Hickman’s “X-Men” revamp, affectionately named HoXPoX by fans, has taken over the comics world by storm. Not in a long time has a comic from the Big 2 publishers caused such fervent theorizing and discussion. Yet, here we arrive at the end of the beginning, with “Powers Of X” #6, promising to signal momentous change for the line going forward. Let’s see how Hickman, Silva, Larraz, Gracia, Curiel, and Cowles stick the landing. Of course, be aware that spoilers may follow.
Written by Jonathan Hickman
Illustrated by R.B. Silva and Pepe Larraz
Colored by Marte Gracia and David Curiel
Lettered by Clayton CowlesTHE INEVITABLE TRUTH. The revelatory tale of Mutantkind’s fall comes to a conclusion that will lay the groundwork of the X-Men’s stories for years to come! Superstar writer Jonathan Hickman (NEW AVENGERS, FF, INFINITY) and rising star artist RB Silva (UNCANNY X-MEN) wrap the series that reveals everything!
Hickman touches on plot points from issues gone by in his finale here, whilst wrapping them up and establishing a new status quo with absolute finesse. We’re shown the results of the relationship between Moira, Charles, and Erik, how it was at the very beginning, and how it has morphed and changed up to this point. Hickman then jumps to the high concept sci-fi world of X3, where we’re shown that Moira not only starts a new timeline but, with Hickman’s careful choice of words, ‘annihilates’ the old one. Something I also found interesting about this segment was the deliberately vague nature. I read the Librarian as being a future version of Charles and the discussion being the final summation of his and Moira’s relationship in that life. On the other hand, my colleagues, that I chatted with took different readings, like the symbolic importance of this being the sixth life, or the idea that it is always Wolverine who is the ignition to kill important-female-character and kick off a new chain of events. Hickman weaves an intricate, research-encouraging web of a story in these books, and its ability to be so open to interpretation might be the most fascinating part of it.
But let’s look closer at the main characters in question here. With this final issue, it comes as little doubt to find out that Moira was one of, if not, the central character of this particular series. Hickman writes her as naturally cold and calculating due to her years of wisdom attained, yet she still slips up every so often and finds out something new, which makes her feel totally and compellingly human again. The librarian’s reveal to her about the nature of machines leaves her shock, but with a totally new resolve to continue, and the final conversation with Charles and Erik makes her feel annoyance at what could happen to screw up this final grand movement. Moving into the latter two, Hickman sheds new light on Charles and Erik’s relationship that plays well with egotism. Moira has pushed this particular idea into Charles’ head from the beginning to unify their race, but Charles and Erik have taken it too far, letting their inflated masculinity allow them to disregard ‘small’ problems. This sequence reframes the grand final scene of “House Of X” #6, as now Charles and Erik walk before the celebratory masses, chalking up this victory to their own scheming and ignoring the one behind it all, Moira. Hickman is a master at all-too-human relationships like this, and it makes these characters, arguably for the first time in this series, relatable and fallible.
Silva and Larraz both feature on art in this issue, and their visual styles resonate so well to the point that it’s genuinely difficult to spot the difference. What I assume to be Silva’s opening scene is a nice throwback to the first scene in “Powers Of X” #1, which showcases his understanding of character emotional beats well. The dynamic between Charles and Moira is palpable, yet in light of events that passed between that issue and this, Moira is now reframed as friendly yet heavy with ulterior motives. Silva draws Charles exceptionally in this scene and the story-sequential one later down the line, giving him the hopeful innocence in the first with quirky, flirty side-eyes and laughs. We then see in the later sequence that Charles has changed to a more resolved, hopeful look, which compares interestingly to the final scene in this book. Charles is starting to lay out the plan with Moira, and we can see the seeds of his egotism and cunning in his intricate facial expressions. By the time we get to the helmeted Charles in the end, he is devoid of happiness, his mouth only bearing a cold and clinical resolve that this time, they’ll win. It’s a great sequence of natural character evolution, and pairs well with the themes the characters represent in the book.
Continued belowOne aspect of this series that both Silva and Larraz work at is making every scene look interesting, and that is especially the case in this issue. It’s often hard to make a superhero comic that predominantly features talking compelling, yet the artists manage to do so not just through facial expressions but by bringing the world around the characters to a vivid, exciting life. The opening scene does this well, and cleverly on the nose, as Charles and Moira are at a carnival – and what is a carnival if not a place where countless things are occurring all at once? Similarly, during the X3 sequence, we get one piece of action that is barely viewable in Wolverine leaping at the librarian. However, it’s the action happening all around paired with the emotional beats that make this so enjoyable. Whilst the Librarian describes The Preserve and its manufactured realness, we get a sense of that in the art: the flora and fauna are so beautiful and perfectly maintained, it can come off as something hyper-real and lacking the true chaos of nature. Even in pages like the nine-panel grid, we don’t just get repetitions of the same emotional beat: Silva gives us asymmetry of Moira and Wolverine, followed by the inhuman silhouette of the Librarian who then goes on to pluck a nearby flower and dissect it, like the Phalanx with humanity. The artists, in this, give us fantastic visual storytelling that keeps every aspect of the issue interesting.
Gracia and Curiel provide colors here and give this final issue the pop that it needs to stand out. There’s a great contrast in this issue between the interesting yet mundane reality of the X0 story and the vibrancy of each other timeline that makes each one stand out. The Carnival scene is naturally vibrant and fun, yet the tone of each color still feels muted, especially giving off the idea that this a world before Moira and Xavier’s spark truly ignited. Then we skip to the hyper-alienism of the X3 timeline, in which Gracia and Curiel paint trees with purples and oranges, and the air has a haunting, orange-verging-on-red finality to it. Then we get to the final and main timeline of X1, which the pair give a vivid, beautiful saturated feel that in the now reframed context of Charles, Erik’s and Moira’s relationship, feels intentionally manufactured and almost false.
Hickman’s HoXPoX saga comes to an end that marks a bold new beginning for the “X-Men” line with “Powers Of X” #6. There’s so much intricacy in each character moment and every plot decision that deserves to be unpacked over and over. The momentous art team also packs the same amount of detail into every panel, with great emotional beats and vivid environmental work that makes this issue a dream to pour-over. For the first time in a long time, I couldn’t be more excited for the future of the X-Men.
Final Score: 9.1 – A momentous finale that opens up a world of possibility for the future of the X-line, “Powers Of X” #6 is grand storytelling at it’s finest.
