Review by Karl Verhoven
While this follows Vol. 4 numerically, a lot has happened since Cyclops and Jean Grey were seen healing their rift. The Orchis organisation has brought the mutant community of Krakoa down, as inventively shown in Hellfire Gala: Fall of X. The full details are found there, but it’s left mutants unable to return to Krakoa. The majority have left Earth, but those who’ve remained are now fugitives, as represented by Kitty Pryde in the opening chapter.
This volume is essentially the fightback against Orchis as initiated by a rearguard of mutants remaining on Earth, along with some allies they’d completely avoid under other circumstances. Gerry Duggan flits back and forth between past and present, showing people in their initial shocked and lost state, followed by how they unite with others and where they are now. Ms Marvel’s fans ought to be pleased about the resetting of her life and abilities, while Kitty, Firestar, and Emma Frost also have significant roles.
However, focussing on too many additional characters mean some are lost in the shuffle. There’s an exceptionally brief fall and rise arc for the Kingpin, but the impression given is his just being a teaser here when his fate plays out elsewhere. It’s a constant frustration of reading X-Men. The over-riding plot only manifests toward the end, when it’s discovered previously unknown mutants exist in Latveria under Doctor Doom’s control. It seems rather unlikely even allowing for Doom’s technological pre-eminence.
The sample page is from Joshua Cassara, three strong group portraits showing the development of Doom’s mutants over a year. Cassara is the only artist to draw more than a single chapter, but such is the collection’s piecemeal nature that multiple artists aren’t the drawback they could otherwise be. Additionally they’re all stylish and all produce pages worth looking at.
It’s the final chapter that’s the most interesting for having the single focus of the X-Men in Latveria and for Duggan extending their stay beyond a confrontation, and so avoiding predictability. “If you have lived good lives then perhaps you can call friends to your side before you are destroyed” is an ominous prediction.
Very little is achieved here overall, but as a form of holding pattern there are a succession of entertaining moments exploring the X-Men as fugitives once again. The cliffhanger ending leads into Fall of the House of X, before Duggan signs off on the X-Men with Vol. 6.
