X-Men have been reestablishing themselves in the post-Krakoa Era. Because of how events went down the X-Men have all split off into various teams. One of the main teams is the Cyclops-led team based in Alaska. This team has been dealing with remnants of Orchis along with creating a home for themselves while making themselves part of the Alaska community they are in. How will things continue to go for this team? Let’s find out with X-Men #3.
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Jed MacKay
Artist: Ryan Stegman
Inker: JP Mayer and Livesay
Colorist: Marte Gracia
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
X-MEN #3 SOLICITATION
“SCOTT SUMMERS VS. THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA! How did the X-Men come to possess their HQ, the Factory, and how difficult a position does that put them in? As Cyclops meets the implacable Agent Lundqvist, the X-Men come to find that their new home may not be as secure as they had thought…” – Marvel Comics
REVIEW
X-Men #3 further establishes the new direction of this series. Jed MacKay and Ryan Stegman do this by most importantly making sure to tell a full story in this issue. Having a full story told gives this series a distinctly different tone beyond it being part of the From The Ashes direction for the franchise.
The one and done nature of the story goes to the approach MacKay and Stegman go for how they frame the story. Scott Summers meeting up with Agent Lundqvist from the ONE organization set-up what is a tension filled story. Scott going to this meeting knowing that Lundqvist was setting up a trap for him and his team is a great way to once again show Scott as a strong leader. He didn’t leave the base to meet Lundqvist just ignorantly thinking there wasn’t an ulterior motive. It is always for the better of the story that the creative team treats our protagonist as the veteran heroes they should be. That’s exactly what we got here.
What makes it even better was how Scott stayed firm on his stance even when Lundqvist tried his best intimidation tactics. Scott being driven by how the US government not only held him captive but allowed Orchis to torture him adds to his character. He’s long known how far the government will go against his people with the most recent public showing of this strengthening his resolve to not let that happen again. Reminding Lundqvist that he could easily get more out of the government if he wanted to is nice hidden card for him to play.
Adding to this characterization is it appearing that Scott is suffering from the traumatic experience he went through. While he was able to maintain his stance as a strong X-Men leader around others once the situation was resolved we saw not all is fine with him. Internally Scott is damaged as he is barely able to hold himself together so his panic attack isn’t seen by others. This is a sub-plot that makes Scott’s character arc even more interesting since he doesn’t have Jean around to share this with right now.
As for the X-Men team themselves, we once again got to see how strong the team is. The one-and-done story structure works to the advantage of building the team dynamic. They are quickly getting experience as a team that once we get into even bigger conflict the reader is confident this version of the X-Men can take on any threat. Its credibility that this team mix needed and hopefully is continued.
Through all of that Temper gets some much needed character development. Temper is by far the character on the team most fans will know least about. MacKay understood this and gave her time to develop on screen. Specifically having Temper represent the other side of how not everyone had a great time during the Krakoa Era is a smart call. It wasn’t a paradise for everyone and Temper carrying that because of how she was judged by the Quiet Council was well done. We now understand her motivation much better. And best of all, she moves away from the crutch of her relationship with Kid Omega being the focus of her development, something that’s a big sigh of relief.
In developing Temper’s character we also get another view of how Magneto is dealing with the post-Krakoa Era aftermath. Magneto certainly recognizes how his decisions during that period negatively impacted Temper. The way he approaches Temper does show he understood he needed to hear her out rather than simply justifying his actions and walking away. He needed to take Temper’s angry words in rather than ignoring the young X-Men. It does create more questions as to what Magneto’s arc will be give this development.
On the art side of things Stegman continues to do a great job delivering a comic book that looks like one of Marvel’s top tier titles. Reading X-Men feels like reading a big event and that is thanks to Stegman’s artwork. There is a lot of great detail in the facial reactions in particular. It makes you feel the anger, sadness, and sympathy various characters show. Stegman also does a great job at making Temper come across as a powerhouse with how she used her powers.
FINAL THOUGHTS
X-Men #3 delivers a lot strong developments, specifically for Cyclops and Temper. The one-shot style storytelling worked to build the credibility of this X-Men team. This approach of storytelling also once again emphasized the variety of threats the X-Men face in this new era. If you’re an X-Men fan this is one comic book to pick up.
Story Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 8.5 Night Girls out of 10
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