This is another review I write a number of weeks ago, but find myself going back to again and again as an example of modern comic book excellence. I've said it before on this site: I LOVE to talk about comics when I can pick through them, pointing out the various literary devices and artistic strengths. I get SWEATY about comics like that, and thanks to hearty efforts from every member of the creative team, X-Men #11 is easily going down as one of my favorite single-issues this year. I've touched this review up from when I originally wrote it as part of my week #28 Pick List, so there will be minor differences to that version. Continue Reading to see what made this issue so fantastic! X-Men #11 was written by Johnathon Hickman, with art by Leinil Francis Yu, and colors by Sunny Gho. X-Men #11 by Johnathon Hickman, art by Leinil Francis Yu, colors by Sunny Gho
Already in Dawn of X, there have been a number of X-Men issues by Johnathon Hickman that have stopped me in my tracks with their excellence. This week's Empyre event tie-in, X-Men #11, easily fell into that category. Alongside Filipino artist Leinil Francis Yu and colorist Sunny Gho, the new era of the mutants looks better than ever. I have a lot to say about this one, so instead of listing plot points, I'll try and stick to the meaty bits that I can really dig into and get sweaty about. In short, this issue was two things: a statement on the strength of the X-Men now that they have Krakoa, and a love letter to Eric (as they're calling him nowadays)--the infamous Magneto. The latter account, of being a love letter to Magneto, is visually clear from the first page on Krakoa. We see Exodus, one of the most dramatic mutants in terms of visual appearance, teaching mutants children around a campfire. This is a scene we've encountered before, in X-Men #7 just a few months ago. In that issue, Hickman writes that Exodus gathered mutant children around a fire to teach them of the Crucible. The Crucible is one of my favorite new mutant traditions brought in by Dawn of X: a ceremony where a de-powered mutant battles En Sabah Nur (Apocalypse) literally to the death. After sacrificing their physical body in a display of devotion to their people, they are revived as a full mutant once more by the Five. The Crucible was started in Dawn of X to begin the hard work of undoing the mistake of mutant Scarlet Witch having de-powered over one million mutants after House of M. While this is something she herself has recently started seeking recompense for, the mutants of Krakoa still see her as a "great betrayer". X-Men #7 was an issue that deserves plenty of praise itself. The way the Crucible was explained, alongside Leinil Francis Yu's incredible imagery, made the issue memorable, to say the least. In that issue, Exodus speaks to the next generation of mutants about one of their peoples' greatest foes. This time, he speaks to the children of their greatest hero. When we first see Magneto in this issue, he's in his home on Krakoa, floating as he meditates completely naked. His three X-Men costumes lined up along the wall neatly, in way reminiscent of Batman's cave of past outfits. These two visuals, the striking nude figure alongside his iconic outfits, send the reader powerful messages on how Hickman and his team want Magneto to be seen. The naked male form has signified power and strength since before English was a language. The most well-known examples in western culture are ancient Greek statues, where classical artisans spent unbelievable hours toiling to imagine the perfect body of masculine strength and power. These statues were almost always entirely naked, showing everything from men stealing away virgin women to men standing tall and unashamed, fully on display for your admiration. When Magik and other mutants burst into his chamber of solitude with news of the Cotati invasion, he does not cover himself. He sets his feat lightly to the ground and turns to see them directly. He stands tall, unashamed, fully on display, just like those ancient Greek statues, proving his sense of power and strength is not only physically well-founded, but strongly supported in his mentality, as well. The outfits he goes to pick from for battle are lined along the room's walls--red and purple, white, and black. They symbolize the various eras we've seen of Magneto. His original villain look is the red and purple, the white is his more modern Dawn of X look, and the black made appearances in Brian Michael Bendis' Uncanny X-Men, when Cyclops led a rogue team, including Magik and Emma Frost. Having all three of these era's outfits on display is the creative team's way of acknowledging their existence, and that they are still important parts of Magneto's history. Even more significant is the outfit he chooses on this day: his classic villain look of red and purple. Magneto has spent much of his life battling humans and fellow mutants in this suit, getting himself labelled extremist, villain, and all kinds of evil synonyms. In wearing the suit to fight for Krakoa, he's redefining what those colors mean. The classic red and purple that X-Men fans have long held synonymous with evil has become his costume of heroism to all his nation, to all mutant-kind. Letting his War Captain take charge