3K have attacked the X-Men, and at least two members might be dead. Can Cyclops and company recover? Your Major Spoilers review of X-Men #17 from Marvel Comics awaits!
X-MEN #17
Writer: Jed MacKay
Artist: Ryan Stegman
Inker: JP Mayer, Ryan Stegman, and Livesay
Colorist: Fer Sifuentes-Sujo
Letterer: VC’s Clayton Cowles
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: June 4, 2025
Previously in X-Men: Disaster charges toward the town of Merle, Alaska, as the X-Men are preoccupied with their own battle against the 3K X-Men. Only Magneto stands between the town and destruction.
Can he prevail, even in the face of his deteriorating condition?
IT’S THE DRAMATIC RETURN OF… WYRE?
The last issue’s search for a potential mutant led to the shocking revelation that Piper Cobb wasn’t the mutant at all. Her parasitic twin, on the other hand, has possessed the fleshy corpse of a space whale, all the better to smash a small town. While 3K watches from a distance, Wyre (whom some of you may remember as a minor Alpha Flight villain from 1992) sends his own team of “X-Men” to attack Cyclops’ squad. As they use their superior might to hold the main X-team to a standstill, Magneto takes the initiative (and a wild Sentinel) to fight off the giant space whale using only magnetism and superior rhetoric, Sentinel-punching, and arguing at the same time. Before the situation gets completely out of control, reserve X-Men Ben and Jennifer set off on a mission of their own.
“VIOLENCE WITHOUT DIRECTION IS POINTLESS”
MacKay’s X-Men has been a pretty wild ride thus far, and this issue is no exception. The plot actually makes good use of the entire team of nine X-Men, with Xorn on detached duty searching for Kid Omega, The Beast running Mission Control (and preparing for a head-to-head with Wyre), and the Juggernaut/Magik team being chaos goblins. Stegman’s designs for this volume have been looser than I prefer since the beginning, but the three inkers in this issue make that even more noticeable, especially in the designs of the 3KX-Men. Of course, that same loosey-goosey makes for an amazing punchline when the evil Schwarzschild asks why Cyclops is in charge when his powers are so lame.
The answer may surprise you.
BOTTOM LINE: A FUN READ, NOT MY FAVORITE ART
Comic book art is a very subjective beastie, and so the visuals of X-Men #17 that don’t quite work for me may delight other readers, and the story reveals more about the mysterious 3K while intentionally playing with the mystery of who The Chairman is, earning 3 out of 5 stars overall. I don’t know about you guys, but I really hope that the Chairman is Frank Sinatra?
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X-MEN #17
You'll hate 3K for the right reasons AND the wrong ones, while Magneto gives the villains a reminder of why he's been the premier genetic terrorist since day one. The art is a bit wilder than I prefer, but the issue is solid.
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Writing7
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Art5
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Coloring7
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