X-Men: Hellfire Gala - Red Carpet Edition

X-Men (2019)

by Jonathan Hickman (Writer), Pepe Larraz (Cover Art), Matteo Lolli (Illustrator)

The X-Men are rolling out the red carpet for the biggest Krakoan event of the season - and this high-class hardcover details every drink, dance, dalliance and deception at the Hellfire Gala!

Collects X-Men (2019) #21, Marauders (2019) #21, Excalibur (2019) #21, X-Force (2019) #20, New Mutants (2019) #19, X-Factor (2020) #10, Hellions (2020) #12, S.W.O.R.D. (2020) #6, Way of X (2021) #3, X-Corp (2021) #2, Wolverine (2020) #13, Planet-Size X-Men (2021) #1, material from Classic X-Men (1986) #7, Hellfire Gala Guide.

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

400 pages, Hardcover

First published December 14, 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

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

The underlying story here is actually pretty cool. Unfortunately, though it's somewhat buried behind a lot of fluff. Unless you are a completist, you are better off reading the regular X-Men: Hellfire Gala edition which only collects the core issues to the story. The issues of this I really liked were the Hellions issue (It's hilarious!), the X-Force and Wolverine issues which crossover with one another, and Planet-Size X-Men.

[Sean Gibson · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's a lot of filler here, but I still enjoyed it a lot, and probably more than I should.

So, it's basically White Lion's 1991 opus Mane Attraction.

[Jesús De la Jara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este gran evento que me gustó más que otros anteriores de Hickman trata de la Gran Fiesta del Hellfire, ofrecido por Emma Frost a los mutantes pero sobre todo a los humanos e incluso extraterrestres. El objetivo es claro: mostrar la supremacía mutante y de fondo, se guarda en este evento, un suceso que se presenta durante los juegos artificiales. Es una noticia bastante shockante creo sobre todo para la humanidad. Es algo interesante, sin embargo, siento que los mutantes están saltando demasiado alto y rápido sin un gran sustento o por lo menos cimentado en el tiempo.
Esto desde luego traerá opiniones encontradas. Tiene que ver con esta posición nueva de los Arakko, raza mutante ancestral, que luego de los eventos de Sword of X tienen su lugar. Esto igual no me termina de convencer y me gustaría saber cuál será su lugar a futuro.
Por otra parte, el evento ha sido una excelente ocasión para que los dibujantes y autores pongan ropas novedosas en los mutantes, pues todos fueron muy "bien" vestidos. Desde luego hay diseños que me gustan y otros que para nada. En realidad el enfoque ha sido muy diverso.

[Sud666 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. This is a collection of multiple titles all covering an event known as the "Hellfire Gala". Some of the titles, and their art, are good and others, along with the art, are mediocre.

The X-Men have invited many ambassadors to Krakoa for a Hellfire Gala where they wish to inform the world about their plans for setting up a mutant colony on Mars. Not everyone is happy and some people try to cause trouble at the event.

That's the bare bones of the plot. As far as it goes, some of the titles that are X-Men comics are good and I was interested. The others, such as The New Mutants, are YA fan fiction replete with unnecessary dialogue that is painful to read.

While there is an attempt at a cohesive story, the problem with multiple titles written and drawn by different people tends to make a disconcerting read. This is certainly the case where major events and players are overshadowed by some random entry with babbling teenagers whining about their angst. Spare me.

So a good looking volume (in terms of presentation) but not a very entertaining one.

[Matty Dub · Rating 1 out of 5]

If this is what we're to expect after Hickman's departure, then X-Men are truly fucked.

It's so frustrating to have been given some of the best buildup and world building in franchise history only to see Marvel abandon Hickman's work the second he steps away. He really was too good for them.

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm so far behind in my X-Men reading. This huge graphic novel includes all of the "Hellfire Gala" issues from the various X-Men titles, but the only one I had read up to this point was Wolverine, so I was fairly lost. That being said, from what I could piece together this wasn't bad. I'm not sure if I like the whole Krakoa era of the X-Men, but I'll with hold my judgement until I read more of it.

