Apocalypse is back! Will he intervene to stop Genesis, or will he help Storm for a different future? Find out in X-Men Red #17 by Marvel Comics!

X-MEN RED #17

Writer: Al Ewing
Artist: Yildiray Cinar
Colorist: Federico Blee
Letterer: Ariana Maher
Editor: Jordan White
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: November 8th, 2023 

Previously in X-Men Red: Genesis has invaded Arakko with her powerful Annihilation Staff, the army of the Hundred, and the Four Horsemen. Storm leads the rebels and fights over the fate of Arakko. At the moment, Death defected and killed his sister, Pestilence, while Storm ponders over the use of a terrible weapon. And if that isn’t enough, Apocalypse has returned to Arakko.

X-Men Red #17 starts with Apocalypse retrieving Vulcan and controlling his mind. Meanwhile, Storm contemplates what to do with the Uranos weapon. When Jon Ironfire requests the cube to kill Genesis’ army himself, Storm destroys it, declaring she will not commit genocide. Ironfire thus decides to go after the White Sword alone. Apocalypse then approaches Storm and tells him he will not fight Genesis but will give her the power to do so. Using his familiar, Vulcan, Sunfire, and himself, he does a ritual to power up Storm. Thus, she uses this power to make a continent walk like a mutant and approaches Genesis for battle.

Recently, this title has introduced many exciting concepts and seemingly glossed over them. X-Men Red #17 explicitly does this with this weapon of Uranos and the implications of using it. We were just introduced to this item, and it was destroyed within the first half of the book. There were some exciting characterizations developed from its introduction, but ultimately, I don’t think the book had enough time with it. So now that Apocalypse is back and has done this ritual with Storm, I am not trusting enough to believe that we will give this ritual the proper time and place to be effective. I also think one of the most compelling parts of Genesis as a character is her relationship with Apocalypse, and it seems like we may not get that interaction either. I love Storm, but I think there are many missed opportunities.

I like the X-Men Red title, and I am concerned that we focus on too many themes to explore them fully. Usually, with X-Men comics, I am worried about the overabundance of characters, but here, there are just so many plot elements. With that in mind, X-Men Red #17 receives 3 out of 5 stars.

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X-Men Red #17

60%

60%

Concerned

X-Men Red #17 speeds through significant plot points without giving them the time to breathe.

• Writing

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• Art

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• Coloring

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