and eventually finish telling his story because others wanted to keep spinning their wheels in the status quo, but we’re still very lucky with what we did get.
April 26, 2023
Growing up in the 1990s, the X-Men were one of the biggest parts of my world. The characters and interpersonal drama in the comics stood in for the relationships I was missing in my real life. Sadly, not many X-Men writers have connected with me since then. Jonathan Hickman's contribution to the X-Men, however, will go down as one of my favorite comic runs of all time. How he completely reinvented so many characters and concepts, while remaining true to the core of their creation, is simply astounding, as is the hyper-organized and thought-out years long plans. It's hard to describe just how revolutionary his work on such a well-known property is.
January 6, 2025
3.5 Stars. Without a doubt, Hickman is great. My qualms with the omni are in its presentation more than anything. The highs are so high, but outside of those peaks it just feels like infinite set up. The Economic forum issue, Nightcrawler’s spiritual crisis, and the Synch/Laura’s story, while brief, were all incredible. But this is not a complete package, and it is made worse by the exclusion of X of Swords. Were that included I think this easily would be a perfect omni for the start of the modern era of X-Men, but its absence pangs in my mind. Hopefully X of Swords is reprinted soon or I find it in a bin at a con this year.
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