X-Men #21
The new X-Men are finally unveiled in X-Men #21 by writer Jonathan Hickman, artists Nick Dragotta, Russel Dauterman, Lucas Werneck, and Sarah Picelli, colorists Frank Martin, Matthew Wilson, Sonny Gho, and Nolan Woodard, and letterer Clayton Cowles. While there's nothing wrong with this issue from a writing or art standpoint, it's deeply, deeply unsatisfying.
One of the more important issues of the Hellfire Gala mini-event, it's surprisingly light on anything that matters. Namor rebuffs Magneto and Xavier again with his normal amount of sass and then goes and talks to human heroes he was trying to kill not too long ago. The new X-Men are crowned, and that's pretty much it. Emma Frost talks to some mysterious people about the Kara Kutuca, there's a voiceover by Cyclops, and then the fireworks.
After a bunch of stellar issues, this comic goes back to doing what Hickman has done best on this book- nothing. Nothing happens in this issue, just like nothing has happened in the Hellfire Gala story. The introduction of the new X-Men? For months, fans have known because keeping things a secret in comics died at some point in the '90s. Namor sassing Xavier and Magneto? Sure, it's cool and all, but is it necessary? Is Hickman using the whole thing to say that Namor is going to team up against the mutants with the human heroes, the ones he was trying to kill over in The Avengers not too long ago? It's almost certainly building towards something, but if it's something that's not going to happen for years, who cares?
That right there is the problem with Hickman and this book. At first, his every issue, a single-story approach, was novel, but they didn't build towards anything, and the books that seemed like they were building towards anything were building towards something far in the future. The fact that the last three issues actually paid off storylines seems to be purely accidental. X-Men is ostensibly the flagship book, but it's barely moved any kind of story forward at all. This issue is that in a nutshell. It seems like it's important, but it doesn't say anything that's going to have any bearing on the immediate future other than a reveal that fans were told about months ago. This is supposed to be one of the more important parts of the Hellfire Gala, and it's just hollow setup for the future. Oh, and anyone who thinks the Kevin Feige appearance is clever and meta doesn't understand either of those concepts very well.
Luckily, the art is fantastic. Dragotta pencils the scenes between Namor, Magneto, and Xavier, and he captures Namor's sass perfectly. The Dauterman pages look amazing, as to be expected. Pichelli and Werneck are both in fine form. As long as nothing is going to happen, it should at least look good.
X-Men #21 is completely unsatisfying. Hickman writes well, and there's some definite setup for the future going on, but this isn't House Of X/Powers Of X quality, and it's not even close. If one isn't on board with the meandering, oh so clever riddles of the Red Diamond Sinister Secret pages, then it's going to do nothing for the reader. It feels like set up for the sake of set up and says very little. Now with more celebrity cameos! It's perfectly fine, but it feels like it's trying to be profound and fails at it. That said, at least it looks amazing. All in all, it's perfectly fine, but it's not going to whet anyone's appetites. It doesn't even feel like it's meant to; it's infuriatingly open-ended. It's endemic of Hickman's time on the book, for better and for worse.
