X-Men #19: Why You Brooding Tho…?

This is it. The X-Men have officially joined the battle against the Brood, as seen in the Revenge of the Brood storyline that’s been brooing (my jokes are trash) in the current Captain Marvel book, where we have Carol, Jessica Drew, Rhodey, Hazmat, Polaris, Gambit, Psylocke, and Wolverine-23, as they find themselves in deep space to save Rogue from the Brood! Plus, Forge and M (I refuse to call her Penance) stumble on a mystery as they try to figure out what happened to Knowhere! All this in 25 pages! 

After a bumpy start to Gerry Duggan’s second year on the flagship title, it feels like he’s finally getting his footing and building to something big and cosmic. Duggan’s take on the X-Men has seemed a relatively straightforward and generic superhero title with varying degrees of success. This year has generally meandered in terms of direction. Jumping right into an event, then playing cleanup on a story that Hickman couldn’t complete before his departure as head of X, it’s nice to see him staying the course. Sure, this is a crossover, but the cast is smaller than the Judgement Day event; they’re just not the same. With arcs like these, the creators can dig a bit deeper, giving these characters a chance to grow, flourish, and develop relationships between these characters. 

Interpersonal relationships have become a staple to Marvel’s continued success over the last 60 years. Especially with regards to the X-Men, and it’s this concerted effort to present these characters as ciphers that connect with the readers in a way that we form these bonds with the audience indelibly to the fans. A great writer can do this with just a few issues. This characterization has probably been characterization, but unfortunately, not everyone gets their fair share of panel time, with the biggest disappointments being Firestar and Havok. It seems like Duggan had nothing to say about them or not have enough time due to outside factors. I hope this isn’t the last we see of her under the X-umbrella after this year. We have everything I’ve discussed, and Duggan and Caselli give us this subplot that involves Forge, M, and time travel. Forge put a gate on Knowhere using Cable’s time-traveling abilities to put it on before it was sucked into a black hole, but the gate is still operational. So Forge and M walk through it, but what they find leads to more questions. It is a fun little side story I can’t wait to play out. 

Stefano Caselli is on art duties, and it’s just a delight. He’s no stranger to the X-world, or Marvel cosmology, after his stints on X-Men Red, which explores the newly christened Planet Arakko, Magneto, and Storm’s new title as Monarch of Sol, with the out of this world Al Ewing, so having him here is an added bonus.

The characters really pop, and his work here really complements Sergio Davila and Javier Pina, which makes this crossover a flawless testament to the artist’s abilities. I can’t wait to see what comes next!