Death of X
Death of X | |
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Publication information | |
Publisher | Marvel Comics |
Genre |
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Publication date | October – November 2016 |
Main character(s) | Iso Medusa |
Creative team | |
Written by | Jeff Lemire Charles Soule |
Artist(s) | Aaron Kuder |
Penciller(s) | Javier Garron Aaron Kuder |
Inker(s) | Javier Garron Scott Hanna Aaron Kuder Jay Leisten Cam Smith |
Letterer(s) | Joe Sabina |
Colorist(s) | Andrew Crossley Jason Keith Morry Hollowell Matt Milla Wil Quintana Jay David Ramos |
Editor(s) | Daniel Ketchum Nick Lowe Wil Moss Mark Paniccia |
Death of X is a 2016
Publication history
Death of X was a limited series event that was first announced by Marvel in early spring 2016.
Everyone at Marvel remained tight-lipped as to the meaning of the title, with many fans speculating that it meant Marvel was going to use this event to officially kill off the
Death of X serves as a prequel to the X-Men and Inhuman titles part of the All New, All Different lineup. All of the titles that were part of the All New, All Different lineup of comics were set eight months after
Plot synopsis
Cyclops and his team of X-Men land on
Storm holds an emergency meeting with Medusa to discuss this new development and how to move forward. They agree to work together to track the Terrigen cloud and evacuate any mutants who are in its way while the Inhumans assist Beast in working out why the Terrigen is becoming toxic to mutants and how to stop it. They agree to keep the nature of the Terrigen quiet in hopes of avoiding a panicked incident. After the meeting ends, Medusa makes plans for war just in case any mutants become hostile towards the Inhumans in light of this new situation. With the help of Emma Frost and the Stepford Cuckoos, Cyclops delivers a telepathic message to the entire world about the truth of Terrigen, vocally blaming the Inhumans for favoring their own whilst leaving the mutants to die. While broadcasting the message, Irma sees something in Emma's mind that Emma demands be kept quiet. Cyclops' broadcast leads to mass hysteria in Madrid where the Terrigen Cloud is heading. Magik demands a meeting with Cyclops, but he and Emma brush her aside and make new plans in private. While Cyclops' X-Men bury the mutants killed on Muir Island, Storm meets with Crystal and they combine their powers to push the Terrigen cloud away from the populace. Even with the cloud going in a new direction away from Madrid, the riot continues to grow. Crystal orders Daisuke to use his powers to make everyone fall asleep to end the riot. He does so, but it also makes Storm and her team of X-Men fall asleep. Emma converses with Magneto to make new plans on how to end the threat of Terrigen, claiming that mutants and Inhumans cannot successfully coexist.[10]
Storm and Crystal quickly realize that Magneto is trying to distract them while Cyclops and his team attack the Terrigen cloud. Crystal immediately alerts Medusa and the rest of the
Aftermath
Tensions remained high between the Inhumans and X-Men that served as an underlying story arc for both Inhuman and X-Men titles. As a direct result of Emma Frost's actions the world, already in more favor with the Inhumans than the X-Men, began to see mutants as even more of a threat and a danger than ever before
Uncanny Inhumans
The Inhumans continue to gain more and more favor in the public eye for their heroics as more and more
Extraordinary X-Men
With the help of
Uncanny X-Men Volume 4
Magneto took on a more militaristic approach than Storm and recruited his own team of X-Men consisting of
Inhumans vs. X-Men
Beast and Iso continue to work hard at discovering a cure for the infected mutants for the cloud, but soon discover that in a matter of weeks the cloud will render earth completely inhospitable for all mutants. This provides Beast with only two outcomes: mutants need to leave the planet and start fresh elsewhere, or stay behind and keep trying to find a cure at the risk of extinction. Meanwhile, Emma and the Stepford Cuckoos do not join any of the X-Men teams and she becomes so traumatized by Cyclops death that she starts believing her own lie that Black Bolt killed him, causing her to train herself for battle against the Inhumans and she develops a plan to fight the Inhumans and destroy the cloud on mutant terms instead of waiting for Beast and Iso. While legitimately wanting to avoid a war against the X-Men, Medusa begins to make preparations for the inevitable fact that war may soon be coming. Not wanting to be forced to leave the planet, the X-Men declare war against the Inhumans, with both sides fighting for their right to thrive as a species. Emma in particular displays increasingly harsh and aggressive tactics towards the Inhumans.[17]