of the Cotati on the moon's Summer House, Magneto takes lead on Krakoa. The battle is decidedly one sided, with the master of magnetism delivering blow after blow to the invading aliens. Alien is the important part, as Krakoan laws dictate no mutant can kill a human. The battle on Krakoa is over as quickly as it started, thanks to Magneto and the excellent battle skills of the X-Men, and he moves on to assist on the moon. All throughout these scenes, Leinil Francis Yu has drawn Magneto in traditional poses of power, such as the well-known "Superman" flight hover. He draws the former villain's battle scenes to appear almost effortless, casually throwing around massive power levels and hardly breaking a sweat by the end. Even draped in his infamous costume, Magneto is a sight to behold. Aside from Magneto, this issue was also a testament of the strength of the X-Men on Krakoa. Magik is their War Captain, a perfect fit alongside Cyclops' similar Captain position. The two battled together in Bendis' Uncanny years, and shared pieces of the Phoenix Force for a time. We've already seen some great interactions between the two during recent fights, so it makes sense she would head off to battle alongside him on the moon. This leaves Magneto as the mutant in charge on Krakoa, a position he handles extremely well. As soon as he gets to the battlefield, he's in contact with key players through the Stepford Cuckoo's mental links, and the plan is immediately in play. Through the quintuplets, Magneto locates Magma, with the mutant ability to control lava, and Iceman, who needs no explaining. He mentally asks Magma about a request he made of her some time ago, to search Krakoa's deep earth for a thick vein of lava she could tap into in case of emergency. Swiftly communicating between the group, he expertly utilizes his available X-Men's power sets to most efficiently destroy the invading Cotati forces. In this case, that means having Magma burst the lava vein into the atmosphere, at which point Iceman super-cools it, leaving behind jagged shards of metal for Magneto to use as projectiles. Not only is this an incredible display of how in-sync the X-Men are, it gives some insight into the world of self-defense preparation on Krakoa. If Magneto has gone so far as to ask Magma to find a vein of lava "just in case", it can easily be assumed there is a lot more creative battle strategizing going on behind the scenes. Further than those two aforementioned points, the issue still had moments that were just plain enjoyable. When two of the Stepford Cuckoo sisters begin their mental link with Magneto, there's a few funny back-and-forth's about mixing up which sister is which, and they josh the elder mutant about wasting precious time. It's not an outright joke, but subtle humor is definitively where Hickman writes his best laughs. Another moment of joke-less humor comes at the end of the battle of Krakoa, when Magneto offers the invading leader a chance to leave. He declines, so Magneto proceeds to drop increasingly large satellites on him until he stops moving. He does it so effortlessly, he doesn't even have to move. When its done, he requests a Cuckoo sister to forward repayment to the owners of the satellites, minus the secret American ones no one was supposed to know about. It's a laugh-out-loud moment, in my opinion, without ever needed to tell a single joke. The fireside chats between Exodus and the mutant children have happened twice now, so I'm hoping to see a lot more of that. It further sets up Krakoa to be a success, at least partially, if the youth are raised with Krakoan values in mind. The education of the next generation of mutants in the Crucible and teaching them to grow up holding Magneto as their hero is the hard start to a new generation and a new age for mutants. Once again, don't feel like you need any extra information on the Empyre event than is given in this one comic. As the final tie-in to Empyre for X-Men, this issue should be seen as embarrassing compared to the Empyre event. The whole event felt forced, backwards, and convoluted--just another twisted, mildly pointless Marvel event, forcing the same straight-white male characters to be the "reluctant heroes" again, when it's all their fault to begin with. This one issue of X-Men puts everything I've read from the main Empyre event to shame. *Post-Empyre conclusion update: If you're interested in any of the Empyre event, I suggest reading the Emperor Hulkling and Aftermath: Avengers tie-ins, alongside the Empyre: X-Men mini-series, only. They have the relevant information you might need going forward. X-Men #12 comes out September 12th and is the second prelude to X of Swords! I have a lot more hope in this X-Men-based event than anything else Marvel has put out recently, so it's fair to say I'm pumped. I definitely would encourage anyone to give this Hickman-led run of X-Men a shot, especially if you have any love for the characters and who they are at their core. Hickman tends to be a bit of a complex writer, so don't give up if your favorite deep-cut character hasn't appeared yet. I have no doubt there is a solid plan running in every direction for Dawn of X, and it has something for everyone.
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