X-Men #35 annotations
As always, this post contains spoilers, and page numbers go by the digital edition.
X-MEN vol 6 #35
“Dream’s End”
Writers: Gerry Duggan, Kieron Gillen & Al Ewing
Artists: Joshua Cassara, Phil Noto, Lucas Werneck, Leinil Francis Yu, Walter Simonson, Mark Brooks, John Romita Jr, Scott Hanna, Jerome Opeña, Luciana Vecchio, Stefano Caselli & Sara Pichelli
Colour artists: Romulo Fajardo Jr, Phil Noto, David Curiel, Laura Martin, Sonia Oback, Marcio Menyz, Matt Hollingsworth & Matthew Wilson
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Editor: Jordan D White
COVER / PAGES 1-2. The Krakoan era cast, including some of the villains, make their way across the page, Official Handbook style – though at a gentle stroll. Some of the villains are included. I’m not quite sure how Gateway made the cut for this, but it’s nice to see him. (If you’re wondering why this is two pages in the digital edition, page 1 is the cover as it looks on the shelf, and page 2 is the entire gatefold.)
This is the final issue of X-Men vol 6, and the final comic of the Krakoan era – although some unfortunate scheduling means that Ms Marvel: Mutant Menace #4, which takes place before Fall of the House of X, also came out this week. The other X-book this week, Wolverine: Blood Hunt #1, is post-Krakoan, and comes from the new editorial office.
Applying “legacy numbering”, Marvel also regard this issue as Uncanny X-Men #700.
Daredevil Villains #25: Nighthawk
DAREDEVIL #62 (March 1970)
“Quoth the Nighthawk, ‘Nevermore!'”
Writer: Roy Thomas
Penciller: Gene Colan
Inker: Syd Shores
Letterer: Artie Simek
Colourist: not credited
Editor: Stan Lee
We’ve skipped issue #61, which is a rematch with Cobra, Mr Hyde and Jester. And that brings us to a guy who just marginally qualifies for this feature.
This is where I normally say: No, not that one. This is a long-forgotten one who appeared in one issue of Daredevil at the tail end of the Silver Age. But… yes, that Nighthawk. Kyle Richmond. The one who goes on to join the Defenders.
What’s he doing here? Well, at this point, Nighthawk’s only previous appearances were in 1969’s Avengers #69-70, as part of the Squadron Sinister. In that story, the Grandmaster alters history to create four supervillains that he can pit against the Avengers – Hyperion, Nighthawk, Dr Spectrum and the Whizzer. The Squadron are blatantly a knock-off Justice League of America, and the whole thing is just a thinly veiled excuse to have the Avengers fight the JLA.
The X-Axis – w/c 27 May 2024
X-MEN UNLIMITED INFINITY COMIC #141. By Steve Foxe, Steve Orlando, Phillip Sevy, Yen Nitro & Travis Lanham. The penultimate chapter of this exceedingly protracted arc, and at least it’s a half-decent closing fight, I guess. But it’s clear we’re not going to get anything at the last minute to tie this whole thing together in any very satisfying way.
RISE OF THE POWERS OF X #5. (Annotations here.) Right, the main event. And Kieron Gillen and Luciano Vecchio give us a rather more satisfying resolution than we had in Fall of the House of X. In itself, that doesn’t come as a great surprise – the Enigma storyline seemed to be able to play out more or less as intended, and Rise was able to leave Fall to try and make something of Orchis. But I had my doubts about how well the Enigma storyline would work as a resolution for the Krakoan era, as opposed to just being a big storyline that happened to be ending at the same time. What did Dominions ever have to do with Krakoa, really?
As it turns out, Gillen ties everything together remarkably well on that level too. Yes, sure, there’s a degree of arbitrariness going on in the plot. Stuff happens with Phoenix because, well, because it’s Phoenix and stuff can just happen with Phoenix. But you can get away with that if it makes sense thematically, and in the end Rise does bring it together. The latest explanation for Phoenix – there’ll be another one sooner or later, I’m sure – has them as an embodiment of mutantkind, and frankly, that makes at least as much sense as any other explanation that’s been offered in the past.
Wolverine #50 annotations
As always, this post contains spoilers, and page numbers go by the digital edition.
WOLVERINE vol 7 #50
“Sabretooth War, part 10: Coup de Grace”
Writers: Benjamin Percy & Victor LaValle
Pencillers: Geoff Shaw & Cory Smith
Inkers: Geoff Shaw & Oren Junior
Colour artist: Alex Sinclair
Letterer: Cory Petit
Editor: Mark Basso
COVER / PAGE 1. Armoured Wolverine fights Sabretooth.
