X-Men #38: A Refusal to Budge

Where would the X-Men be without Magneto? Who would they be? That’s the central question X-Men #38 asks, albeit in a rather inconsequential way. Most of the issue is a trip down the roads of different fictional timelines, all the ways things could go right or wrong without Magento around to be there in Alaska.

The issue’s dialogue between Magneto and Professor X is sharp and to the point, but it asks a question that the rest of the plot seemingly does not want to answer. It’s clear that Jed MacKay doesn’t want Magneto to change, he only wants you to think he might.

This story, and the question it asks, have a lot of potential. Unfortunately, X-Men #38, like most of MacKay’s run, spins its wheels and doesn’t do much beyond fill its own biweekly slot. Diving into a character and their role in a title can be a great way to refresh them for a new era of stories. However, X-Men #38 refuses to change Magneto in any meaningful way.

Tony S. Daniel and Mark Morales clearly have a lot of thought to panel structure and visual flow in this issue. The characters are overlaid across the panel lines in a way that makes Magneto’s inner turmoil resonate. His struggle is better captured by the art than it is portrayed by the writing. Fer Sifuentes-Sujo’s colors cast a glossy light on Daniel and Morales’ art. Colors in this style add to the lucidity of Magneto’s inner world as he speaks with Charles Xavier.