The Marvel Rundown: Even Galactus Trembles at the sight of the UNBREAKABLE X-MEN

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Face Front, True Believers! It’s another marvelous Wednesday and that means its time for The Marvel Rundown. After last week’s jampacked coverage, we have another Rundown filled to the brim with Marvel’s latest books. First off we have journey to the Age of Revelation with Unbreakable X-Men #1 and in the rapid rundown we take a look at the conclusion of Incredible Hulk, the latest Godzilla Marvel Destroys the Marvel Universe, and more Dispatches from the Age of Revelation.

As always, The Beat wants to hear from you, True Believers! Tell us what you think of this week’s Marvel Comics! Shout us out in the comment section below or over on social media @comicsbeat, or @comicsbeat.bsky.social, and let us know.

Unbreakable X-Men #1

Writer: Gail Simone
Artist: Lucas Werneck
Letterer: VC’s Clayton Cowles
Cover Artist: Lucas Werneck

It’s the Age of Revelation and the X-Men have been broken and torn asunder. While New Orleans lies outside of the Revelation Territories, there has been no respite in challenges for the Haven House as Rogue sacrifices her safe to spare the world from Galactus. Years passed and a defeated Gambit finds himself alone and consumed by grief. Yet there is no time to wallow in emotion in the post-apocalypse, as the forces of the damned won’t stop rising. Can Remy muster the few remaining X-Men to stop the dark forces of the damned?

Unbreakable X-Men #1 represents the Uncanny X-Men title in the Age of Revelation. Writer Gail Simone continues her run on the book with this dark future tale full of emotional heft. While Simone’s Uncanny run has been uneven for me personally, I cannot discount her gift at writing Gambit and Rogue. She captures their dynamic so well and finds the romanticized ideal for Gambit especially. As a character, Remy represents a lot of things to a lot of different people. He can be sleezy, charming, roguish, and/or flat. Simone manages to find the sweet spot without falling flat.

Unbreakable continues this streak as we see a grief-stricken Gambit deal with the sudden death of Rogue as well as his eyesight. Gambit feels like the light has been taken out of his life. This is best exemplified by a page where Gambit is talking about Rogue’s wake while showing the passage of time around him. Each panel shows less and less X-Men around him as Gambit ages. The collaboration between Simone and Lucas Werneck really shines here. It captures the sense of depression following the death of a loved one so damn well. The isolation becomes deafening at times. All this anguish is underscored by Gambit’s narration “I want to laugh. I want to be Gambit again. I just plum forgot how.” Simone nails that ennui and malaise from the loss of a loved one perfectly.

Lucas Werneck’s art is great in the issue, as one would expect. The character work is dynamic and matches the emotion of the script. The way Galactus is rendered as an otherworldly god is fitting of the character’s stature. I love the design changes to Gambit’s costume that is morphed to honor Rogue. Visually this book looks fantastic.

The only qualm I have with the issue is more about its extremely tangential relationship to the rest of Age of Revelation. If it wasn’t for the editorial inserts and data pages, I would not know there was an Age of Revelation going on. I understand that Haven House is explicitly outside of the Revelation Territories, but more concerted effort to tie it together would have been nice. Even if was just a more explicit reference to Revelation. Of course, this complaint doesn’t really impact on the quality of the book or even my enjoyment of it. It is just a pet peeve of mine when it comes to these big line-wide blow-out style events.

At the end of the day, I think Unbreakable X-Men #1 is a solid start to this alternate future story for the Uncanny X-Men. Is it a must-read tie-in to the event? Not so much. However, that shouldn’t dissuade you from checking it out, especially if you have been following Simone’s Uncanny run. It’s a emotionally packed read that is well-crafted.

Final Verdict: Buy

The Rapid Rundown

Incredible Hulk #30
The Incredible Hulk #30
- Once again, Marvel ends a series only to relaunch what is basically a new storyline. Like this year’s All New Venom, Vision and Scarlet Witch, and The Mortal Thor, readers will get Infernal Hulk starting next month. Marvel’s first issues may sell great in the short term but how many more time can Marvel fool folks into stealth jumping into the deep end of a series? Anyways, this final issue doesn’t conclude the journey undertaken by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Nic Klein, and others over the last 30 issues. Kennedy Johnson merely puts the Hulk at a turning point. He finally confronts both The Eldest, now wearing Abomination’s body, and the door that leads to The Mother of Horrors. Unsurprisingly this confrontation goes badly. Nic Klein returns to art duties this issue after drawing the big Thor fight in issues #25. Once again, he displays his chops drawing some brutal and fleshy art (aided by the expert use of color by Matthew Wilson) in the battle between Hulk and the Elder possessed Abomination especially in a particularly gory splash page. The collaboration between Kennedy Johnson and Klein has resulted in some truly gruesome horror comics and Marvel is better for it. However, this issue merely ends a solid story arc, but not the series. Kennedy and Klein clearly have more story worth telling especially with where this ends and with Charlie still out there living under Lycana’s curse. Alas a brand new number 1 for a new series still sells better than issue 31 of an ongoing series. Why promote a brand new arc when you can dupe folks into checking a brand new series? At least, readers can take comfort in the fact both Kennedy Johnson and Klein will continue their collaboration on what’s been one of Marvel’s better books. – DM
Godzilla Destroys the Marvel Universe #4
Godzilla Destroys The Marvel Universe #4
- Godzilla fights Hulk. Godzilla fights Hulk. If that’s not enough to pique your interest in Godzilla Destroys the Marvel Universe #4, then I don’t know what is. Written by Gerry Duggan with art by Paco Medina & Javier Garron, this issue of Godzilla Destroys the Marvel Universe (or more accurately, fights the Marvel Universe since barely anyone is actually destroyed) may be the best so far. Just off of pure spectacle alone, as Bruce Banner uses Pym Particles and Wakandan technology to face off against Godzilla in a battle ripped straight from the kaiju’s media. The action here has been the best the series has seen so far, and it makes both Hulk and Godzilla the threats they should be. If the rest of the series isn’t as good as this, at least fans of both characters can be glad their fight is the highlight of the whole run. Although given how the final issue is shaping up, it may be surpassed by something even more extraordinary. For any fans of lore, character development, or those who want to see characters react to Godzilla’s rampage in a specific way, this issue may disappoint. Besides the Hulk fight, not much else happens in this issue of note. And with the series ending in the next issue, it might be one battle after another until the Marvel Universe saves itself or ends up actually getting destroyed. This series hasn’t presented the same stakes as other “destroys the Marvel Universe” series. However, it’s been a fun read overall, and I can’t wait for the final issue and more of the amazing reactions the Marvel heroes have to Godzilla’s unyielding power.- LM