PAGES 2-6. Graydon Creed’s final showdown with Wolverine is cut short when Sabretooth kills him.
Basically, Graydon turns out to have been a red herring – after reanimating the battered Stark Sentinels to keep X-Force occupied, he tries to give his speech about following the footsteps of his father’s urge for destruction, only to get summarily killed by Sabretooth, who doesn’t seem to care about him in the slightest. Even Wolverine is surprised by that.
The gauge in page 6 panel 1 is a progress bar as the armour restores Wolverine’s powers, as revealed later in the issue.
PAGE 7. Recap and credits. We’re told here that the Muramasa Blade that Wolverine is carrying is capable of causing wounds that Sabretooth’s healing factor can’t heal. This was a heavily emphasised feature of the Muramasa Blade which appeared extensively in Wolverine: Origins, but the one Wolverine is carrying here seems to be one of the blades that were made by Muramasa for “X of Swords”. I’m not sure these swords have previously been established as having the same properties, but they were shown to be able to cut through adamantium in X-Force #13.
Rise of the Powers of X #5 annotations
As always, this post contains spoilers, and page numbers go by the digital edition.
RISE OF THE POWERS OF X #5
“Now and Forever”
Writer: Kieron Gillen
Artist: Luciano Vecchio
Colour artist: David Curiel
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Design: Tom Muller & Jay Bowen
Editor: Jordan D White
COVER / PAGE 1. Jean Grey as the reborn Phoenix.
PAGE 2. Phoenix is reborn in the White Hot Room.
Or the “Once-White Once-Hot Room”, as the narrator has it. Issue #4 ended with Jean on her funeral pyre as it was set alight, and the other Dominions telling Enigma that if the Phoenix returned then they would answer his call for help. That plot thread then gets picked up in X-Men: Forever #2-4. In Forever #2, we see Hope lighting the pyre, and Jean being restored, but a confused Phoenix Force resisting its rebirth. In Forever #3-4, Hope and Legion destroy the Phoenix, apparently freeing up Hope to be reborn as the infant Phoenix (the small bird seen here), and completing the Phoenix’s personal time-loop. Meanwhile, Jean prevents Enigma from interfering with Hope’s origin story, and turns out to be responsible for Hope’s mother’s pregnancy.
We’re more or less picking up directly from that issue, although there’s no obvious reason why Jean is emerging again from her pyre again. At any rate, whatever the reason, she’s back in the classic green Phoenix costume from the 1970s.
Daredevil Villains #24: Crime-Wave
DAREDEVIL #60 (January 1970)
“Showdown at Sea!”
Writer: Roy Thomas
Penciller: Gene Colan
Inker: Syd Shores
Letterer: Sam Rosen
Colourist: not credited
Editor: Stan Lee
At his core, Crime-Wave ought to work. He’s built up over three issues of sub-plot as the top criminal menace in New York. He’s talked about as an unprecedented threat to the rule of law. Intimidation of witnesses and jurors is apparently a big thing. He’s a kingpin of organised crime and a natural opponent for Foggy as DA and Matt as his assistant. He’s not just a street-level threat but a systemic one. It’s precisely the sort of thing that works for Daredevil in later years.
But Crime-Wave doesn’t work, and never returns.
Issue #60 is where Daredevil finally meets him. But his on-panel debut is in issue #59, where Willie Lincoln meets him and escapes alive. That issue rather sums up the problems with Crime-Wave. It opens with Crime-Wave’s thugs demanding protection money from a corner shop. True, the whole point is that Crime-Wave is a systemic background threat, and the shopkeeper does refuse to testify, but it’s still fairly underwhelming stuff for an archenemy.
Fall of the House of X #5 annotations
As always, this post contains spoilers, and page notes go by the digital edition.
FALL OF THE HOUSE OF X #5
“The Turn”
Writer: Gerry Duggan
Artists: Lucas Werneck & Stefano Caselli
Colour artist: Bryan Valenza
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Design: Tom Muller & Jay Bowen
Editor: Jordan D White
COVER / PAGE 1. Nimrod fights Cyclops and Storm, with the other X-Men defeated in the foreground.
PAGE 2. Opening quote from Nimrod: “We have woken up, and now wonder… how hard will you fight for your survival? Or is this finally the day that you accept your fate?”
This is from Inferno #4, where Nimrod and Omega Sentinel were fighting Professor X and Magneto, and had just revealed the existence of the AI contingent within Orchis.
