As always, this post contains spoilers, and page numbers go by the digital edition.

MARAUDERS #26
“Many Happy Returns”
by Gerry Duggan, Matteo Lolli & Rain Beredo

COVER / PAGE 1: Iceman fights Fin Fang Foom.

PAGE 2. Data page. It’s an opening quote by Iceman, talking about how his participation in terraforming Mars in Planet-Size X-Men #1 has led him to rethink (again) the upper limits of his powers. This is a common theme for Iceman stories.

PAGES 3-4. Sebastian and Emma take Harry Leland to the Hellfire Club Mansion in New York.

We’ll find out in a few pages time that this is Emma helping to ease Harry back into life after his resurrection. Harry Leland was a member of the classic line-up of the Inner Circle of the Hellfire Club who debuted in the Dark Phoenix Saga; he died fighting Nimrod in Uncanny X-Men vol 1 #209, as shown in flashback on page 4. By the standards of an Inner Circle member, he did show some genuine loyalty to his colleagues and he died semi-heroically fighting by their side; his depiction in this story as a basically genial fellow is broadly in line with his earlier appearances.

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As always, this post contains spoilers, and page numbers go by the digital edition.

X-MEN: THE TRIAL OF MAGNETO #4
“Verdigris”
by Leah Williams, Lucas Werneck, David Messina & Edgar Delgado

COVER / PAGE 1: Three intertwined Scarlet Witches – one in the centre, one upside down, and one apparently made of branches.

PAGE 2. “Data page”, though in the magical designs used in this series (note the parchment effect). The spiral text is a description of the sensation of being reborn, with the narrator finally recollecting that they brought this about themselves. Presumably, this is Wanda describing the events of the flashback that follows.

PAGE 3. Flashback: The Five resurrect Wanda.

This presumably happens between pages 4 and 13 of issue #2. Hope takes the initiative to resurrect Wanda (just as she quietly ignored resurrection protocols to bring back Scout in New Mutants #21. As Hope points out, the Five are essentially untouchable because they’re vital to resurrection; they haven’t done much to use that political power.

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As always, this post contains spoilers, and page numbers go by the digital edition.

NEW MUTANTS vol 4 #23
“The Truth Shall Set Them Free”
by Vita Ayala & Rod Reis

COVER / PAGE 1. The New Mutants looking down on us as scary dolls.

PAGES 2-3. Lost Club enter the Shadow King’s mind.

The previous issue ended with Lost Club arriving at the Shadow King’s home to find him standing over the unconscious New Mutants. We’re not told how the Shadow King wound up unconscious, though the art seems to suggest that Cosmar zapped him.

Once they enter the Shadow King’s mind, the art goes crazy, and stays that way for much of the issue. Rob Reis’s art on New Mutants is clearly influenced by Bill Sienkiewicz’s seminal run on the original title in the early 1980s, and that’s particularly clear here. The general thrust of the story (enter a mindscape and rescue the lost-child core persona) also seems like a homage to the first Legion arc from New Mutants vol 1 #26.

No-Girl, normally a disembodied brain in a jar, manifests on the astral plane with a body (albeit with a visible brain). Her psychic form is wearing a standard X-Men uniform, which presumably means she sees that as an important part of her persona despite the criticisms she’s made of Krakoa in this arc. Rain Boy and Cosmar also both look more human here, though not entirely so.

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As always, this post contains spoilers, and page numbers go by the digital edition.

X-MEN vol 6 #5
“Fearless, Chapter Five: Don’t Piss Off Polaris”
by Gerry Duggan, Javier Pina, Zé Carlos & Erick Arciniega

COVER / PAGE 1. A close-up of Dr Stasis (presumably), holding a scalpel, while his faceplate shows a reflection of a monster fighting Cyclops and Wolverine. It doesn’t help that this is the first time we’ve even had a clear view of Dr Stasis’s faceplate, but some of the red trim was visible in issue #3, and we also see it at the end of the issue.

The original solicitation for this issue read “The X-Men’s new nemesis finally makes himself known to them, bringing his creations to bear. Mutants may have conquered death, but their foes are all too living…” This is not really what happens in the issue – which has a scene where the X-Men fight some of Stasis’ creations, but not where he makes his own involvement known – so you have to wonder if the cover is a hangover from an earlier story concept.

PAGES 2-4. The X-Men fight the Reavers in Mexico.

The opening narration is a straight recap of the premise of the new Reavers, as established over in Duggan’s Marauders. Although they’re mostly made up of former mercenaries, their main motivation is supposed to be revenge on mutants for their injuries – from the look of it, they’re also taking on unrelated mercenary work now, but they also suggest that they were deliberately trying to provoke a fight with the X-Men.

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As always, this post contains spoilers, and page numbers go by the digital edition.

WOLVERINE vol 7 #18
“Auction of Secrets”
by Benjamin Percy, Paco Diaz, Java Tartaglia & Dijjo Lima

PAGE 1: Generic shot of Wolverine still standing after gunfire. Nice lighting and integration of the logo, though. (Remember the days when characters still standing after this sort of damage was something that only happened in Lobo?)

PAGE 2. Jeff Bannister and Maverick at the hotel.

