Abigail Brand is up to something, and she sends Vulcan to fight for a spot in Arakko’s Great Ring. Will Brand’s puppet join Arakko’s council? Find out in X-Men Red #3 by Marvel Comics!
X-MEN RED #3
Writer: Al Ewing
Artist: Stefano Caselli
Colorist: Federico Blee and Fernado Sifuentes
Letterer: VC’s Ariana Maher
Editor: Jordan D. White
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: June 15th, 2022
Previously in X-Men Red: Storm and Magneto have formed a Brotherhood on Arakko to help gain the respect of Arakko’s mutants. However, Brand has sent Vulcan to challenge Tarn the Uncaring, who has a spot on the ruling council of Arakko. Brand was revealed (to the audience) as an undercover agent of Orchis and is sure to be up to no good.
SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST
X-Men Red #3 starts with the resurrection of Cable, who meets up with Thunderbird and Manifold to talk about Abigail Brand. Meanwhile, Storm questioned Abigail at the S.W.O.R.D. Station and trying to figure out what Abigail is up to. Frustrated, she returns to the Brotherhood to figure out their next move. Sunspot suggests that Magneto challenge Tarn himself for a spot on the council due to the people of Arakko’s strained relationship with Tarn the Uncaring. Magneto still hasn’t recovered from the politics he had to deal with on earth.
The challenge commences between Tarn and Vulcan. Vulcan stands his ground at first against Tarn but is quickly killed. Unfortunately, the fight isn’t over for Tarn when Magneto then challenges him. Sunspot has a clever idea and bets against Magneto against Isca the Unbeaten, whose power is that she can’t lose. Magneto then kills Tarn and gains a spot on the council.
IS THE VICTORY DESERVED
Isca the Unbeaten has a complicated power. She cannot vote on the Council because the vote will go her way. Sunspot manipulated her ability to guarantee Magneto would win, which is sure to have consequences. And that is the cool part of X-Men Red #3. The story keeps me on my toes, and I am unsure what will happen next. I never thought Isca’s power would be used this way, and it shows that there are plenty of stories to be told in the X-Men universe. It was also lovely to see Magento return to his red costume and purple cape. There is a bit of nostalgia there for me.
The art was good for this issue, but there wasn’t a particular stand-out panel. I enjoyed the shading of the faces during some of the close-up scenes. Arakko uses a lot of red and orange colors that aren’t as striking to me. Still, good work by the creative team.
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X-Men Red #3
X-Men Red #3 has cool, unique ideas that are engaging on the comic page.
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Christopher Rondeau is a storyteller based in Tulsa, OK. Finding himself with little work, he ended up creating a job as a Game Master full time on the internet. Chris spends most of his days reading everything he can, writing bad fiction, and watching old Digimon cartoons with his daughter. Sometimes you can find him Dungeon Mastering a podcast or streaming on twitch. Recently, he has completed his Master's degree with a focus on collaborative storytelling. Find out more at https://rondeaucreator.com