Critical reception
Death of X received mixed to positive reviews from critics, with most critics lauding the art done by Aaron Kuder and battle scenes. A review done by
Newsarama gave the fourth and final issue a score of 6/10, feeling like while the story did what it was supposed to do, the writers focused too much on Cyclops and thus alienated other aspects of the story that could have been fleshed out. They felt that the overall story while compelling was undermined due to the fact that readers already knew how it was going to end.[23] Jack Fisher at Popmatters gave the 4th issue 4 out of 10 stars, feeling as though the story was incomplete and stating, "This may be okay for a movie trailer, but for a complete story that kills off one of the most iconic X-men in history, it’s not even close to being enough."[24] As a whole series, Eric Joseph gave Death of X 4.5 stars out of 5, giving it a good standing stating that "Death of X is the very definition of a crossover spectacle, but certain aspects may prove to be highly disorienting for those not caught up on certain developments in recent years" and then going on to describe it as a "highly satisfying precursor to Inhumans vs. X-Men and should be considered as required reading".[25] Michael Cheang gave the series a score of 6/10 due to considering the scenes with the X-Men more captivating than the Inhumans and going as far as to describe Crystal's leadership as bland in comparison to Storm's. He then continues on to say that the series spends a lot of time muddling through some scenes without getting a full sense of enmity between the X-Men and Inhumans.[26]
References
- ^ White, Brett (25 March 2016). "Marvel Teases "Death of X" for Fall 2016". cbr.com. CBR. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
- ^ Lovett, Jamie (9 May 2016). "Marvel Announces Death of X Variant Covers". comicbook.com. ComicBook.com. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
- ^ Arrant, Chris (23 July 2016). "X-MEN/INHUMANS: TERRIGENOCIDE Announced". newsarama.com. Newsarama. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
- ^ Helvie, Forrest C. (11 July 2016). "Marvel Now! Hear This: Death of X". Marvel.com. Marvel. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
- ^ Holub, Christian (7 July 2016). "Marvel's 'Death of X': Mutants and Inhumans will collide". ew.com. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
- ^ Mekler, Ben (12 July 2016). "DID MARVEL COMICS JUST SILENTLY KILL THE X-MEN?". nerdist.com. Nerdist. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
- ^ Johnston, Rich (9 May 2016). "Marvel Tortures Fans Over Killing Off The X-Men". bleedingcool.com. Bleeding Cool. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
- ^ Bacon, Tom (27 July 2016). "The X-Men And The Inhumans Are Finally Going Head-To-Head!". moviepilot.com. Movie Pilot. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
- ^ Death of X #1
- ^ Death of X #2
- ^ Death of X #3
- ^ Death of X #4
- ^ Uncanny Inhumans #1
- ^ Uncanny Inhumans #2
- ^ Extraordinary X-Men #1
- ^ Uncanny X-Men Volume 4
- ^ IVX #0-6
- ^ Marnell, Blair (5 October 2016). "MARVEL POISONS THE SKIES IN DEATH OF X #1 (REVIEW)". nerdist.com. Nerdist. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
- ^ Partridge, Justin (6 October 2016). "Best Shots Review: DEATH OF X #1 Disappointing (4/10)". newsarama.com. Newsarama. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
- ^ Schedeen, Jesse (19 October 2016). "DEATH OF X #2 REVIEW". ign.com. IGN. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
- ^ Schedeen, Jesse (2 November 2016). "DEATH OF X #3 REVIEW". ign.com. IGN. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
- ^ Long, Aaron (4 November 2016). "Review: DEATH OF X #3". comicosity.com. Comicosity. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
- ^ Pepose, David (23 November 2016). "Best Shots Review: DEATH OF X #4 'The End of an Era'". newsarama.com. Newsarama. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
- ^ Fisher, Jack (28 November 2016). "The Fight Is Rigged in Death of X #4". popmatters.com. Popmatters. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
- ^ Joseph, Eric (February 2017). "Death Of X Review". wegotthiscovered.com. Wegotthiscovered. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
- ^ Cheang, Michael (29 November 2016). "Review: Death Of X #1-#4". star2.com. Star Media Group Berhad. Retrieved 23 April 2017.