X-Men Red #10 - Review/Spoilers

[JB]

Outstanding.

We open with a data page, a poem written by Lodus Logos. It is about the battle at the Autumn Palace, the two forces that met to decide Arakko's fate.

The preview pages. Vulcan and Storm hovering and facing off in Magneto's Autumn Palace. He tells her this will not go the same way it did before. She tells him she went easy on him last time, "little King." He charges up and then the Autumn Palace and surrounding area explodes.

At the World Farm, the three aliens are opening up Manifold's body and threatening to unleash his power. They ask if their "sublime overload" desires this to which Orbis, now afraid, responds with, "N-no. Do not. please." One of them responds that Orbis is who they meant. Not good for Orbis. Cable's team picks up that things are about to go sideways and Thunderbird suggests taking the aliens head on. Cable says that'll be plan B, and turns to Khora to initiate plan A and Khora's power signature lights up. Weaponless Zsen questions this as Khora boosting Cable's power would be considered an insult on Arakko. But Khora educates her sister and informs her that the times have changed and assisting one another was never a weakness, but strength upon strength.

She boosts Cable who telekinetically breaks open the chamber holding the stolen TO virus sample, summons it to "Come to Daddy." The TO virus envelopes Cable and the aliens gaze in awe and fear at this new complication.



Vulcan attempts teasing Storm, asking her if not falling over is her move. Her stance hasn't changed as she brings forth snow and ice to counter Vulcan's fire. He is a furnace and she is the Arctic, she says, and that they are evenly matched. Vulcan doesn't think so and continues to taunt her saying she is too proud to die, too fearful. But he has died and now holds Hell's fire in his hand, he says, and will melt the Arctic. "The planet burns and I am that burning." She doesn't move, doesn't adjust her defensive posture an inch, staring back at him with her glowing eyes. I knew at this moment that she was allowing him to use everything he had, allowing his ego to inflate.

On the Keep station, Brand and Mentallo are watching their battle. Brand doesn't understand how Vulcan found Storm because her scans showed her that the Autumn Palace was empty. There's nothing wrong with her equipment so she correctly realizes the problem must have been her and what her mind allowed her to see. Mentallo suggests maybe she was hit with a psychic whammy. But she says she's been trained in psychic defense on a dozen worlds, even took Xavier's crash course, his "red triangle" protocol. Mentallo suggests it was Xandra and that she's pretty powerful from what he's heard. But Brand knows she's not powerful enough to get inside Brand's head unless she was in the same room.... unless she used a relay, a fellow psychic to carry her signal. Mentallo starts sweating.

She bodyslides a gun into her hand and points it at him, realizing that Mentallo is all about money, his loyalty goes to the highest bidder. Who has more money than her SHIELD black budget? Enter Sunspot, Deathbird, and Xandra, teleported in by Syzya of the Smoke.

Cable punches Orbis into a wall, Orbis now unable to move. The three aliens are disgusted by Cable's use of the "glory of the Phalanx contagion" and attack him, freeing Manifold from their grip. Weaponless tells him to "Do something!" since he's the most powerful of them but he can't use his powers in a place with no windows. He can't see, but then...



He teleports the aliens outside, "all the way outside." Cable says they got everything they need, the TO virus back and intel, as well as what Weaponless saw so that she can paint the future later. Time to go. Wiz Kid in the spaceship is being chased by those progenitors we saw last issue. Manifold appears next to him, saying he doesn't have the strength to take the whole ship, just Wiz Kid. Perfect timing as they teleport away seconds before the progenitors destroy the ship.

Xandra confronts Brand on her crimes and asks her what she says in her defense. She says galactic peace makes for strong neighbors, and she'd rather have weak ones. Xandra is like whatever with your excuses, do you really have nothing else to say? The only thing she has to say is that she copied Kid Cable's tech the day they met and then she bodyslides away. She appears somewhere in a very secret location. She's annoyed, can't believe she has to start all over again.