DISPATCHES FROM THE AGE OF REVELATION!!!

X years after the Gene Bomb has devastated the world. Many mutants have aligned themselves with Revelation, the corrupted heir of apocalypse formerly known as Doug Ramsey. Others are resisting. These are their stories…

Iron and Frost #1
Iron Frost #1
- Setting aside for a moment any reservations or criticisms around the editorial and publishing realities of Marvel’s Age of Revelation, alternate reality, Elseworlds style stories can be an opportunity to read interesting stories that explore a character’s core elements from a new angle. Emma Frost is one of Marvel’s most interesting characters since she took center stage with the X-Men in Grant Morrison’s run in the aughts, becoming a pragmatic protector of mutantkind willing to go to extremes that more traditionally “heroic” characters on the team may not. Her soft spot for the young and vulnerable in particular is one of her most compelling traits, contrasted with her (sometimes literally) diamond tough exterior and casually cruel demeanor. Unfortunately, this first issue of Iron and Frost from writer Cavan Scott and artist Ruairi Coleman does not take enough risks or situate Emma in a new reality in a meaningfully new way and it feels like any other story about Emma fighting for young mutants. There are a few strong character moments, but the structure of the story is straightforward narration and exposition, painfully doling out all the details of what Emma has been up to for ten years. We end up in an interesting place for her by the issue’s end but the mundane build-up to it dulls any excitement. Age of Revelation is a chance for creators to go wild in their ideas, but this just plays it safe. Coelman‘s art is solid, with great layouts and exciting action but the emotional moments and facial expressions are often too soft to sell the impact. Yen Nitro‘s colors push the art to the next level, though, with the bright colors fading to darker tones as the world gets darker in the present day. Oh, Iron Man is here too but has even less going on than Emma. Joe Sabino does a fine but unremarkable job on the lettering. I’d love to take this serviceable comic on its own but capping off the issue are some pretty egregious screw-ups in the dialogue that leaves a few pages confusing or nonsensical which bely the overall lackadaisical editorial approach that defines Marvel right now. Mistakes happen but proofreading goofs are increasingly common in the company’s books. The questionable decisions around the comic’s existence then become impossible to ignore in the moment when their failures are so in your face and the big events playthings so safe. – TR
Rogue Storm #1
Rogue Storm #1
- Storm has gone mad and laying waste to the world’s climate. It’s up to Rogue Red and Uncanny X-Force to take her down. Rogue Storm #1 is bonkers book that takes full advantage of the time jump and alternate history to throw the readers into the deep-end. The fact that Rogue underwent a Superman Red/ Blue situation in the recent history is mind-boggling to me. While it undercuts the big emotional beat in Unbreakable X-Men to have a Rogue running around, the split lends itself to the pure chaos in the book. Writer Murewa Ayodele continues all of the off the wall wackiness in their Storm book with all of the Storm engines and gods running around. It is somehow cosmic and grounded at the same time in a delightful way. Artist Roland Boschi does a stellar job with the figure work and capturing the scale and scope of the story. There is a bit of an Apocalypse Now type story playing out here and Boschi captures that gritty violence effectively. In regards to Age of Revelation, this Rogue Storm is tangential at best to the central event, but it does a great job building out the world. The story being told is fresh and takes advantage of the alternate timeline to carry out some outlandish story telling. The book feels very kinetic and I think this is one of the better books of the Age of Revelation, so far- JJ
Sinister’s Six #1
Sinister’s Six #1
- For fans of the Age of Apocalypse, Sinister’s Six is the Generation Next/Gambit and the X-Ternals of this crossover. A ragtag group of mutants get sent on a potential suicide mission that may turn the tide in the war against Revelation. The twist here is that our team works for Mr. Sinister operating a refuge in the Appalachian Mountains. Sinister knows who unleashed the X-Virus and now wants his ragtag group to get a pure sample of the virus. David Marquez and Rafael Loureiro don’t get to do much in this first outside of setup our leads. What they do get to do is take a look at what outsiders have become in this new world. The X-Virus seems to have mutated Sinister’s group for the worse. S.H.I.E.L.D. is trying to infiltrate and map the territories. It’s interesting to see how Loureiro incorporates the visual motifs of Mr. Sinister into the designs for the team uniforms and his palace. He also has some funky visuals for the way people use their energy patterns. This is doesn’t feel completely essential to what’s happening in Age of Revelation but it’s a fun look at the fringe of this world. – DM