ICYMI! X-Men Red #16: Decisions, Decisions

This was the weakest installment of the current arc, but luckily for us Ewing is a good enough writer that even a weak story can still kick. There were a few strong character moments, nestled amongst the rubble: Szen, Craig of NASA, Death, and Storm herself carried the most powerful emotional beats (they throbbed, like a pierced heart) and they served to elevate the less well-rendered aspects of the story.

Uranos’ temptation of Syza felt incredibly close to Nightcrawler’s struggles with the Skrull god during the X-Men’s Secret Invasion storyline. It was, in fact, a beat-by-beat retelling of that storyline — albeit one that was almost painfully compressed. The annihilation of three of the original Horsemen felt, likewise, unearned. Storm disposed of them so handily that it rendered the fact of this war unbelievable. If she can eliminate such threats, so handily, why is she struggling with Genesis?

But, as I said, there were several excellent character moments. Szen was depicted in a deeply humane fashion (she’s so much better, in Ewing’s hands, than she ever was when Spurrier was mangling her) using her gift to share love and mercy with a struggling child. Death was revealed to be a Lawful Good player — chained by his laws, but singing within those chains in a voice of profound nobility.

Yildray Cinar’s art was carefully rendered: laying out destruction with an agonizing clarity, but never neglecting the character acting that is necessary to allow the emotional beats to really stick the knife in. Federico Blee’s color work was nothing short of astonishing. I’ve said it before: the man is a genius at what he does. He is an artist of the first rank.