[Adam Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Situated near the beginning of what Marvel is calling "Reign of X", we have (finally!!) the Hellfire Gala. Lots of changes happen here, all during amazing outfits revealed for our characters (courtesy of Jumbo Carnation; seriously, look these up if you aren't going to read this... seeing all their formal attire is truly visionary).
NOTE: I didn't read the "X-Corp" or "Way of X" chapters because I hadn't had any previous experience with these titles and want to read them in the context of their own graphic novels, which will be soon.
Highlights:
- Many many of Marvel's finest are in attendance, including celebrities (Cyclops even talks to Kevin Feige!) and dignitaries from both allies and not-yet allies of Krakoa.
- The ambassadors from Terra Verde are a problematic part of the story. Beast and Sage worked together to overcome the telefloronic infestation and are actually using them to help convince other nations to join via a form of mind control. When Emma discovers what is going on, the action is shutdown, a deal for silence made, and the alliance with Terra Verde dissolved. (What was Beast thinking? UGH He has really frustrated me lately!)
- Deadpool swims to the shores of Krakoa, and tries to join the party, considering himself an honorary X-Man since he was on the original X-Force. He is stopped and ejected by Logan and Domino. (Very funny scene!)
- Jean telepathically holds elections for the new official X-Men team. They are Jean, Cyclops, Rogue, Sunfire, Wolverine (Laura), Synch, and Polaris.
- The Hellions, most of who are reforming villains under Sinister, crash the party when they aren't invited. The three exceptions to the rule are Sinister, Havok, and Psylocke (who was so gorgeous, my jaw actually dropped... and so did a few of the characters)
- In the event "X of Swords", the world lost Captain Britain (Betsy) for a while, and the British government, under Ambassador Reuben Brousseau, announces that Great Britain is dissolving their treaty with Krakoa. This causes a few issues: 1) Brousseau, who is a member of Coven Akkaba, trap and sacrifice Pete Wisdom, resulting in the resurrection of Morgan Le Fay, which will definitely be explored in the pages of Excalibur. 2) Rictor, who has been studying magic intensely, calls upon the help of the Druids of Britain to create a new island around the Braddock Lighthouse to free it from British control, keeping it an ally of Krakoa.
- The largest thing that happens is that many Omega-level mutants work together to terraform Mars and move the island of Arakko there, renaming Mars as Planet Arakko, the first mutant planet. S.W.O.R.D. leader Abigail Brand meets with galactic representatives from many of the known empires in space (Shi'Ar, Spartax, Kree/Skrull, etc) to acknowledge Planet Arakko as the capital planet of the Sol System, with Storm as the Queen Regent (freaking awesome!), in exchange for a supply of mysterium, an easily created metal that is as hard as Adamantium.
- Finally, the entire Gala ends when the body of Scarlet Witch is found murdered and in the bushes. Chief suspect is Magneto, and this will be explored in "The Trial of Magneto".

When will we start to see the cracks in this 'Reign'? Or is the mutant race truly going to be in a good place and free to grow again? Not sure... but I am definitely along for the ride. Can't wait to read about the new X-Men team!
Strong recommend.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why on Earth Marvel think collecting more things in this hardcover volume compared to the paperback collection is a good idea, I have no idea, but that's not the point here.

Collected here are all of the X-Men issues that tie in to the larger Hellfire Gala story, which was touted for about six months in the preceding comics. To say it's a game-changer would be underselling it, because there's at least two huge plot points that go on at the Gala that springboard a load of other storylines forward, noteably in the Planet-Size X-Men issue.

Some of the other issues won't land quite as well on their own - X-Factor is actually the final issue of the run, for instance, and X-Corp is literally the second issue of a 5 issue series. They're great in context, but I don't think they'll do as well here.

But for every strange issue, you get stuff like Wolverine and X-Force, which tell two halves of the same story, or Hellions which is just hilarious. SWORD's also pretty important to the big plot, as well as the X-Men issue of course.

What I really enjoyed was how unique this 'crossover' - it's basically one big party, and it doesn't pretend to be anything more than that for the most part. The fashions are on parade, as are the celebrity cameos (surprisingly), and there's very little actual fighting outside of a few conflicts in the shadows.

Something different, and mostly successful. If you're reading all of the series involved then you'll get a bit more mileage out of the individual issues, but the overall spectacle can't be denied.

[Billy Jepma · Rating 3 out of 5]

There’s some solid stuff here—and the event is never better than when it leans into the playful pomp and circumstance—but it suffers from all the classic problems of a comic crossover, which dilutes the collection significantly. Part of the problem is with me, I acknowledge, considering most of the tie-ins here are less about the events of the Gala than they are continuations of the ongoing stories in their respective books. I can’t speak to the quality of those books, but the showings here range from fine to incredibly skippable, at best. Again, it’s telling that the highlights of the collection are whenever the creative team lets their characters unplug from whatever grander story they’re enrolled in and engage in some classic partying antics.