"Abigail Thanriaguiaxus." Startled, she looks up to see the Fisher King sitting across from her. He tells "Abigail Born-as-Axus-Ended" that her grand plans are dust. Her road ends here. She is an enemy of Arakko and for their enemies, there is only destruction of all that she is.

"NOTHING!" Vulcan is losing his temper as Storm does not attack him as she's in complete defense mode. She's calmly countering everything he's throwing at her but the snow is gone, the wind is dry as dust. The sky is fire and her weather is gone. He concentrates his powers and fires a blast at her which she deflects. Now is her moment. A sudden downpour of rain extinguishes him and his fire and he is completely confused.

Storm: "Omega against Omega. My gift will always match yours. Thus, combat is decided by how we apply them. What you saw as weakness was my restraint...

*takes a long sip of tea*


Teamwork baby! He thinks himself a King so he only fights as one. But she has no subjects, she says, only equals. Wrongslide, Sobunar, and Lodus appear up on a hill. Wrongslide formed an underground chamber that was filled with Sobunar's endless ocean. Lodus shielded it with a lining of mysterium. These are her people.

Vulcan is throwing a tantrum saying he respected her but that she needed a team to defeat him. Lodus encases him in a shell of mysterium, "a mysterium throne fit tight and snug, measured for all time." It will hold him and his fire and even become stronger the more he tries to force his way out. Storm tells Wrongslide that he could probably escape but it would require a subtlety of approach. But he's an Omega that evolved during death and he may evolve again, or not.

[JB]

Data page, a report from Cable:
- He's disappointed that Brand escaped. (But we the reader know Fisher King knew where she would be and Cable sends a private note to Roberto, asking him to come see him after he figures out if he's the scorpion or the frog - an old parable about how sometimes we can't resist doing harm even if it's against our best interests.)
- Relations between the Shi'ar and the Kree/Skrull are still on thin ice despite Roberto's connections smoothing over Vulcan's stunt, something Storm will be watching for as she continues her role as Voice of Sol.
- Wiz Kid is taking over Brand's role as Station Commander while Cable resumes his position as Security Chief, Agent of SWORD. He prefers this as he's happier in the field. Manifold, Frenzy, and Random are happy to stay onboard and Khora has shown interest in joining as an Arakkii liaison. Mentallo quit and Thunderbird told Cable to go **** himself so he won't be joining, for now anyway.
- Weaponless Zsen won't be coming back to Arakko so Cable gave her Blackjack's number (the galactic space rabbit dude). Cable asked her to paint Orbis Stellaris (her power is to paint the truth) and the results were troubling. The setting had an old-world, Edwardian or Victorian quality. A sickly, thin man. There were scattered playing cards everywhere, all black aces...

Back at the World Farm, the person inside the Orbis globe orders it to open. He then orders the Progenitors to prepare a new Orbis shell. Without the shell his ancient body would die and he simply has too much to do to die now. The mutants of Earth deserve his vengeance in full measure...



BONUS! From Al Ewing's newsletter yesterday:
"This is a good time to mention that X-MEN RED has been high on many end-of-year lists this year - it seems what me and art maven Stefano Caselli did really struck a strong chord with critics and readers, hence us being able to continue on past Sins into a new story which we'll be dropping all manner of cryptic hints about in the next few months. Thanks for everyone who thought of us and spread the good word - it's highly appreciated!"

Excellent conclusion to an amazing 10-issue arc. I'm excited for what's in store next.

The coming together teamwork theme culminated beautifully here and it's no small thing that an entire culture has shifted. It was perfect and Storm handled Vulcan the way I was hoping she would. She outlasted him, countered everything he did, allowed him to burn and burn until he got careless and broke his concentration by trying to blast her out of rage. She has the will that he doesn't and waited him out like a patient Mother, while the literal reserves were waiting for her to activate them. Outstanding.

[Kingdom X]

Ah you beat me to it! Guess I’ll post this lil review anyway since it’s written:

While I think this issue was really solid, I ultimately think it had too much story to fit in before jumping into SoS. I honestly pray for the day that Al says no to these events and just tells his own stories. Even if he makes the best of it, it doesn’t always serve his own series.

