X-Men Red #18 - Review/Spoilers

[ZephyrSurf]

Ewing continues to fail to make any conflict feel like it has anything resembling tension. A shame given how strong his character writing is in spite of that.

[CGAR]

Al Ewing really did ALL the heavy lifting for the Arrako hanging thread that came after X of Swords. And he did it brilliantly.

Althought I felt the issue was rushed and that I had hoped that the Genesis / Storm fight would be a little bit more intense. As always Al does that best with the page space he has and the art and dialogue were great.

He was the best at adapting to all the events thrown his way and moving his story from SWORD to X-Men Red.

Here's hoping he comes back to the X-Office because I really want him to write the Braddock family.

Edit: my only nitpick is that Jon looks like such a twink next to Blue

[charliehustle415]

Ewing continues to fail to make any conflict feel like it has anything resembling tension. A shame given how strong his character writing is in spite of that.

Ewing needs to write a book, prose is where his strength lies.

This finale was undercooked similar to INFERNO, it needed more space to build tension and finally explode.

It makes me wonder what Ewing is going to do with his final 4 issues in the X-Office

[Quill-Han-Vos]

Ewing needs to write a book, prose is where his strength lies.

He already wrote several actually (back in the 2000's and early 2010's).
He stopped doing that nearly ten years ago, once he started working for Marvel (Mighty Avengers + Loki: Agent of Asgard).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Ewing

"His debut prose novel Pax Britannia: El Sombra, published by Abaddon Books in 2007, features a mysterious Mexican hero fighting back against the menace of steam-powered Nazis.[8] It is set in the same Steampunk alternate history as the other novels from the Pax Britannia series. Three other novels have been published since, with a fifth on the way."

Prose novels
The El Sombra Trilogy
El Sombra (2007)
Gods of Manhattan (2010)
Pax Omega (2012)
I, Zombie (2008)
Death Got No Mercy (2009)
The Fictional Man (2013)
Judge Dredd Year One: Wear Iron (2014)

[Mutant X]

No comments for the ridiculous Kaiju-islands fight.

Seems like it was made just to leave Apocalypse out of action and let Ororo be the center of attention (like she has not been it ALL the time).

The mask proposing to abandon Genesis towards Storm pacifism doesn't make sense and is just another case of Ewing's favoritism.

A very dull ending for one of the most constant titles of the Krakoa Era.

[charliehustle415]

He already wrote several actually (back in the 2000's and early 2010's).
He stopped doing that nearly ten years ago, once he started working for Marvel (Mighty Avengers + Loki: Agent of Asgard).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Ewing

Ha, I never knew that! Now I gotta check these titles out

[Dizzystarr]

Ewing needs to write a book, prose is where his strength lies.

This finale was undercooked similar to INFERNO, it needed more space to build tension and finally explode.

It makes me wonder what Ewing is going to do with his final 4 issues in the X-Office

Isn't he writing the Resurrection of Magneto mini?

[king81992]

Throughout heaven, Earth and Mars, Storm alone is the honored one.

[Devaishwarya]

It's a bitter sweet symphony this life...

I loved it. I hate that it's the end...of Lord Ewing's time with Arakko. (Thank the Goddess we still have his RoM to come)

Highlights...
Storm melting the talking broomstick. (She really thought she could sway Storm by offering the two worlds? Bitch, please.)
Blue and Ironfire reuniting in love.
Sunspot blinding Ora Fisher Xilo defeating her with History.
Genny and her two children (a new Brotherhood) killing Orchis goons...putting that anger and war spirit to better use.

The Blood Dawn? Yes, please.

I would have loved a more comprehensive epilogue but...it is what it is. Which was still a damn near perfect run.

Thank you, my Lord and Personal Saviour.

[The Regent]

Genises is an extremely underwhelming villain for Storm. I can't take the little vines seriously... especially after seeing Storm hurt "The All Father" previously. Genises feels like a tool for the staff instead of the adverse. While I enjoyed Storm embarrassing the horsemen... they were fodder to her. The island fight was philosophical but silly at the same time also the war felt rushed overall.

- The pros are Genises planning for Storm to strike down the giant Kaiju only to use the flora within to create a gate.
- Apocalypse return and the humbling of Vulcan.
- Storm freezing the moisture in the air itself to create a giant spear to kill the titan.
- Storm starving the fire horsemen of oxygen and frying the water horsemen who she then froze lol.
- The dialog as usual is excellent.

[charliehustle415]

Isn't he writing the Resurrection of Magneto mini?

