A.X.E.: Judgment Day--Week 2
[Note: this contains spoilers for both issues being covered here. I recommend reading the issues first.]
Immortal X-Men #5
"Meditations on the X"
Written by Kieron Gillen
Art by Michele Bandini
Colors by David Curiel
Lettered by Clayton Cowles
Immortal X-Men #5 covers the Eternal Uni-Mind's psychic attack on the Quiet Council of Krakoa and the Council's counterattack in detail after it was previously shown in Judgment Day #1. More importantly, though, this issue puts the character focus on Exodus, recounting his centuries-long backstory in as concise a manner as possible before focusing in on his role in beating back the Uni-Mind attack. I'll admit that I wanted more out of this issue, but the issue was still good--and honestly, this issue had to happen given how buckwild Exodus' origin story is.
Michele Bandini has really stepped up his game in the issues of Immortal X-Men he's drawn. I was really impressed with how he handles motion in the issue, using little speed lines to convey the force of Shaw's fist slamming on the Quiet Council table or Exodus throwing a telekinetic punch at one of the Hex in the issue's final splash page. He draws Exodus as an almost Superman-like figure by the issue's end, soaring heroically to Krakoa's defense, but never loses sight of what makes the character unique.
Like pretty much everything that's been done with Exodus since the start of the Krakoa Era, Kieron Gillen writes the character as initially unassuming, but with a creepy undercurrent to his intentions. Exodus is faithful to the point of piousness, deeply loyal to those he considers prophets and messiahs of his odd brand of mutant Christianity. He's put a lot of eggs in Hope's basket and is ready to defend her, the Peter to her Christ. His interactions with her in the issue, backed by the clean lines of Bandini and the saturated yellowish hues of colorist David Curiel, are actually very cute.
But... Well, he's Christian--Old Testament Christian, even--with all of the nasty fundamentalism that implies. Hell, up until his vision of the Phoenix in the desert and subsequent meeting with Apocalypse, he was a Crusader, carrying out the church-mandated genocide of non-believers. His declaration that he is the new mutant Pope seems to put him at odds with Nightcrawler's more progressive, forgiving brand of mutant religion; I get the feeling that the future event known as the "Spark Inquisition" we glimpsed in Destiny's timeline map in issue #3 of this series is alluding to something that Exodus will be responsible for, not Kurt. He's also shown to go through messiahs quite quickly, so who can really say how long he'll stay loyal to Hope? As he says, he's the rock in the hand of Cain, and there might come a time where his fellow councilmembers take on the role of Abel.
Exodus' long life and devotion to religion further gives him a unique perspective on the (very angelic) Eternals. He specifically seems to view them as fallen angels, if his psychic interpretation of the Uni-Mind as a many-headed dragon--a symbol commonly associated with Satan--is any indication. Like the rest of the issue, Gillen and Bandini present that idea in simple terms, in a way that makes sense. However, once again, the darker undertones to his belief system are visible: if he views the Eternals as devils who, like Apocalypse, only exist to be overcome, what chance do the mutants have of ever ending this war peacefully?
As the last couple paragraphs show, this issue of Immortal X-Men asks a lot of very intriguing questions. I'm eager to see them answered, either during Judgment Day itself or later down the line in Gillen's run.
X-Men Red #5
"The Hour of Uranos"
Written by Al Ewing
Art by Stefano Caselli
Colored by Federico Blee
Lettered by Ariana Maher
Issue 5 of X-Men Red shows what happened during Uranos' hour on Arakko. It is, like previous issues of the series (and more generally all of Al Ewing's comics), one of the most exciting comic book issues you will read this month, wonderfully plotted by Ewing and gorgeously drawn by Stefano Caselli, long one of Marvel's secret artistic weapons. Ewing's tie-in issues are often among the highlights of events (see, for instance, his Secret Wars tie-ins in Loki: Agent of Asgard and Mighty Avengers) and it seems that this is no exception.
The first 20 minutes of the action are detailed blow-by-blow, like an after-action report--which makes sense, considering that we as readers have already seen how things end. The other 40 minutes of the attack are once again left to the reader's imagination, which only makes them that much scarier. Those 20 minutes that we do see in detail, though, are equal parts triumphant and nerve-wracking: the Arakkii population knows how to fight hard and die well as has already been shown in X of Swords, but Ewing also just spent the previous issue of this series reminding us that almost every named character here is exempt from the mutant resurrection protocols. If the members of Arakko's Great Ring or Arakko's general population die, they're dead for good. Ewing even reminds us of this again at the start of the issue, when Isca changes sides and decapitates Idyll.
Uranos' armory is made to look utterly unsurmountable. Caselli renders the armory as a vast arsenal of Eternal supertechnology, from automated helicarriers to bizarre reedy robots to self-replicating liquid metal. Uranos himself is also presented as completely implacable, shrugging off Omega-level mutant attacks. He only ever puts in physical effort to literally rip Magneto's heart out--when he throws a punch at Ora Serrata, Caselli very cleverly draws him summoning a robotic fist from his armory to punch her instead.
But god damn, do the Arakkii put up a good fight. The creative team remembers that this is a mutant culture that spent millennia in a state of total war and rightly portray the defense of Arakko as a dazzling show of force. It's war, something that the Arakkii should never have been forced to endure ever again, but it's something that they know and do well. This is what a world of superpowered beings at war looks like. It is terrifying. It is beautiful.
And perhaps no one puts on a better show than Magneto. Ewing's Magneto is, as usual, a weary old man who can still move mountains without blinking. Under Ewing's pen, Magneto has now been put up against two personifications of his greatest enemies: the nightmarish eugenicist spectre of nazism in Tarn, and, now, an echo of the Sentinels in Uranos and his death robot army. Magneto's triumphant return at the end of the issue, the hole where his heart should be held together by either the iron in his blood or the creatures of Xilo (or both?) is an instant classic image, on par with Wolverine's iconic "now it's my turn!" in terms of final page "FUCK YEAH" moments. Ewing writes a perfect Magneto and I will at this point take no substitute, but if Max ends up dead by the end of Judgment Day, it will be a fitting end to the character.
Other observations:
- Immortal X-Men #5 includes something that I've been greatly looking forward to seeing in this event: a data page that incorporates elements of both the X-Men data pages and Eternals data pages. It's a very fun way to toy with design elements, and I hope to see more of this going forward.
- Exodus' vision of the Phoenix is the first sighting of the Phoenix in an X-Men book in quite a while. I'm hoping that it's a harbinger of the Phoenix Force's return to prominence in the X-Line.
- Michele Bandini and David Curiel's depiction of Exodus wearing knight armor bearing an X instead of a cross, wielding his faith in Hope and defense from Emma as a sword and shield, is another instant classic image.
- Stefano Caselli's skill at drawing nuanced body language is unparalleled. While rereading X-Men Red #5 for this post, I noticed that he drew Idyll slumped in resignation on the first page of the issue, seemingly aware of her imminent death and unable to do anything about it.
- Isca returns to her classic colors from X of Swords when she switches sides. It's nice to see, especially because I greatly prefer that color scheme to her "heroic" colors.
- The Fisher King is seemingly revealed to hold a seat in the long-secret Night section of Arakko's Great Ring. The Night Seats are one of the most tantalizing mysteries of Arakko and I'm very, very excited to see if we'll get their roster in full in the next issue of X-Men Red.
- I look forward to seeing Uranos and David Haller's battle on the astral plane in the upcoming tie-in issue of Legion of X.
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