Welcome back once again to The Marvel Rundown, where The Beat’s team of Marvel experts breaks down each week’s slate of Marvel book. This week begins the latest X-Men crossover X-Manhunt; Professor X finally escapes the Graymalkin detention facility and Marvel’s mutants have to find him. Hearing the call of “To me my X-Men”, The Beat’s George Carmona 3rd, Tim Rooney, D. Morris, and Jordan Jennings reconvene and discuss what’s happening. There’s mild spoilers so skip to our final verdict at the bottom to find out what the team thinks.
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.
The first three chapters of X-ManhuntAlright, what are our thoughts on what is the second X-Men crossover in so many months?
George Carmona 3rd: Too soon and unnecessary. But they all look pretty, especially Storm.
Tim Rooney: I spent the better part of my weekend catching up on the main two X-Men books, adjectiveless and Uncanny, in preparation for this latest crossover and imagine my surprise when this involves even more books in just its first week! I didn’t lose track because I thought any of these comics were particularly bad but they were not particularly good, either. My biggest takeaway is that I don’t know what they’re trying to say—and why it is taking so many books to say it! This first week of the crossover did nothing to justify itself to me, especially after the two main titles just had a big fight that didn’t make any sense not three months ago.
D. Morris: I fell behind on reading anything X-Men after the lackluster debut issues of most of these series. So coming into this, I had vague ideas of what was going on in each book but I kind of wasn’t prepared for just how disjointed all of this read. As someone hooked on X-Men during the early 90s when every year had an event era of X-Men, I expected each issue to at least flow into one another but each book barely seems connected to one another. After the first chapter, it was very “Well let’s just put Xavier in a story that ties back into our own book”.
Art by Javier Garrón and Matthew WilsonGC3: The initial premise of why Xavier escapes is a decent concept, but two issues later and we’re talking about a Krakoa seed and rudely interrupts the flow in Storm’s book trying to take him back in.
Jordan Jennings: I’ve been on the X-Men beat pretty heavy these past few months and I think X-Manhunt is off to a better start than Raid on Graymalkin. That’s not saying much, though. The premise of Xavier’s escape was fine, but each of the books don’t do much with it. It feels like Xavier is the guest in this week’s crossover and all of the series have to work him into their respective ongoing plots. Just like in the 90’s when ABC’s TGiF block would have a random crossover event with a character jumping between series. When Xavier showed up in NYX, I was half expecting a studio audience to audibly gasp and for his music cue to hit.
TR: My biggest gripe with this line right now is that it feels rudderless, that is especially apparent when the different titles overlap like this. No one’s motivation is clear, the distinctions in their dour moods not clarified, and the wedge between Cyclops and Rogue feels arbitrary and like it only exists as edict as opposed to coming from a character’s genuine perspective. What are they really at odds over? That rudderless feeling is especially evident with this first week of crossovers where events just happen unexplained between issues? Part 1 ends with Charles leaving Graymalkin, then he shows up at Kamala Kahn’s place. What? It’s a shame because I think Gail Simone is doing a lot of great work in Uncanny when she is focusing on her little group of mutants trying to make a home. Her Rogue is a compelling character when she isn’t being twisted to be in tension with the other X-men.
GC3: I agree the line seems a bit directionless, and this manhunt being shoehorned in doesn’t help the line establish it’s new order.
DM: When I got to the Kamala chapter, I thought I had missed an entire chapter. Like there’s some miniseries explaining why and how Xavier is in New York that we all missed. And that’s supposed to be CHAPTER TWO.
JJ: I am with you, Dan. I thought I missed another chapter between Uncanny and NYX. I guess he took the Morlock tunnels from Graymalkin to NYC. They did mention the tunnels a couple issues back in Uncanny, afterall.
DM: And Chapter two seems more concerned with dealing with whatever is happening in NYX rather than Professor X trying to rescue his kid. That’s why he’s out right? Because after that first issue it’s barely touched or there’s no shape to whatever Xavier’s plan is. I assumed he was going after the seed to make a portal to Sh’iar space but no, he just wants his Krakoa-era helmet?
Art by Francisco Mortarino and Raúl AnguloGC3: I understand the concept that drama and infighting sells books, but there is no way Scott or Rouge are going to let Xavier’s kid die.
JJ: There was far more Mojo content than I was expecting in this crossover. Oddly enough NYX was the first time I felt an X-Book mention ONE WORLD UNDER DOOM that wasn’t an explicit tie-in. Oh boy, imagine if they put double crossover banners on NYX. shudders
TR: On the bright side, I think the art on the X-books has gone all out, lately, with some of the best artists at Marvel putting in tremendous work. Javier Garrón has some of the coolest layouts and the ending fight scene where he uses sound effects and panel borders and mixes them up to show Xavier’s power is really inventive and exciting, visually.
