Immoral X-Men #3: Spacewalk

This was, unsurprisingly, the darkest issue of the series so far. Gillen managed to give us a complete (horrific) plot within the compressed borders of this series, as well as sneaking in some fascinating observations about the nature of political factions. As usual, Gillen’s characterizations were the essential ingredient in this mix, and on that front, the fun never stopped.

We were given updates on all of the surviving council members, and they were all startlingly in line with the darkest personality traits of the fictional people we know and loved so well. Some of the highlights included Xavier’s brain planet, with soldiers who gleefully commit atrocities while hallucinating that they are in paradise, Kate’s marauding nation of space pirates, Magik’s random, galaxy-swallowing Limbo portals, Shaw’s entirely appropriate leadership of hell, and Emma’s glittery, planet-sized S&M school. Nightcrawler, of course, was unceremoniously dispatched in Spurrier’s waste of a book, and Beast has become a mangy, zombified, brain-on-a-chain (and it couldn’t have happened to a more deserving person).

I’m not even going to hint at the plot, save by saying that the twist Gillen throws at us (using a long-dead voice embedded in a prayer) is astonishingly brilliant and should not be missed. Of course, the breakout character of this entire series is Rasputin. She’s had relatively little panel time, but being privy to her weary, golden interior monologue is an absolute pleasure. If she returns to the current timeline, the X-Books will be richer for it.

Alessandro Vitti’s art is grungy, composed of brittle, scribbled lines, deep shadows, and what appears to be shovelfuls of actual rusty mud. As such, it’s difficult to conceive of a better artist to depict the image of a universe slowly edging into a sluice of blood and rust. Rain Beredo’s colors contribute, in a measurable way, to the brilliance of the line art, elevating already excellent work to the highest level of skill.