Sins Of Sinister: Dominion #1
Sinister does his best to undo his sins in Sins of Sinister: Dominion #1, by writer Kieron Gillen, artists Paco Medina and Lucas Werneck, colorist Bryan Valenza, and letterer Clayton Cowles. This is the big ending to SoS, and it delivers a good resolution while also suffering from the malady of many recent X-Men events.
Sinister and Moira are still standing in the Storm System, despite everything the Red Diamond Empire threw at them. As Moira makes her way to the Moira Engine, Ironfire attacks Sinister, as he wasn’t quite dead yet. Meanwhile, Beast and Xavier prepare to unleash their assaults against Arakko Station. Sinister convinces Ironfire to help him against the Red Diamond Empire, and he reveals his true power, destroying the forces arrayed against them. Sinister makes his way to the Moira Machine, with Moira defending him as he downloads all the information into it. However, he decides to try for godhood instead and activates the Inferno protocol, a failsafe he placed into mutantkind that sacrifices them all in order to allow him to ascend and become a Dominion. Unfortunately, when he gets out of time, he is greeted by a Dominion, who tells him that he lost. Moira kills her clone, and everything resets. Back in the present, Sinister is confronted with the enormity of his sins, as he is greeted by a message from Moira, who tells him that Mother Righteous helped her gain revenge. The Moira Machine is destroyed, and Rasputin IV steps out of a clone tank, taking Sinister into custody. Mother Righteous joins the party, and the three of them lay out what happened to the Quiet Council. Sinister is consigned to the Pit, but so are Xavier, Hope, Emma, and Exodus, all until they can be sure that Sinister’s programming has been cleansed from them.
Sins of Sinister has been an interesting event, and that’s putting it nicely. It tried to copy Powers of X’s structure - with the first bookend issue taking place in the present, the first phase taking place ten years in the future, the next in a hundred, and the last parts a thousand. This really didn’t do the story any favors, especially in the middle. However, the Year One Thousand issues have saved the story, something the last part kept up. The final part ties up all the loose ends of the story in a neat bow, an action-packed thriller that keeps throwing big moments at readers.
Gillen is an expert at this kind of thing. He keeps throwing bigger and bigger stakes at readers, upping the ante with every moment. However, even with all of that, there’s still something about this book that feels unsatisfying. SoS is just another chapter in a story that’s ongoing. There’s resolution to his particular plot, but there is no actual resolution. The unending nature of superhero narratives makes this a must, but it’s afflicted SoS worse than most because readers knew right from the start that none of it mattered. Of course, readers get Rasputin IV in the main universe, but other than that, this is one more step in the Krakoan story. Once upon a time, superhero comics like the X-Men told stories that ended yet kept the story going, but did it in a more satisfying way. That’s not SoS, and while Dominion is an exciting comic, it leaves the reader feeling a bit bereft by the end. This is just a cog in a machine. It will all stop mattering in a few months, and no one will think about it.
The art is pretty great throughout. Medina and Werneck have different styles, and never the twain shall meet in this issue. Medina starts out very well, but there are a few places where his style degrades a bit. This is a shame because the coolest scene of the book - Ironfire going after a planet size Xavier - doesn’t look as great as Medina’s art elsewhere in the book does. Werneck has had a couple of months, and it shows. His art is phenomenal throughout, which makes up for the very few weaknesses of Medina’s pages. The color art by Valenza is gorgeous throughout.
Sins of Sinister: Dominion #1 is a fitting ending for the story. The writing and art are both well done, but it can’t really fix the disquiet this story leaves in a reader. The Krakoa Era is one unfolding story, and at the end of events, it feels that way the most. SoS is all the weaker for it, and this ending plays into the feeling that plots are just pieces moving on a board.
