Fall Of The House of X #4: For The Profit And The Loss

If you remember the seminal Deep Space Nine episode ‘In The Pale Moonlight’, the thrust of this story will feel very familiar. Over the last four years, we’ve watched Charles Xavier compromise more and more of the ideals that once defined him. Now, we’re finally seeing exactly how far he is willing to go to save the Earth’s few remaining mutants.

He is proposing to build a garden in a field of skulls and ashes, and watching him begin to prep the soil is positively chilling. 

Duggan has a knack for exploring his chosen characters. As other reviewers have stated, he isn’t the best at handling a huge ensemble cast. He tends to choose one or two characters per issue or run, but those few figures receive the very best attention. In this case, he’s focused on Xavier, Wrongslide, and Apocalypse. Other characters get a few searing lines, but the real weight of emotion, the cost of this story, falls on the shoulders of these three men. And the effect is dizzying. 

Apocalypse meets extinction with rage and dignity. Wrongslide goes gently into the darkest night. And Xavier seems (that word was chosen carefully) to have made his most terrible compromise. 

Lucas Werneck and Jethro Morales work together seamlessly, creating a story of incredible violence, and heart-wrenching battles. The revamped Crucible was especially effective, using camera angles and incredibly effective line work to forge a world that is deeply bleak but undeniably beautiful.