DM: Can we talk about the double page spreads by Luciano Vecchio in Storm? Because those were incredible, sold key moments, and were really inventive storytelling. Even the single pages with the fight sequences looked great. I’m tempted to go back and read Storm just because this one issue looks incredible. This story might not be selling me on these books but the art definitely is.
JJ: The art in these three issues have been stellar. I have been big on Garrón joining Uncanny these past few issues. No knock on David Marquez, but Garrón just brings something to the book that it needed. Also Vechhio’s art in Storm was some of the most awe inspiring art in the X-books as of late. He makes Storm look like a real force of nature.
GC3: Vecchio’s art in Storm is a masterclass of storytelling, design, and wow factor. The double page spread of her and Xavier is dialog heavy but stays visually compelling. And let’s not forget the Wakanda battle armor with the spear that’s shaped like her head piece.
DM: Or that meeting where Cyclops’ X-Men team steps out of the portal. His layouts make me think of J.H. Williams III and having that kind of talent on any X-Men book is a good thing.
Art by Luciano Vecchio, Alex Guinãres, and Rachelle RosenbergJJ: Oh good call on the J.H. WIlliams III parallels. I didn’t see that before but I see that now. That double page spread, you mentioned, Dan, is probably the best spread in the crossover so far. Which is saying something with the art being so stacked on these books.
DM: It just captures stakes in a way none of the books really do. That said, I appreciate that Gail Simone is the only writer who seems willing to show just how dangerous and powerful Xavier is. The other two books keep telling us “Xavier is a threat” and that first book at least shows him whooping ass on five of the most powerful X-Men.
TR: I think that gets at my frustration with these comics, actually. Who is Charles Xavier right now? Why is Scott Summers so against his being free and so set on him being imprisoned? The fights look great, there are some standout moments but I can’t figure out why anyone is behaving this way. These titles refuse to engage with Krakoa in any meaningful way when I think you could be more concretely tying in all of these desperate and frustrated people into losing the island.
JJ: This event is so predicated on reading Raid on Graymalkin and the final issues of the Krakoa era, that it struggles to convey those actions as the reason why Xavier is largely a man without a country. No mutants want him and the humans loathe him. I don’t know why they refuse to engage meaningfully with Krakoa outside of it being a painful moment, but few of the books really get into that trauma.
GC3: This event seems more like a way to force readers to try the other books, but unfortunately too late to save 3 of them. So far this event seems like a last gasp to expand the Mutants status quo, but it’s struggling to find it’s self after Krakoa.
JJ: Some of these books have been in crossover hell to finish up too which sucks. The crossover overload has really hampered a lot of the titles ability to build a cast and story that feels meaningful.
DM: To tie this back into something that Tim said earlier, I can’t tell what the state of mutants is in the Marvel universe right now especially from this book. Is it uneasy with humanity? Do people hate them? At least with Krakoa and the Fall of Krakoa, you had an idea. Mutants had paradise and there was a group of people who didn’t want them to have it. And as Tim said, none of these books have addressed that era other than vague statements that amount to “Gee we used to have an island and now we don’t.” This crossover doesn’t really seem interested in doing that, at least in these opening chapters.
JJ: Only book that attempts to tackle Krakoa was the first couple issues of Exceptional X-Men, but even that was more about Kitty being resentful of it. Still better than the other books.
DM: I do find it a little funny that Exceptional is the only one sitting out this story with its involvement being listed as a “side story”.
JJ: Oh they are busy dealing with Sinister. Only time for one egotistical asshole.
Art by Francisco Mortarino and Raúl AnguloWhat are our final thoughts on these opening chapters?
TR: No one is going to remember any of this in a couple months. SKIP.
GC3: If you’re already buying the individual issues, then go ahead, this event seems to have zero effect on the individual books storyline, but if I had to go back to my book seller days and hand sell this I wouldn’t. SKIP
JJ: I am going to echo, George, here. This event looks pretty and I won’t lie I did like how fast the story was moving, but as a “Crossover” in the vein of X-Cutioner Song or Messiah CompleX this ain’t it. It’s got some interesting moments but I don’t think it is going to matter much in the grand scheme of things. My final thought: SKIP unless you are the biggest X-Sicko
DM: I’m going to echo Tim. There’s nothing in here that reads as compelling and the stakes are so vague. Why does anyone care if Xavier gets to his kid or about the fate of the, ugh, Sh’iar Empire? I remember Peter David quit X-Factor during his original tenure because he got sick of writing his long term storylines around whatever crossover was in the planning. I feel bad for the creative teams, and they have talented people working on these books, if they get stuck doing the same with so many events. Honestly, I love the art on all of these issues but not enough to not say SKIP.
Next week the X-Manhunt continues! Plus new issues of Ultimate X-Men, Ultimate Spider-Man, and Nick Fury fights Fin Fang Foom?!?!?!
English (US) · 