Immortal X-Men #10
The X-Men hunt down Mister Sinister in Immortal X-Men #10, by writer Kieron Gillen, artist Lucas Werneck, colorist David Curiel, and letterer Clayton Cowles. Gillen and company take readers into the mind of Professor X for an issue that ends with a chilling twist.
In the aftermath of his attack, Sinister runs to his last hideout. On Krakoa, Synch stands in for Hope and, along with Stepford Cuckoos standing in for Xavier, resurrects Hope. The dead members of the Council follow, and Xavier mobilizes the X-Men to go after him. They find him, break through his defenses, and bring him back to Krakoa. He’s relegated to the pit, and Xavier goes home to his biome, takes off his helmet, and…well, it’s shocking, to say the least.
Gillen has proven that he’s a master since he came back to Marvel. There’s really no other way to describe the work he’s been doing. Eternals was frequently brilliant and easily Marvel’s best sci-fi/superhero book. A.X.E.: Judgment Day was Marvel’s best event book since 2015’s Secret Wars, and an argument can be made that it was better. Immortal X-Men burst onto the scene and immediately became the most important X-Men book, easily wresting the title from Duggan’s rather terrible X-Men. Gillen wins for a simple reason: he not only can create amazing plots and has a massive imagination, but he understands these characters like no one else.
This issue is a perfect example of that. The Krakoa Era has been very light on Xavier. During Hickman’s time, he was basically a creepy, manipulative cult leader. X-Men (Vol. 5) #4 was the most that he spoke as an actual person. This chapter digs into who Xavier is and who he’s become, and it is downright chilling. He outlines why he’s done what he’s done over the years and how it’s actually the least of what he could do. Xavier has always been manipulative, and this issue goes into why. It’s a page-turner in every sense of the word; as the action against Sinister is going on, Xavier’s narration is there the whole time, and it’s downright enthralling. However, there’s a reason for all of this, for Xavier calmly going over all the ways he could make the world do whatever he wants. The last page is a doozy, and it’s the perfect bridge to Sins of Sinister.
Werneck feels a little rushed with this issue. It still looks very nice for the most part, but there are some areas where the detail isn’t as good–Mister Sinister’s defense chimeras immediately spring to mind. This is also the kind of chapter where the book’s main artist needs to do the work. There are still a lot of really fantastic pages and panels, but it doesn’t have the usual Werneck sheen. Curiel’s colors aren’t as affected, but he’s always Johnny-on-the-spot. His colors look phenomenal and help make up for some of the rougher detail in the book.
Immortal X-Men #10 is the best issue of this book so far, which is saying something. Gillen is brilliant in general, but this book really takes that to the next level. This is the issue that every X-fan needs to read even if they aren’t, for some mystifying reason, reading Immortal X-Men. Werneck’s art isn’t as good as usual, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad; instead of being amazing, it’s merely great, which isn’t a bad place to be. Curiel’s colors help that out immensely. All in all, this is easily one of the most important comics of the Krakoa Era so far.
