PhenomX faces his greatest foe: His own family! Your Major Spoilers review of PhenomX #4 from Image Comics awaits!

PHENOMX #4

Writer: John Leguizamo/Aram Rappaport/Joe Miciak/Damian Slattery
Artist: Chris Batista/Sabrina Cintron
Colorist: Christopher Sotomayor
Letterer: Andworld Design
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: February 9, 2022

Previously in PhenomX: All appears to be lost for our hero Max Gomez, who finds himself imprisoned again just as the lives of his fellow experimentees and his family are most threatened.

IMPRISONED

After his defeat last issue, Max Gomez have been thrown in a plastic cell where his ability to absorb the properties of any substance is of limited use. When fellow experimentee Tyra is thrown in the next cell, they are able to leverage her telepathy to goad the guard into attacking, allowing Max to absorb his nightstick’s durability. When one of the honchos behind the Montauk experiment arrives, bearing the gift of his battle suit, she has good news and bad: The good news is, she knows where the villains are getting their drugs… The bad news is, they have his son, Luka. Max makes his way into the villain’s lair, discovering that his son is being held by the first of the mutants, but that mutant is Max’s own brother, Mark! Once he proves who he is, Mark explains that his DNA is the source of the powers that all the experiment victims have, and that once they’re fully activated, he’s going to have complete control of their minds!

BY MY BROTHER BETRAYED

On the one hand, this story is perfectly fine, but there are a lot of very familiar moving parts that feel a little shopworn. The evil brother, the kidnapped son, the sacrifices made by the hero… It’s all very much action movie tropes. The dialogue is interesting, but even there the main selling point is that PhenomX can say the f-word where Batman could not. That said, the art is truly inspired in these pages, with Max looking like his creator and inspiration, John Leguizamo, without ever falling into the “tracing still shots of real people” problem that can occur with a real character likeness. The true star, though, is the coloring of Sotomayor, giving life to even the most familiar sequences, and making the final battle between Max and Mark even more impressive, especially the final moments. It’s an example of how a good colorist can enhance even the best artwork into something even better.

BOTTOM LINE: PRETTY OKAY

All in all, while I wasn’t thrilled with the story of PhenomX #4, the actual storytelling was quite good, and the visuals (especially the coloring) help to overcome any weaknesses of the familiar story, earning 3.5 out of 5 stars overall. The last few panels provide a couple of hooks for possible sequels, and I’d be happy to see what they have in store, should a second series materialize.

---

Dear Spoilerite,

At Major Spoilers, we strive to create original content that you find interesting and entertaining. Producing, writing, recording, editing, and researching requires significant resources. We pay writers, podcast hosts, and other staff members who work tirelessly to provide you with insights into the comic book, gaming, and pop culture industries. Help us keep MajorSpoilers.com strong. Become a Patron (and our superhero) today.

PHENOM X #4

70%

70%

Wraps It All Up

The story of Max Gomez comes to a close (for now) and while the art is crisp and the coloring is excellent, the story is a bit run-of-the-mill for my tastes.

• Writing

  5
• Art

  7
• Coloring

  9
• User Ratings (0 Votes)
  0