Immortal X-Men vol. 4

In vol. 3, things left off on a somewhat ominous note which was perfectly primed to take advantage of all the bad stuff that was going to happen at the latest “Hellfire Gala.”  In this volume, we get to pick up on the fallout of that event in some satisfying ways.  What of Charles Xavier, who was forced to march most of mutantkind into what he thought was oblivion?  He’s keeping a vigil of one on Krakoa to keep this sacred land from being despoiled.  Despoiled by opportunists like Sebastian Shaw, who threw his lot in with Mother Righteous only to find out the story being told wasn’t to his liking.  And all those mutants Charles thought were dead?  Alive – and waiting for salvation with the likes of Exodus, Hope, and Destiny ready to give it to them!

If you’ll recall, my big problem with the fifth volume of Gerry Duggan’s “X-Men” was that it felt like it was marking time and not telling a proper story of its own before the main event was set to kick off.  That’s not a problem here in vol. 4 of “Immortal.”  While this does address a lot of the story beats set up from the “Gala” it’s still telling its story of the Four Sinisters and the Dominion that one of them creates.  We know it’s not Sinister himself, which leaves Orbis Stellaris, Doctor Stasis, or Mother Righteous.  That said, the last one does feature quite prominently in this volume…

…and the best part about it is that writer Kieron Gillen is one step ahead of the reader in that regard.  We finally find out what the Sinister who pursued magic’s endgame is and even get to see her struggle a bit while that plays out.  Destiny gets to struggle as well, which is a refreshing change compared to how the character is usually written.  It even forces her to *gasp* work towards the common good – likely grounds for divorce if her wife ever finds out.  Kidding aside, we also get to find out some of the secrets she’s been holding since the start of the series as Gillen’s endgame also comes into focus.

While I’ve come around on Duggan, mostly thanks to his work on “Marauders,” Gillen is really the better writer and it shows here.  Aside from the consistently witty dialogue, there are so many clever twists here and a real sense of things falling into place ahead of “Rise of the Powers of X” and its companion series “X-Men:  Forever.”  I wasn’t sure he had a long-term plan at the start of this series outside of possibly doing something with Mister Sinister.  At this point, it’s clear that he really has been working towards telling us the best story about the character that anyone ever has.

It’s not perfect as the title’s central gimmick of having each issue narrated by a member of the Quiet Council worked in the opening days as a way of giving us greater insight into them.  Here, it feels like a relic now that the majority of the members have been spotlighted and there’s a genuine main plot to be addressed.  Some context regarding the place that the majority of mutants wound up in would’ve been nice as I had to go look it up for a refresher on what it was in the larger context of continuity.  I’m still not sure why we got crazed, feral versions of Wolverine, Bishop, and Apocalypse other than as a way of mirroring the main characters’ (and no one else’s) fears.

Vol. 4 does look good, even if there’s a lot of variety to its looks.  Regular artist Lucas Werneck returns for two issues and they’re perfectly solid, particularly his despondent Xavier in the first issue (that Gillen has also assured readers of his newsletter is what he looks like in any given morning).  Paco Diaz pops in for an issue to remind us that he’s a pretty great superhero artist, even when he’s not being called on to draw a lot of superhero-y things.  Best of all is Juan Jose Ryp who turns in some impressively detailed work in the final two issues that is his stock in trade.  Yet he’s also very good with the dramatics of it all, particularly in the twist-filled last several pages of the volume.

It’s all great work that really gets me energized for the final volume(s) of Gillen’s run.  Even if what he’s doing here is also part of the larger story of the “X-Men” comics right now, he’s still carving out a space to tell his own story here.  I’m not getting that feeling with regular “X-Men” and that’s what makes all the difference here.  Gillen isn’t sticking around Marvel after his work here, and that’s fine.  Just like his first go-round with the company, he’s shown once again that he’s a writer worth following wherever he goes.