There’s an adamantium-laced person locked up on Phobos, and Wolverine is taking it personally. You won’t like her when she’s angry. Your Major Spoilers review of X-Men #10 from Marvel Comics awaits!
X-MEN #10
Writer: Gerry Duggan
Artist: Javier Pina
Colorist: Marte Gracia
Letterer: VC’s Clayton Cowles
Editor: Jordan D. White
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: April 13, 2022
Previously in X-Men: The X-Men’s troubles just keep piling one on top of the other and now an old enemy steps forward to cut in on the dance!
Emphasis on “cut.”
A CONFUSING OPENING
X-Men #10 opens on Krakoa in the “not long ago,” as The Five resurrects Laura “Wolverine” Kinney from another death, but Proteus seems to get confused and gives her adamantium bones in addition to claws. At least, that’s what I “think” happened, I’m not 100% clear on it. Either way, Wolverine is back in action, and when she finds out that Orchis (the secret organization that has been mobilizing public sentiment against mutants and has established an outpost on Phobos, the moon of Mars/Arakko) has something that seems to be a mutant body with adamantium, she knows which way to point her claws. Unfortunately, the nature of the infiltration leaves her on a solo mission, on telepathic silence, while the rest of the team watches from the Treehouse in New York. Laura successfully gets to the chamber holding what she thinks might be one of her clones (since the amount of adamantium isn’t enough to be one of Logan’s corpses), she finds… Lady Deathstrike! Things get messy from there, as Wolverine decides to help her dad’s worst enemy, Orchis discovers her and jettisons her into space, and Rogue deafens several of her teammates to make the save.
A COMPELLING END
X-Men #10 is truly fun when it focuses on character interactions, like Cyclops suggesting to Synch that he get a visor, as it’s easier to ignore the awkward interactions between Destiny and her daughter Rogue, or when Jean tries once more to slow down a Wolverine, only to be once again bulldozed. My favorite moment, though, comes when Rogue calls in a favor from an old friend for information on the extraterrestrial Gameworld, only to discover that Rocket is already there and already gambling.
Pina’s art is really lovely, with bold strong lines and great choice of angles making each page interesting and exciting. Kudos especially go to an overhead shot of Orchis flunkies going about their business in an overhead shot, with a shadowy Wolverine hiding in the foreground. The coloring is likewise striking, with bold reds and greens making the art that much more attractive. The worst thing that I can say about this issue is that to really grok it, I had to read not just the previous couple of issues of X-Men, but an issue of Knights of X and about four pages worth of Marvel wiki.
BOTTOM LINE: IT ISN’T SIMPLE, BUT IT IS GOOD
Even with that much research to figure out where we are (which, in the X-books’ defense, involves the current whereabouts of about 1/3 of the Marvel Universe and damn near every mutant who ever lived), X-Men #10 comes up a winner, delivering team book action, undercover intrigue, heroes helping villains, and Rogue sweet-talking an alien raccoon, with beautiful art bringing home 4 out of 5 stars overall. If you’ve been sleeping on the X-books, like I admittedly have been, this issue is an example of what you might be missing: Quality books with galactic-level threats, all featuring well-rounded heroes. What more can you ask for?
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X-MEN #10
This issue isn't by any means a jumping-on point, but it's a very well-done issue, focusing on Wolverine as she fights one of her dad's nastiest foes, with more behind-the-scenes maneuvering and politicking than a week in Congress.
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Writing8
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Once upon a time, there was a young nerd from the Midwest, who loved Matter-Eater Lad and the McKenzie Brothers... If pop culture were a maze, Matthew would be the Minotaur at its center. Were it a mall, he'd be the Food Court. Were it a parking lot, he’d be the distant Cart Corral where the weird kids gather to smoke, but that’s not important right now... Matthew enjoys body surfing (so long as the bodies are fresh), writing in the third person, and dark-eyed women. Amongst his weaponry are such diverse elements as: Fear! Surprise! Ruthless efficiency! An almost fanatical devotion to pop culture! And a nice red uniform.