Artwork is pretty stellar across the board, though, and the costuming alone made this something I’m glad I dove into, even if the storytelling in the tie-ins didn’t do much for me. Mileage will vary, but there’s no denying the genius of turning this premise into a proper event.

[Jose Moreira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great run

[Michael · Rating 1 out of 5]

Meh. Too many ideas, not enough story.

[Tom Ewing · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I read the Krakoan era’s first crossover event, X of Swords, I remember thinking that a lot of the most fun stuff was happening off on the fringes, in the issues involving parties and side quests. Maybe the X-Writers thought so too, as this is a crossover event entirely themed around a giant party, as Krakoa invites the world to a ball and takes the opportunity to make a couple of big announcements.

As a sheer exercise in editorial coordination it’s a marvel - read in suggested order I think there’s only one scene which spoils anything in progress elsewhere (and it might not actually count since it’s spoiling ugly-duckling Children Of The Atom, who don’t even get a legit tie in). What’s astonishing is that it’s enjoyable to read too, even if - especially if - a lot of what happens is stylish* fluff, little snippets of dialogue playing off old continuity beats. Never outside of terrible NFT launches has a lavish party had so much nerd content.

There are plenty of actual plot developments too, though some of the most memorable issues are the books that revel in being the fringe of a fringe - the Hellions’ gatecrashing the bash and Nightcrawler catching up with, of all people**, Stacy X. The big plot-movement points are the X-Men solving the problem X Of Swords left them with of housing a million fighting-mad Arakko mutants, and the formation of the first elected X-Men team, which is considerably less interesting but presumably moves some pieces where Gerry Duggan wanted them.

To enjoy the Hellfire Gala you need to be pretty invested not just in the X-Men universe but in the specific Krakoa era arc - as well as setting up future plots this feels like a moment of intentional zenith, a peak of the X-Men’s in-universe power, even as its sprawl across a dozen comics (several very short lived) suggests a certain amount of decadence at the publisher’s end as well as the character’s. Still, by now I am that invested - and this is an event genuinely like no other from Marvel, plus just a hell of a thing to pull off.

*and not so stylish - I must have missed the story of the deep grudge Jumbo Carnation clearly holds against Magneto.

**”of all people” a redundant aside in the Krakoa comics whose joyful willingness to use anyone and everyone is one of its great virtues.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume collects all of the Hellfire Gala issues that were scattered throughout the various X-titles of the Krakoan era. There is a spine of four "essential" stories wherein the most important events of the Gala take place, while the rest of the issues are more supplementary to the main story, and often tie more directly into the current storylines in those books (though on a couple occasions prove to be little more than unnecessary fluff).

The actual spine of the Hellfire Gala event involves the kickoff of the event, the reveal of the newly-selected X-Men team, the grandiose gesture where the mutants flex their power and shake up things in a major way (terraforming Mars and claiming it in the name of Arrako), which I have to admit was pretty damn cool, and finally, setting up some cosmic stuff as a result of the aforementioned flex and also laying the groundwork for the Trial of Magneto storyline.

Other issues involve a very morally questionable political scheme of Beast's almost exposing X-Force in the middle of the gala, Deadpool trying to crash the party and Wolverine trying to stop him, and the Hellions wrecking havoc in the middle of the event. They're certainly less important to the story, but they do show the event from a variety of perspectives and together paint a good picture of how grandiose an affair this event was.

The art of course varies from issue to issue, but for the most part it's quite good, and my favorite thing about it is seeing all of the wildly inventive costumes that characters wear to the gala. I felt that the creativity for the costume designs was really firing on all cylinders. I understand that Marvel's current X-editorial team has decided to make the Hellfire Gala an annual affair, and I can't think of any better way to make people sick and tired of this in no time at all. Once was fun and unique, but if they do this every year it's going to get old fast.

[Alejandro Montero · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rereading this was awesome. This was peak Krakoa era, and now that it's over, I look back at it and feel so much nostalgia. This was such a great X-Men story, and well Emma Frost is just amazing.
The creation of Arakko is perhaps one of the greatest moments in mutant history.
Krakoa era might be my favourite in X-Men history and this comic was incredible. Please read it, enjoy it and bask in the glory of X-Men at the top of their power.