The lingering SWORD plot threads wrapped up nicely, with Brand seemingly taken care of (for now). Cable’s squad did there thing and Roberto as per usual took care of business. Some of y’all pointed out the connection between Eden’s and Lactua’s powers and it definitely payed off in spades.

The biggest controversy around this issue will likely be the Storm vs. Vulcan fight. That being that there really wasn’t one, though technically this was longer than their first encounter. On the bright side, I LOVE that the book came full circle with Storm forming true community with the Arakki and all of them coming together to create new ways of life.

As everyone predicted Orbis is a Sinister, though we don’t get any more hints as to how that event will actually kick off. Bless that Arakko will seemingly only be destroyed in that alternate timeline.

Regarding the future of this book, Whiz Kid has taken over as head of SWORD with Cable, Frenzy, and Manifold still on staff. Thunderbird and Zsen are both a bit up in the air so I hope that if they’re not sticking with this book they find new homes soon (especially for Thunderbird).

They mention how shaky current galactic relations are, so I’m hoping in the next phase of this book they make the Voice of Sol/ galactic politics stuff (working with SWORD, NOVA, etc.) the A plot, with Arakko being the B plot only because I think we’ve reached a good place on the latter. We also still have to permanently deal with the three creepy dudes who altered Vulcan who apparently have a higher master than Orbis.

Overall would give this issue a 7.5/10, because while great, the story could have used some room to breath. Honestly, Ewing could probably use two books to tell alternating stories between the Brotherhood and SWORD.

[gambitxremy]

The witness is a clone of Essex

[gonnagiveittoya]

I think people got expectations very high because they thought this would be the series finale

[Steroid]

I for one absolutely loved this issue and feel like Ewing delivered once again. As far as the fight goes I had no problem with how it played out as it fits the overall theme of the series. I'm sure Ewing is going to catch a bunch of **** on Twitter with fans turning heel over a fight but I'm still fully on board and it's still the best X-Book going.

[JB]

Ah you beat me to it! Guess I’ll post this lil review anyway since it’s written:

While I think this issue was really solid, I ultimately think it had too much story to fit in before jumping into SoS. I honestly pray for the day that Al says no to these events and just tells his own stories. Even if he makes the best of it, it doesn’t always serve his own series.

The lingering SWORD plot threads wrapped up nicely, with Brand seemingly taken care of (for now). Cable’s squad did there thing and Roberto as per usual took care of business. Some of y’all pointed out the connection between Eden’s and Lactua’s powers and it definitely payed off in spades.

The biggest controversy around this issue will likely be the Storm vs. Vulcan fight. That being that there really wasn’t one, though technically this was longer than their first encounter. On the bright side, I LOVE that the book came full circle with Storm forming true community with the Arakki and all of them coming together to create new ways of life.

As everyone predicted Orbis is a Sinister, though we don’t get any more hints as to how that event will actually kick off. Bless that Arakko will seemingly only be destroyed in that alternate timeline.

Regarding the future of this book, Whiz Kid has taken over as head of SWORD with Cable, Frenzy, and Manifold still on staff. Thunderbird and Zsen are both a bit up in the air so I hope that if they’re not sticking with this book they find new homes soon (especially for Thunderbird).

They mention how shaky current galactic relations are, so I’m hoping in the next phase of this book they make the Voice of Sol/ galactic politics stuff (working with SWORD, NOVA, etc.) the A plot, with Arakko being the B plot only because I think we’ve reached a good place on the latter. We also still have to permanently deal with the three creepy dudes who altered Vulcan who apparently have a higher master than Orbis.

Overall would give this issue a 7.5/10, because while great, the story could have used some room to breath. Honestly, Ewing could probably use two books to tell alternating stories between the Brotherhood and SWORD.

