Dawn of X, Vol. 15

X-Men: Age of Krakoa (Anthology Trades)

by Jonathan Hickman, Ed Brisson, Gerry Duggan

Mystery in the Dawn of X! The Jonathan Hickman-led reimagining of mutantkind continues! The Marauders sail the high seas to protect Krakoan interests! X-Factor investigates mutant deaths - and resurrections! X-Force do whatever it takes to keep Krakoa safe! The Children of the Atom follow in their heroes' footsteps! The all-new Hellions take their cues from Mister Sinister! And the events of Empyre are felt by the X-Men!

Collects X-Factor (2020) #3, Wolverine (2020) #5, New Mutants (2019) #12, Marauders (2019) #11-12, Giant-Size X-Men: Fantomex (2020) #1.

Genres: Comics, Marvel, X Men, Graphic Novels, Graphic Novels Comics, Superheroes, Fiction

176 pages, Paperback

First published April 15, 2021

About the author

Jonathan Hickman is an American comic book writer and artist. He is known for creating the Image Comics series The Nightly News, The Manhattan Projects and East of West, as well as working on Marvel Comics' Fantastic Four, FF, and S.H.I.E.L.D. titles. In 2012, Hickman ended his run on the Fantastic Four titles to write The Avengers and The New Avengers, as part the "Marvel NOW!" relaunch. In 2013, Hickman wrote a six-part miniseries, Infinity, plus Avengers tie-ins for Marvel Comics. In 2015, he wrote the crossover event Secret Wars. - Wikipedia

Reviews

[Oscar]

Decent volume. X factor wasn't good. 2.8 🌟

[Adam Stone]

After a bit of a rought start, this volume is one of the better Dawn Of X titles in a while. X-Factor has quickly gone from promising to eyerolling for me. It's mainly that I can't think of a Mojoverse story that's ever been good. It's an interesting concept, and Mojo is always a ridiculous character, but every writer wants to update the Mojoverse (which makes sense) to the latest jargon and technical advances. But they never get it quite right. The dialogue, jokes, and panel to panel storytelling was grating in the Mojoverse parts but well-paced in the scenes between Daken and Aurora. The largest frustration for long time readers will be the characterization of Spiral who bears no resemblance to any previous version of the character that I recall. This might be a deliberate choice by Williams to point out that she's a prisoner, as Shattershot behaves differently in this issue but it's clear that it's a cry for help. This was a 2/5 for me.

I'm also not a huge fan of Dracula in the Marvel Universe, but the Wolverine story doesn't give Dracula too much attention, instead focusing on how the use of Wolverine's blood has created a 30 Days Of Night scenario across Canada. The Canadian setting, and the lack of other X-characters makes this feel like some of the better Wolverine runs, like Greg Rucka's, rather than being more similar to the bloated Wolverine eras where he was in a billion stories being King Badass Of Everything. 3/5.

The New Mutants story about Magik and crew taking it to Dox, a website outing mutants and helping the Marvel Universe's right wing nutjob/terrorists allegorical groups attack mutants. The story, in general, is really strong, but the highlight is the conversation between Glob and Magik that closes the issue. I never really think about Glob, even though he's been a character in the X-Verse since Grant Morrison introduced him twenty years ago. This is the first time I remember his character being really fleshed out. I loved it. It felt really honest. 5/5

The two Marauders issues gives us the return of Kitty Pride whose absence (again again again) affected not just the characters in her title, but resonated through all of the X-books. We don't get the revenge story here, but the seeds are planted in a fascinating manner, and we get quality glimpses at Storm, The Five, Magik, and several others. 4/5

The book closes with the Fantomex Giant Sized issue. Another Morrison character, but this one's had plenty of in-depth character examinations, particularly during his time with X-Force. This issue was fine. I'm not sure how much I care about The World, but it was fun to see the various groyps of humand and mutants that Fantomex has interacted with over the years as he tries to understand The World. But in the end, we don't learn much more about The World than we knew before the issue started. 3/5

I'm not sure this would be a good entry point for any new X-reader, but for continuity porn fans, once you get past the frustration of X-Factor (which could totally pay out in future issues), this is a Must Read.

[Judah Radd]

Really great volume. Stuff is moving in all the titles. I still don’t love X-Factor, but Marauders is sooooo damn good, Wolverine is awesome, New Mutants is great, and the Fantomex one shot is totally rad. Really loved the volume as a whole.

[Hanieh]

3/5
I like it when topics are more heavy on the side of x-books. It was an alright DoX issue for me. I was surprised on some fronts. Picked up sth i have dropped. And all together it was a 3 star for me. Let's see how each one was for me:

X-Factor #3 : 4/5
Finally it's actually moving towards sth. The plot twists and the characters are getting better and the art is decent so i think it's got many boxes checked.

