Review: Immortal X-Men #1

Sinister’s last scheme led to a couple of mutants going into the pit; what could happen now?

Immortal X-Men #1
Marvel Comics
W: Kieron Gillen
A: Lucas Werneck, David Curiel
$5.99 (Available on Marvel Unlimited)

What to Know
Moria McTaggert worked with Xavier and Magneto to setup Krakoa as a mutant nation, as long as there were no precogs (specifically Destiny). Xavier and Magneto would string Mystique around about bringing Destiny back with no plan to actually do it, so Mystique took matter into her own hand. Once Destiny was back, McTaggert, believed to be dead by the general public, was revealed to be alive and a traitor; Destiny and Mystique depowered her before she escaped the island. The Quiet Council now knows the truth.

This Issue
We start in a flashback to 1919 where Sinister and Destiny discuss the war that’s coming. Destiny whispers something into Sinister’s ear, which kills him. Mystique shows up and asks what she told him; Destiny said if she told her, something was seriously wrong.

Jump to current day, where Sinister reveals to readers he’s got a secret lab away from Krakoa. He’s working on his Chimera – clones with the merged abilities of multiple mutants (see Powers of X). Everything he’s saying is pretty cryptic.

At the Quiet Council, Magneto announces his retirement and relocation to Arakko (Mars). Sinister’s internal monologue is reading the room, predicting reactions. There is a call for an immediate vote to replace Magneto and Sinister predicts the sides.

Cut to the famous Hickman infographic with new Sinister Secrets; it’s a good recap for those who have fallen behind.

The candidates for the Council are Angel, Penance, Gorgon, Vulcan, Abigail Brand, and Beast. There is a funny interaction about Brand and Beast and their lack of moral compass. Nightcrawler suggests Legion as the replacement, but is quickly shot down. The idea of an Arakkii is thrown around, but Storm declines on their behalf because there is no combat for the seat. Cypher is offered the spot and declines again.

Exodus approaches Hope about taking the seat; she’s reluctant.

Selene is the newest candidate and makes a viable argument until she’s interrupted by Hope. Hope states that the Five should have representation on he council since they have an important role in the civilization and they have concerns about where the island is going. She doesn’t leave the council with an ultimatum, but she essentially leaves the council with an ultimatum. Selene is not happy and threatens the council if she’s not selected; Sinister believes she’s buffing, as it appears most of council does too.

Sinister believes the vote will go Hope’s way, and votes no since he doesn’t think she’ll need his vote. Destiny goes against his expectations and he recasts his vote as a yes. Hope is voted to the council.

Another Sinister Secrets, this time more cryptic.

Selene doesn’t take her rejection well and carries out her threat to destroy the Arakkii gate. Sinister retreats to his lab to watch from afar. We also learn that Sinister has multiple clones of Moria and he’s using them to try to predict the timeline.

Thoughts
A very politically driven book, which I really enjoyed. This brings a nice balance to the regular X-Men title, which deals with the “super heroing” side of mutants. I love Sinister as a character, especially since he’s been involved on Krakoa; you never know what he’s going to do and what his endgame is.

Adding Hope to the council is intriguing; with the power the Five have, they needed to be more involved with day to day operations of the island, not just resurrecting whoever they are told to.

Exodus also treated Hope like the Messiah for Mutants, which was something I felt they had moved away from. This is a nice return to an early theme of her character that was just left behind (at least I assume so…there was a small period where I wasn’t reading the X-Men stuff). I also enjoyed the “Nazarene Mutant who inspired a church” line; it’s the first time I’ve heard of Jesus as a mutant, but it would make sense in the context of the comic.

Gillen’s script is pretty tight and flows well; he’s got a good grasp of the X-Men and I’m hoping he’s the “architect” for a while. If there is one issue, it’s Sinister is almost too cryptic; I know Gillen is building the mystery of what Sinister is up to and the whole story is going to come back to what Destiny whispered to him in 1919, but it was a little much for the first issue.

Grade
4.5 out of 5; I like where this appears to be headed and Gillen is a great X-writer.