This continues directly from the end of the previous issue, when Maverick picked up the quarter that Bannister had dropped and returned it to him. Percy writes Maverick throughout this arc as if he’s mainly motivated by money, which isn’t really the traditional take on him – he’s a lifelong mercenary but he was hardly an antihero in his 90s solo title.

The final panel is probably meant to light Maverick so that the shadows on his face reflect the design on his mask, but it winds up looking a bit odd.

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As always, this post contains spoilers, and page numbers go by the digital edition.

X-FORCE vol 6 #25
“The Edge”
by Benjamin Percy, Robert Gill & Guru-eFX

COVER / PAGE 1: Wolverine faces off against the surfers that he meets later in the issue. The fact that they’re all shooting at him kind of gives the twist away.

The previous issue ended with the under-the-influence Colossus killing Kayla and  then being approached by Professor X. That storyline isn’t mentioned at all in this issue, presumably because it does indeed lead into the cliffhanger of Inferno vol 2 #2. Instead, we have something… completely unrelated.

PAGES 2-4. Wolverine collects his surfboard from Forge.

Apparently, this is what Wolverine asked Forge to make for him (or rather, was about to ask for before he was interrupted) way back in issue #4. It’s… an adamantium covered surfboard. Right. I’ll come back to that.

We’re told that Wolverine is still waiting for something else from Forge, so that’s a dangling plot.

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As always, this post contains spoilers, and page numbers go by the digital edition.

S.W.O.R.D. vol 2 #10
“Triple Threat”
by Al Ewing, Jacopo Camagni & Fernando Sifuentes

COVER / PAGE 1: Well, it’s a S.W.O.R.D. station exploding with Wiz Kid, Cable and Storm in the background.

PAGES 2-4. Wiz Kid starts his day.

Last issue ended with the revelation that Wiz Kid is Henry Gyrich’s man inside S.W.O.R.D.. He was sitting right in front of Abigail Brand when he was talking to Gyrich, though, so there was always a suggestion that it might be a bluff. Much of this issue is devoted to teasing the possibility that Wiz Kid might genuinely have turned on S.W.O.R.D., specifically because he sees no real difference between humans and mutants in terms of the way they treat him, in particular as regards his wheelchair use.

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As always, this post containers spoilers, and page numbers go by the digital edition.

EXCALIBUR vol 4 #25
“Come Fate Into the List”
by Tini Howard, Marcus To & Erick Arciniega

COVER / PAGE 1. Captain Britain and Arthur fight while falling from the Starlight Citadel.

PAGES 2-5. Betsy and Tom Lennox in the Green Lagoon.

Page 2 is intercut with flashback to the battle against Merlyn’s forces which was in progress at the end of the previous issue. As we establish in the next scene, Excalibur wound up retreating to the Citadel, and Betsy apparently takes some time here to return to Earth and check in on the newly-resurrected S.T.R.I.K.E.. Which seems a bit lacking in urgency, but I guess it’s a long-term siege, so why not.

S.T.R.I.K.E. were resurrected at the request of Pete Wisdom in a subplot in issue #22, and this is the first time we’ve seen them since. They were a S.H.I.E.L.D. equivalent from the supporting cast of old UK Captain Britain stories. Tom Lennox, in particular, was Betsy’s love interest. Specifically, this group were S.T.R.I.K.E.’s psychics – the organisation itself was bigger.

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As always, this post contains spoilers, and page numbers go by the digital edition.

HELLIONS #17
“Trauma Response”
by Zeb Wells, Stephen Segovia & Rain Beredo

COVER / PAGE 1: Orphan-Maker rescues the Right AI baby.

PAGES 2-3. Psylocke decides to help Orphan-Maker.

Psylocke decided to leave Krakoa last issue, after Havok (under Empath’s influence) destroyed the A.I. copy of her daughter’s mind, which Mr Sinister had been secretly using as leverage over her. She told Cyclops that “I was tasked with keeping the Hellions in check. If only I’d known they also tasked another.” That referred to the clear indication that Havok and Empath had been put on the team by Emma Frost specifically for this purpose. This is the subtext of Psylocke and Emma’s exchange on page 2, which is alluded to in Psylocke’s line “I think you do know.”

Emma refers to Psylocke as a “Great Captain”, so this is after she was appointed in Inferno #1.

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As always, this post contains spoilers, and page numbers go by the digital edition.

MARAUDERS #25
“Night of the Comet”
by Gerry Duggan, Phil Noto & Cory Petit

This will be very short. They show off their powers and then there’s a fight. It’s not an issue that cries out for annotation.

COVER / PAGE 1. Emma Frost with knuckledusters. Which seems a bit unnecessary when you can turn to diamond, but okay. The “Hell Fire” on the knuckledusters echoes Kate’s “Kill Shaw” tattoos.

PAGE 2. Opening quote. I think it’s original, but it presumably comes from the period when Ogun was training / brainwashing Kitty as a ninja in the Kitty Pryde & Wolverine miniseries.

PAGE 3. Recap and credits. “Night of the Comet” was a cult sci-fi/horror film from 1984, with female leads.

PAGES 4-12. The Marauders combine powers to save themselves.

Iceman isn’t bothered by cold or lack of oxygen, since he doesn’t breathe when his body is turned to ice, but traditionally he does need a source of water with which to make ice. Let’s assume that’s changed, or at least that he can draw on a much wider range of materials. After all, he seems to transform his own body.

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