Wolverine #5 : 2/5
Nah. The Dracula thing still feels weird. The mutant world is definitely going through too many directions sometimes. I mean magic and Kaijus and immortality and multiverse, i just feel like the whole vampire thing is a bit too much.

New Mutants#12 : 3/5
I just picked it up again and it surprised me with improvements the story and characters had made. Well done.

Marauders#11 : 4/5
Soooo happy for Kate's return. This is honestly one of the strongest x-books and i just love this crazy bunch. Emma is fascinating too.

Marauders#12 : 2.5/5
Was a slap to the face after the previous one. The art sorta sucked. And i wanted more from the story. I think it was handled a bit carelessly.

Giant-Size X-Men: Fantomex #1 : 2.5/5
It better be heading somewhere. That's all i have to say

[Blindzider]

Most of this was a reread for me.

I still don't care for X-Factor.

Wolverine is good, especially the art.

New Mutants was surprisingly satisfying with Glob's story.

Marauders was excellent. Happy to see Kitty's problem resolved and the new one is going to be fun to watch what comes next. Really like Duggan's take on Emma: strong and vindictive, yet still vulnerable and caring.

Fantomex seems like a lot of setup for something later.

[James]

Mojoverse is something that we could turn into if we are not careful. More Wolverine vs. vampires. It's hard to know what side Fantomex is on.

[Daniel Butcher]

I liked my the Kitty stuff…but struggling to see how a solid Fantomex tale fits into all this.

[Sonic]

I must say I prefer this stuff over 90's X-Men.

[Liv]

rly am so enamored with the high seas piracy vibe of marauders and i wish there was more of it!!!! also welcome back kate my beloved, i missed u so much

[Amanda]

Spring 2020 (April);

Dawn of X (Vol. 11-16)
X of Swords (full)
Reign of X (Vol. 1-7)

** As a spoiler warning, do not read this review unless you've read all of the above issues, not just the volume where you've found this review. **

I did a massive multi-volume, multi-arc blitz recently and so I'm going to just drop a lot of what's hot here & going to be copying it down across a million books. My favorite thing literally is now and forever the Polycule going on in Summer House. I love his universe and am certainly very curious about the things still hiding in the shadows.

I'm glad Kitty found her way through that thing. I'm glad we didn't lose Betsy while we were in the other universe where death *sort of* sticks. Excalibur remains the most arrestingly gorgeous art. I'm still not interested in the one and only story comics know how to tell with Beast. I love the whole council and can't stop cooing over Erik as the Left Hand/Charles as the right (and even more so the bits where/how Jean & Scott are off to reform the X-Men #goodboy).

Jeanne & The Twins, in general, are back and I'm super duper in love with that. I really madly adore that there isn't any vast soap opera drama with any relationships or old bad blood that can't be given a new chance in Krakoa. There's such a breath of fresh air reading a lot of the choices Hickman and his writers have made.

[Sesana]

Not every issue is strong, but they all at least have high points. I wasn't thrilled with the X-Factor Mojoverse story, but I'm never thrilled with Mojoverse stories. At least the scene with Daken and Aurora was great, and it set up something potentially interesting with Shatterstar. Wolverine has gone full on vampires. Again, something that I'm not conceptually very interested in, but the execution is good enough. I think my biggest reservation about Wolverine as a book at this point is that it doesn't really feel like it goes with the other Dawn of X books, since it's set outside Krakoa and in total isolation from other mutants. Still good, though. Marauders is, of course, great, finally bringing Kate back to life and explaining her problem entering Krakoa in a way that makes sense and is satisfying to see resolved. And then there's a Fantomex issue to wrap the volume up. I kind of like Fantomex as a character, even if I'm not invested in The World part of his backstory, and this issue does a good job of summing up his background and career to this point.

[Rocky Sunico]

I really enjoyed this volume, and I suppose that plays heavily towards which of the X-titles I've come to enjoy the most across this Hickman revamp. The Marauders is definitely one of the strongest books and the specific issues included her depict some very strong character moments for Kitty Pryde.

The New Mutants is still a bit of a mixed bag, but still comes out strong more often than not. And wow that last Giant-Sized X-Men book dedicated to Fantomex? That was mind-blowingly amazing despite not necessarily telling us more specific information about Fantomex's history. But dang, it was nice to see the World as brought to life by Rod Reis.

Reis' art is rather transcendent and he was the perfect choice for the Fantomex story.

[Martijn Van]

X-Factor #3: Everything this does had been done lots of times before (and better). At least i iked Aurora's letter at the end. 2,5☆
Wolverine #5: Still find it hard to read about Dracula in an X-Men comic. There is some okay action in here. 3☆
New Mutants #12: Fun story about anger and online hatred. 4☆
Marauders #11: Finally Kate is back altough the way she is resurrected feels a bit like a cop-out. 3,5☆
Marauders #12: Nice fresh start with a weird and forced last shot. 4☆
Giant-Size Fantomex: Tickles intrest in the character and his 'the world'. 3,5☆

Overall 3,4☆

[M.L.D.]

