Once in a while, you run into an episode of something so incredible and tense that it takes your breath away. It can be a thrilling twist, a pulse-pounding action sequence, or a remarkable special effect. But when dialogue is responsible for this feeling, that’s when you know you have something special. While comic books are often considered spandex-clad soap operas, the mutants of Marvel take that concept to a whole new level, seeding potential conflict over years of issues. But you know you’re operating on another level when you can land this level of impact for any reader, even the ones who haven’t invested years in the sprawling tales of Westchester, Genosha, or Krakoa. “X-Men: Red” #11 hits that high mark, building an issue around a riveting argument that pulls off a number of spectacular creative decisions and leaves you wanting more.
Written by Al EwingCover by Russel Dauterman & Matthew Wilson
Illustrated by Stefano Caselli & Jacopo Camagni
Colored by Federico Blee
Lettered by VC’s Ariana MaherTHE CALM BEFORE… After Brand’s machinations and the Sins of Sinister, the mutants of Arakko are catching their breath…but even as Storm begins a new romance, she has no time to rest. Charles Xavier has questions about Magneto’s death. He’s not asking nicely.
I’ll be honest; keeping up with the Krakoan epic over multiple books has been challenging. Not everyone benefits from being personal friends with a bona fide “x-pert” who keeps you up to speed on the political machinations of the Quiet Council or the secret plots of Sinister and his clones. But the one thing that has rang true is that ‘X-Men: Red’ is worth reading, even on its own, and while “X-Men: Red” #11 does need a certain degree of prior knowledge, Al Ewing’s writing is so strong that it immediately brings you up to speed and fully engages you in the story. At this point, Ewing is a master of writing comics that work well as part of a larger epic but give you the most bang for your buck. It’s the best kind of issue. One that leaves you satisfied with the story in isolation but makes you think of the fallout that will happen in the coming weeks and months.
While “X-Men: Red” #11 has some intriguing world-building with Sunspot, Nova, and Kobak Neverheld, the real star of the issue is the Queen of Mars herself, Storm. Ewing’s ability to find the balance between Storm’s otherworldly godliness and the diplomat of the people is spectacular. Her early conversation with Craig Marshall feels like a nice change of pace with the more isolationist and militaristic Quiet Council. Sure, there is a certain degree of “superior” in her diplomatic table setting, but it seems clear that, just maybe, Ororo is more open to working with humans than her Krakoan counterparts. While this conversation is charming and the banter of Nova and Sunspot is lighthearted and fun, this is all setting the stage for a triumphant and riveting fallout between two leaders.
Throughout a few pages, Al Ewing delivers an incredible conflict that shifts the power dynamics of Krakoa and Arrako. It’s a slow burn that takes its time before providing an explosive mental battle while also mining on some of Storm and Professor X’s past. But again, the real magic of the issue is that while the fight is a culmination of months and even decades of storytelling, Ewing gives you enough to bring you up to speed but makes you feel the weight of their fallout. Again, “X-Men: Red” #11 doesn’t give you the whole backstory of Ororo joining the X-Men, but it focuses on the important part, the professor’s manipulation of the young mutant. As the pages continue, it feels like you are in a pressure cooker as Xavier struggles with the original sin of Krakoa and how that might have impacted his closest relationships. If anything, Storm is just distant enough to make it all the more enjoyable. Xavier doesn’t necessarily have any reason to fight with her outside of her connection to Max. But it’s so incredibly well done. It feels like a fight brewing for years, but you don’t need years of comics knowledge to make it land.
Continued belowAlong with the writing, Stefano Caselli and Jacopo Camagni make the fight come to life in “X-Men: Red” #11 by exploring the nuance of the emotions of the two characters. While Storm is a little more one note, going between various shades of anger, she ends the issue somewhere between spite and pity. She has lost a mentor and a friend, but the larger splintering of the mutant paradise continues. On the other hand, Xavier shifts between anger, concern, and shame. Again, Ororo isn’t there necessarily to talk. She’s there because Xavier thinks she has a secret piece of knowledge to clear his conscience. That’s why, for two brilliant pages, the issue goes from incredibly to almost transcendent. The psychic battle about halfway through the issue is absolutely spectacular visual storytelling, a montage of old panels, art styles, coloring techniques, and digital impact to condense that lengthy conflict into two loaded pages. It’s not only a fight of the present. It’s a fight of generations, years of storytelling in a splash page loaded with history.
Again, other things do happen in the issue. The stakes continue to rise on Arakko, cosmic threats making contact with the mutant planet, but it all pales into the spectacular war or words between Xavier and Ororo. In a medium judged on its spectacle, to have an issue this breathtaking, achieved through dialogue, is special. “X-Men: Red” #11 raises the stakes in all the right ways, but in a single issue, it shows a full fallout and changes the mutant world forever. It’s impressive stuff and continues to show why Ewing is one of the greats.
Final Verdict: 9.5 “X-Men: Red” #11 continues to tell engaging and impactful stories while shifting the power of the Mutant nation.