Great review and thanks for adding it! I like doing the recap stuff but I struggle with actual reviews and dissecting my feelings on an issue so this is perfect. I do agree that it was a lot to pack into one issue so each piece had to move fast. But I love the setup of where things stand and what we can expect with Cable’s report.

[StormBorn06]

Although the battle is controversial. But it's still a good issue. I'm ready for the SoS.

[Kingdom X]

Great review and thanks for adding it! I like doing the recap stuff but I struggle with actual reviews and dissecting my feelings on an issue so this is perfect. I do agree that it was a lot to pack into one issue so each piece had to move fast. But I love the setup of where things stand and what we can expect with Cable’s report.

Thanks for the kind words! Always love your recaps, cause they get me hype for the issue all over again!

I for one absolutely loved this issue and feel like Ewing delivered once again. As far as the fight goes I had no problem with how it played out as it fits the overall theme of the series. I'm sure Ewing is going to catch a bunch of **** on Twitter with fans turning heel over a fight but I'm still fully on board and it's still the best X-Book going.

Bruh he already did… someone definitely called him a whole racist because he didn’t deliver on the fight. Like I get frustrations around having expectations not met, but let’s all be for real for a second.

[JB]

I for one absolutely loved this issue and feel like Ewing delivered once again. As far as the fight goes I had no problem with how it played out as it fits the overall theme of the series. I'm sure Ewing is going to catch a bunch of **** on Twitter with fans turning heel over a fight but I'm still fully on board and it's still the best X-Book going.

Agreed. This completed the teamwork circle Ewing was drawing from the start and it was beautiful to see them come together. Wrongslide being included was really nice.

And now we’ll move into a book with Storm’s name on it and I’ve always felt that’s where the camera will really zoom in on her. As far as I’m concerned Ewing is just getting started with her.

[ZephyrSurf]

Ewing has never been good at fights, so anyone expecting a big all out brawl from him was always going to be let down.

He's a talking, character dynamic, continuity and weird **** guy.

But his fights have never been his strong point.

[Rnap22]

Loved it. Especially when Brand mentioned Mentalo being a loser that worked for A.I.M. And I knew Bobby was paying him since he had bought A.I.M.

Vulcan is still a child with no strategy other to pound things. Storm is one of the greatest leader of the X-men.

[Steroid]

Bruh he already did… someone definitely called him a whole racist because he didn’t deliver on the fight. Like I get frustrations around having expectations not met, but let’s all be for real for a second.

The guy that actually walks the walk when it comes to diversity in comics having to deal with that is disappointing to say the least.

[CGAR]

Although lots of twitter comments dampened the issue for me because Vucaln or Storm DIDNT one shot take eachother down like omnipotent beings *eye roll* everyone really needs to stop with the OMEGA this OMEGA that

I get wanting a longer fight but Ewings take downs are in dialogue.

This issue was pretty good and tied up a lot of story beats IMO

[Cyclone_Ablaze]

OK, i'll say it here.

X-Men Red: 7/10
As a Major Storm Fan this was just slightly disappointing(In terms of the Fight). But, I still loved it. I honestly had to RE-READ this issue 5 times over. And my Conclusion is this:
This Book had TOO many Big Plot points to just be settled in one issue. Abigail Brand has already proven to be a Major issue and to take her off the board that fast demands a WHOLE arc all by itself. The Same goes with Storm vs Vulcan. As for Spades of Sinister? I think a lot of people called that since the reveal of the 4 Sinisters. The pacing of the issue was just very fast and I think the SOS could possibly had something to do with it.

Now, to talk about the Fight. Honestly? IMO I am a bit disappointed. Al Ewing stated that this was going to be "An EPIC FIGHT" his words. None of this was. But, in the end he did give the respect Storm deserves and that was pretty cool. After reading other peoples review on this book. They have the right to be MAD. I think both Al Ewing and Fans Hyped up this Fight WAY TOO MUCH.(Hell I know I did lol) But at the same time I don't think those people paid any attention to the going "THEME" of the Book. And I think we all should have seen that coming honestly.

So, I give it a 7/10 this was still good. But, too rushed.