X-Men Red #4: The Cost of a Life

This book moves from strength to strength, without wavering. This issue dealt with philosophical questions of life and death — what it means to be alive, and whether creatures like us can ever truly attain immortality.

You’d think that these questions would appear in Legion of X (they haven’t) but it is appropriate territory for a goddess who is consecrated to life to explore.

This issue deals with the death (and resurrection) of Xandra, fallout from Rockslide’s altered return, the dawn of Magneto’s terrible, metaphorical winter, cultural differences between Krakoa and Arakko, and how each culture approaches and values death.

Magneto, particularly, is experiencing a rather chthonic trajectory. Recent events have sent him spiraling, and his weariness won’t halt his plummet until, well, we all can see what’s coming. Mythic stories of this type tend to only end with one destination.

But I have to say that the most interesting character, for me, was this new Wrongslide. He’s an odd mixture of simplicity and wisdom, almost a tarotic fool character, and although this depiction of him as wise but blindly wandering contrasts strongly with the way that he has been portrayed recently in other books, I really like it. I can’t wait to see how his inclusion alters this cast.

That’s a lot to take in, over twenty four pages, but Ewing handles it beautifully. He manages the trick of giving difficult concepts the room to breathe while never once allowing the pace of the story to noticeably slacken. This pacing successfully lays the groundwork for the upcoming Judgement Day event without sacrificing any of the thematic heft of the larger story that Ewing is writing.

Juann Cabal, Andrés Genolet, and Michael Sta. Maria work together beautifully, handling each vignette with sensitivity, nuanced line work, and stylistic aplomb. Federico Blee’s color work serves as the bright connective tissue between each small parcel of flesh, linking the stories together with the sheer force of his feeling.

This brilliant series of vignettes highlights exactly why this book is such a necessary read for the troubled era we are currently inhabiting. I cannot recommend it strongly enough.