Jean’s team of global X-Men work to combat surges in anti-mutant hysteria, as the creative team welcomes new artist, Carmen Carnero.
X-Men: Red #5 “The Hate Machine Part 6: Learn to Hate”
Writer: Tom Taylor
Artist: Carmen Carnero
Letters: Cory Petit
Cover Artist: Travis Charest; variant by Travis Charest & Tamra Bonvillain
Colorist: Rain Beredo
Publisher: MARVEL COMICS
What You Need to Know:
Jean Grey has returned from the dead and formed her own team of X-Men with a global mission, currently based out of Atlantis. A recent spike in anti-mutant aggression has been traced to a new breed of nanite Sentinels, but unbeknownst to Jean and company, Cassandra Nova is behind the Sentinels and has infected numerous world leaders.
What You’ll Find Out:
Jean solidifies her team and resources to deal with the threat at hand—the mysterious voice she encountered when she was framed for killing the British Ambassador. While the X-lantis team mission is global in scope, there is a sense of the deeply personal, as Jean takes time to unpack Neznho’s trauma to psychically nullify the pain he feels when he uses his powers.
In the efforts to track down Nova, Jean builds a new version of Cerebro (dubbed “Searebro” by Gabby) that will let give her unfettered and Phoenix-free amplification of her powers. Meanwhile, Gambit leads a team of X-Men to “retrieve” the cell phone of the deceased ambassador that Trinary insists will provide the necessary evidence to clear Jean’s name.
Everything comes to a head as Jean comes into psychic contact with Nova during the teams’ mission, while Nova unleashes an abomination on X-lantis with the intent to “smash”!
What Just Happened?
Global ambivalence to truth remains on trial in the latest issue of Red, as Taylor points to the susceptibility of the digital age masses to diversion and hate. However, as hate takes center stage on a global level, love lives in the spotlight, exemplified by new regular artist Carmen Carnero’s subtle artistic touches. Notice the growing tear on Jean’s face in the panels below as Jean emerges from a trip through Gentle’s trauma. The unsynchronized dual narrative track afforded by the comics medium is often downplayed as the textual elements are prioritized, with the visual narrative pushed to the background, but as you can see in these panels, the expressiveness and detail deployed by Carnero provide a complete narrative of its own. With no knock intended for Taylor, the sequence needs no explanation, as we watch the reversals of hope and pain, sadness, and love on the faces of the characters. Carnero’s ability to create distinct and noteworthy feeling on the faces of characters reminds me of the master of facial expressions, the great Kevin Macguire.
Rating: 10/10
Final Thought: A nearly perfect issue of an already powerful series. If it isn’t already immensely clear, I am extremely happy to have Carmen Carnero on board!
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