Yeah his final 4 issues in the X-Office

[Agent Grayson]

I liked this issue, but I didn't love it.

I've commented before that I think Ewing has trouble delivering satisfying resolutions, and I realised why when I read this issue - he seems to focus so much on the underlying 'message' of the conflict that he sacrifices the formidability and threat of the villain. At the end of the Vulcan arc, he did a great job of emphasising Storm's influence on the Arrakki and their embrace of her new principles, but Vulcan himself was defeated with rain. Here, Storm's willpower and ingenuity shine through, but the Annihilation Staff is destroyed with a single lightning bolt and Genesis simply folds (off-panel?). The anticlimax was compounded by the fact that the most I ever felt like there was a real war on Arakko was in Duggan's X-Men #25.

A few other complaints: this issue felt a little rushed - Fisher King's death was almost a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment; Apocalypse continues to feel like an entirely new character while Genesis swings between being the new version of him and being a blank slate; the islands fighting didn't really amount to much and I found the hug at the end way too trite.

That being said, for the most part, I can't fault Ewing's character work. Storm and Sunspot, particularly, had great moments in this issue. I also liked the fact that Genesis' forces were willing to fight on even after her defeat. Ultimately, Ewing did the impossible and made me care about the Arrakki, which I never thought would happen after their introduction in X of Swords. I'm really hoping that future writers continue to build on the work he's done with them, because they're one of the few elements of the Krakoan era that I'm invested in and would like to see continue.

I'm looking forward to Resurrection of Magneto. Anytime Ewing writes Storm, I'll be there!

Did I miss what happened to Nova? He was in critical condition last issue, but was his fate confirmed either way?

[nova3333]

I liked this issue, but I didn't love it.

I've commented before that I think Ewing has trouble delivering satisfying resolutions, and I realised why when I read this issue - he seems to focus so much on the underlying 'message' of the conflict that he sacrifices the formidability and threat of the villain. At the end of the Vulcan arc, he did a great job of emphasising Storm's influence on the Arrakki and their embrace of her new principles, but Vulcan himself was defeated with rain. Here, Storm's willpower and ingenuity shine through, but the Annihilation Staff is destroyed with a single lightning bolt and Genesis simply folds (off-panel?). The anticlimax was compounded by the fact that the most I ever felt like there was a real war on Arakko was in Duggan's X-Men #25.

A few other complaints: this issue felt a little rushed - Fisher King's death was almost a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment; Apocalypse continues to feel like an entirely new character while Genesis swings between being the new version of him and being a blank slate; the islands fighting didn't really amount to much and I found the hug at the end way too trite.

That being said, for the most part, I can't fault Ewing's character work. Storm and Sunspot, particularly, had great moments in this issue. I also liked the fact that Genesis' forces were willing to fight on even after her defeat. Ultimately, Ewing did the impossible and made me care about the Arrakki, which I never thought would happen after their introduction in X of Swords. I'm really hoping that future writers continue to build on the work he's done with them, because they're one of the few elements of the Krakoan era that I'm invested in and would like to see continue.

I'm looking forward to Resurrection of Magneto. Anytime Ewing writes Storm, I'll be there!

Did I miss what happened to Nova? He was in critical condition last issue, but was his fate confirmed either way?

Well - read it. As last issues go from Al Ewing.. Very sub par, too much shoehorned in methinks as it could have done with being a double length to make everthing come to a well-rounded close though Storm's battle with Genesis was excellent and was the two islands wrestling! But yes...very disappointed with Nova only making a token cover appearance and not even getting a mention in the prose or a last sec panel update. Consigned for the moment to be in a coma until as/when he gets more comic book time. I have an inkling Al might pick the batton up in another comic. Immortal Thor perhaps as Storm recently popped up.

[Agent Grayson]

Well - read it. As last issues go from Al Ewing.. Very sub par, too much shoehorned in methinks as it could have done with being a double length to make everthing come to a well-rounded close though Storm's battle with Genesis was excellent and was the two islands wrestling! But yes...very disappointed with Nova only making a token cover appearance and not even getting a mention in the prose or a last sec panel update. Consigned for the moment to be in a coma until as/when he gets more comic book time. I have an inkling Al might pick the batton up in another comic. Immortal Thor perhaps as Storm recently popped up.

I re-read Annihilation earlier this year - I miss that Rich!

[Devaishwarya]

I know he was augmented by Khora of the Burning Heart in that moment but has Sunspot ever done something like that before, on his own. If not, I actually do like that particular development of his powers going forward.