X-Factor 3 : I love this book. Still bitter about its cancellation. 5/5

Wolverine 5: Still not crazy about the vamps storyline, but I love the overall look & feel. 4/5

New Mutants 12: I like Glob, so the stars are for him. 4/5

Marauders 11: finally, finally! Kate is back! 5/5

Marauders 12: I...really don't like the artist on this issue. And I guess after all this time, we need an issue where everyone celebrates that Kitty is returned, but disappointing after all this waiting. Also, did I mention how much I hate the art? 2/5

Fantomex: Meh 3/5

[Frank Jarome]

We’ve settled into a pattern with these books now. Wolverine is really good, and kind of a companion to X-Force, which should be called “When did Beast become a supervillain?” Marauders is great, Excalibur has a great cast but is mediocre, New Mutants is just there, X-Factor and Hellions are love, and X-Men itself is hit & miss. I’m looking forward to X of Swords and seeing where things go from there, it’s time for a shakeup of the patterns these books have settled into...

[Matt]

Collects X-Factor (2020) #3, Wolverine (2020) #5, New Mutants (2019) #12, Marauders (2019) #11-12, Giant-Size X-Men: Fantomex (2020) #1

"Marauders" is the best! I love that title.

I like where things are going with the "Fantomex" story.

Nothing else in this collection was worth it to me.

Here is my ranking of the issues in this collection:

1. Marauders #11-12
2. Giant-Size X-Men: Fantomex
3. X-Force
4. Wolverine
5. New Mutants

[Charles Korb]

X-factor: stories about the commoditization of emotions in the modern day are a dime a dozen but I liked this one

Marauders: So glad to get Kitty back. If this was a comic for an older age range, I can almost guarantee the tattoo on her right hand in the cover here wouldn't say "kill"

The wolverine and new Mutants stories were both fine

Even after reading what felt like an overview of his life, I do not understand who fantomex is or what his deal is.

[Jamie]

Really more of a run-of-the-mill three star read, but without any really obvious spoilers, it earned an extra star from me for the creative return of a certain character and the person who figured out how to pull it off, thereby adding to the dynamic of their already really well-written and historic relationship with each other.

[Sam Erin]

I did not care about the Wolverine issue b/c I do not like vampires in my xmen. I also didn't care the Fantomex issue since I know nothing about him and the issue didn't make me interested. X factor was AMAZING and I'm very much in love with Shatterstar. But the Marauders issues KNOCKED it out of the park. Kate is a fucking ICON. An Amazing Jewish ICON. And I cannot wait for her to murder Shaw.

[Raul Reyes]

X factor = 3
So basically the entire last issue was filler, got it

Wolverine= 3
Who cares about vampires, I certainly don’t. Also again the series is acting like it’s really delving deep into his psychology when it’s not

New Mutants= 4

Marauders = 3
So nice of them to finally advance Kitty’s plot

Fantomex = 4
Amazing art, don’t understand the point the story is trying to make

[Afreen Aftab]

X-Factor (2020) #3 - 4/5 ( this story just got all black mirror like)
Wolverine (2020) #5 - 4/5
New Mutants (2019) #12 - 4/5
Marauders (2019) #11-12 - 4/5
Giant-Size X-Men: Fantomex (2020) #1 3/5 (what did i just read?)

[Sarospice]

Things are better outside the Empyre crossover. You'll blub over Glob's confession. I love how Kitty can't phase with the island or the resurrection so she turns lezzie. Even the giant size Fantomex paid off.

[Nick Holt]

One of my favorite volumes.
New Mutants continues to be a highlight title for dawn of x, a satisfying Captain Kate Marauders story, And Fantomex allows Rod Reis, one of my favorite artists to do what he does best, weird sci Fi stuff with brilliant colors.
*Chef's kiss

[Malum]

The marauders was the real standout here. I don't even bother with X-Factor anymore.

[Jose]

The best Dawn of X book in a while!

[Courtney]

At long last they finally brought Kate back from the dead! It took way to long to get there! But I’m glad that she’s alive!

[Bekka]

Kate and her relationships with everyone are beautiful! Especially her reunion with Illy!
TW for grief, death, memories of being shot, violence, blood

[Ryan]

Stand out issues would be the Marauders stuff and the Fantomex issue illustrated by Rod Reis. Just skip the X-Factor altogether. They take an interesting premise and just make it unreadable.

[Kevin Thompson]

Great

Almost done and really enjoying this relaunch. Can't wait to start X of Swords. Art and stories are great. I may go back and reread.

[Philip]

3ish stars.

X-factor is truly awful and a huge letdown.