Review by Karl Verhoven

The X-Men’s 2019 reboot may have lasted a few years longer than intended, but was always intended as finite, and the end begins here.

It all starts so hopefully with the resurrection of Ms. Marvel, cheaply disposed of in Spider-Man continuity, and here revealed to be a mutant as well as inhuman. Fans are unlikely to quibble about that when cheering her return.

As spectacular as it looks under assorted top of the line artists, there’s nothing to cheer in the remainder of the main story, in which Gerry Duggan provides shock after shock with very little hope provided in the way of balance. “Here we are again at another wonderful party gone horribly wrong”, notes a dying character toward the end, and she’s not far wrong. There’s some admiration due Duggan for the way he so thoroughly demolishes everything the X-Men have stood for over the past few years in around fifty pages. Assorted types have been seen plotting against Krakoa for some while, and it all comes to fruition here. The only problem is that Marvel has so often killed X-Men that even with their resurrection technology destroyed and the tragic circumstances, it’s only novice readers who’ll believe in the ‘deaths’.

The sample art is an especially jaw-dropping page from Russell Dauterman, but several other artists equal or almost equal his talent, and there are few pages that could be described as looking ordinary. As a snapshot of where Marvel is artistically in 2023, it’s a fine portfolio.

Several shorter back-up stories are equally well drawn, but Duggan uses them to set up future events for the Avengers as well as the X-Men, and they’re teasers more than the full feast. They do explain what happens to several people seen making rapid exits in the main story.

Duggan also writes the slightly longer teaming of Iron Man and Emma Frost with Juan Frigeri on art. It ties into events plaguing Iron Man with the disaster occurring on Krakoa, but concentrates more on Tony Stark’s ongoing problems. Consider it a bonus.

Several other back-ups are primarily character pieces written by Steve Foxe and Stephanie Williams with art by Noemi Vettori, occurring before disaster strikes in the main story. They concern those wanting to be part of the next X-Men team, but their placing after the main story rather diminishes any impact as we’ve already read what becomes of that.

The main story is a shocker, but will have a short lifespan as such as all those we’ve seen die will inevitably return. The lasting value will be the art.