X-Men by Gerry Duggan vol. 3

“Hellfire Gala ‘22” took place between this volume and the last, but it’s not necessary reading to enjoy what’s here.  “Judgment Day” may be more appropriate since the first two issues tie in harmlessly to that event.  They won’t add anything to your enjoyment of that event; though, it’s still nice to see the team act and succeed at being big damn superheroes throughout this tie-in.  It’s more entertaining than the Steve Foxe-written “Annual” which is here to properly integrate Firestar onto the team.  The story it tells isn’t bad, just formulaic.  It at least has solid art from Andrea DiVito, and a two-page spread of the team being attacked by X-Baby Zombies in the Mojoverse.

The real star of this volume are the three issues which follow as they follow up on stray plot threads from the last “Gala” issue and Jonathan Hickman’s run.  Remember the Children of the Vault?  Remember the mystery project Forge said he was working on for Xavier?  It turns out they’re both related as the X-Men’s foremost technologist has found a solution to the threat posed by a community of superbeings who have thousands of years of evolution on their side.  This is a good thing because they find out that there’s still one mutant left alive from the team that infiltrated the Vault a while back.

Forge’s trip inside that place, and the obvious but well-executed fake out which precedes it, is a great little storyline that builds on what has come before while adding in some clever twists of its own.  Everything felt well thought out, from Forge’s preparation for the mission to the fallout from the complications that arise over the course of it.  Some of the drama felt like it was resolved a bit too quickly, but the overall wrap-up is solid as is the final issue of this volume which follows up on a key development from this storyline.

Joshua Cassara provides the art for this three-issue arc, and he’s in very good form here.  His work has always had a fleshy, organic look to it which allows the violence to hit harder and give the man’s art a distinct appearance.  Particularly when it comes to rendering Forge’s infiltration suit and his… partner on the mission.  It’s more memorable than the work C.F. Villa turns in on the “Judgement Day” issues and the finale, which serve as serviceable examples of superhero artwork.

If there’s any real issue I have with this volume, it’s that it doesn’t get the ball rolling on any long-term plans for this series.  Vols. 1 & 2 had the issue of the discovery of mutant resurrection and the threat posed by Orchis hanging over them, and vol. 3 has no such threads here.  I imagine that will start to change in vol. 4 as the X-line gets ready for the “Fall of X” storyline.  Even if it doesn’t, we can at least look forward to Duggan following up on another of Hickman’s plot threads – Broo taking over the Brood – next time.