PAGES 3-5. The X-Men fight Nimrod in multiple locations.
The opening two panels on page 3 are a flashback to Feilong negotiating with Dr Stasis to become a member of Orchis, after the X-Men colonised Mars. In Duggan’s X-Men #3, Henry Peter Gyrich asks Feilong to continue with his plans to travel to Mars, and Feilong reveals that he already knew about Orchis and (as here) asked for “a seat at the Orchis table”. By the next issue he’s on his way to colonise Phobos, so this must be between X-Men #3-4.
Daredevil Villains #23: The Torpedo
DAREDEVIL #59 (December 1969)
“The Torpedo Will Get You if You Don’t Watch Out!”
Writer: Roy Thomas
Penciller: Gene Colan
Inker: Syd Shores
Letterer: Artie Simek
Colourist: not credited
Editor: Stan Lee
Roy Thomas was determined to give Crime-Wave a big build-up before he faced off against Daredevil in person. So not only did Crime-Wave get trailed in a subplot during the Death’s-Head story, but the next two issues are devoted Daredevil fighting Crime-Wave’s underlings. Last issue, we had Stunt-Master, an gimmick character who was an odd fit for Crime-Wave. This time, Thomas plays it straight, and brings us the Torpedo.
Another Torpedo will debut in Daredevil in 1975, and go on to be a supporting player in Rom. That’s a different character entirely. This Torpedo is a one-off costumed hitman. Hence the name “torpedo”, which is just dated slang for a hitman. So at least he fits Crime-Wave’s theme.
In practice, this issue is mainly about building up Crime-Wave for the next issue. It opens with Daredevil dealing with a protection racket, only to find that the store owner is too scared to testify against Crime-Wave. But Willie Lincoln has found Crime-Wave’s secret base and escaped alive. More about that next time. For the moment, the important point is that Willie is going into protective custody to keep him safe from Crime-Wave. You’d have thought they could just raid the address and gather more evidence, but apparently Willie is a devastatingly important witness.
The X-Axis – w/c 13 May 2024
X-MEN UNLIMITED INFINITY COMIC #139. By Steve Foxe, Steve Orlando, Phillip Sevy, Yen Nitro & Travis Lanham. Well, I guess at least it seems to be building to some sort of climax. But it’s still just throwing characters at the wall for no good reasons – Velocidad? El Aguila? This hasn’t worked; at least it must be over soon.
X-MEN: FOREVER #4. (Annotations here.) Since X-Men: Forever is effectively the last arc of Immortal X-Men, this is sort of the end of Kieron Gillen’s run… although it isn’t, really, because it leads into the finale of Rise of the Powers of X. I still think that labelling these four issues as a separate miniseries was an odd call – they make much more sense viewed as issues of Immortal – but the book does deliver a satisfying resolution to Mystique and Destiny’s arc, as well as paying off Hope’s messiah role. You can argue about whether the plot mechanics of Enigma’s attempt to alter history actually make sense, but that’s a standard issue with time travel stories. It works on a character level for Enigma and for Hope’s mother, and that’s what really matters.
X-Men Forever #4 annotations
As always, this post contains spoilers, and page numbers go by the digital edition.
X-MEN: FOREVER #4
“No Hope”
Writer: Kieron Gillen
Artist: Luca Maresca
Colour artist: Federico Blee
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Design: Tom Muller, Jay Bowen & Kat Gregorowicz
Editor: Jordan D White
COVER / PAGE 1: Hope enters a glowing portal, casting the shadow of the Phoenix behind her. This is the final issue of X-Men: Forever, which in turn is an extension of Immortal X-Men – although the story continues into Rise of the Powers of X #5.
PAGES 2-3. Destiny and Mr Sinister talk.
This is the former Quiet Council meeting chamber, in somewhat dilapidated condition. Even through Krakoa (the persona) is back on the island, it hasn’t taken its established position in the room. Unusually, Destiny has removed her blank face mask – dropping both her normal role and her usual distanced persona.
As in the previous issue, Destiny is in despair: all the timelines that she can see involve Enigma winning and her beloved Mystique dying. Sinister has two counter-arguments to reassure Destiny. First, as I pointed out last time, the Phoenix plan involves altering the timeline from the outside – so Destiny wouldn’t be able to see it until it happens. Second, Sinister claims that his own exploration of the future using his “Moira Engine” shows that Destiny vastly overestimates the chances of Mystique dying. He theorises that Destiny’s concern for Mystique causes her to pay disproportionate attention to those timelines.