[Emmett Spain · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this. There were a couple of inessential issues that could have been deleted, but who cares when the overall story is so cool, the imagination on display is next-level, and the narrative pushes the X-world forward in meaningful ways?

Not to mention that it was all so darn cool. Loved it. Great stuff!

[Milan Konjevic · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ovo mi je bilo najlosije od svih eventova Hikmanove ere, a sada, na drugo citanje, povremeno je i uzasno dosadno. Ipak, par epizoda - od kojih ona sa teraformiranjem - izvlace stvar. Sledi mi ponovno citanje Magnetovog sudjenja.

[Joseph Domingo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty cool, some fun costumes

[Rick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection is a microcosm of the good and bad coming out of the entire X-Men line for the last couple years. It can be hard to keep track of the large number of characters. It also makes many of them feel underused, as well as highlighting some who are overused. Despite the immense number of pages, very little actually happens. However, the costumes for the Hellfire Gala are cool. And the major event of the X-Men turning Mars into Planet Arakko is pretty awesome. Did I feel like this could have been half the pages and I still get the same story across? Sure, but the large reveals felt like they made up for a lot of the things I did not like.

[Clint · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mostly fun collection of crossover issues, plus the standout one-shot Planet-Size X-Men that lives up to its name in expanding the scale of the Krakoa storytelling. The individual issues are much more contained and true to their own tone than the previous X of Swords event that bled them all together. It works well for the much lower stakes involved here though, but it does mean solid-to-great issues from series I love and dud issues from the ones I don’t (looking at you Excalibur and X-Factor).

My favorite issues here were the raucous party-crashing of Hellions, the epic terraforming expansion of Planet-Size X-Men, the resolutions and surprising twist of New Mutants, the intergalactic scope of S.W.O.R.D., and the drunken whimsy and continued ethical probing of Way of X.

(It’s a very small part of this event, but X-Factor’s series-ending issue also closes out these issues, and what a unique disaster it is. Everything that caused me to unexpectedly sour on that series is present, but even still I wouldn’t have imagined a finale so bad with how it betrays its superficially aesthetic progressiveness. A super contrived/convoluted murder scheme is orchestrated by the righteous good guys against a racist rapist serial killer who exclusively preys on the most calculatedly oppressed demographic, but then they chicken out, so instead another character mocks their target with the impending justice of the prison industrial complex’s justice that awaits them and strongly suggests they instead commit suicide by cop. And then their partner says “damn, all that girlboss bravado got me horny!” And then the writer and artist fill two very full pages congratulating themselves on what a grand creative achievement their aborted ten issue run was. Just unthinkably awful and oblivious stuff.)

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think that the hype had raised my expectations for this event a little bit too much. Stories all were fine and the art for the most-part was glorious, but the fact that such a big event that carried through all of the X-Books really only had a handful of plot-points that amounted to anything makes me feel a little let down. Yes, some exciting doors for future stories have been busted wide open, but the same could have been accomplished in a more concise manner (that would have been less costly for the consumer). All on all, a fun and enjoyable read, but I was expecting a bit more from it, I guess. Basically, a three-star read, with one bonus star added for all of the cameos of comedians that the artists peppered throughout the series. I caught Conan O'Brien at least twice, Jason Mantzoukas, Paul Scheer, and Mark Maron and a bunch of others as well. It'll probably be worth a re-read just to try to catch them all, but not really for any reason other than that.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5
My sense is this X-Men crossover event is not well-received. But I thought it was pretty brilliant. I was even interested in some boos and character I typically have not cares for. But I will say I don't see how the Cable issues (one of my favorite X-books) was connected to the story at all.

But I do love the politics of the story, the world building (in this case, literal), and the consequences and complications of this new mutant society. It just lends itself to so much fresh territory to explore.
,

[Matt Sautman · Rating 5 out of 5]

For those who enjoy nonlinear storytelling, have an extensive knowledge of the X-men, and appreciate creative approaches to fashion, there is much to appreciate from the Hellfire Gala. Any reader who expects a standard five part plot will be easily disappointed or lost in this hybrid of political thriller and Met Gala.

[Andres Pasten · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesante, pero algo disperso

[Fahad Ahmed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ladies and gentlemen, you could’ve been anywhere in the world tonight, but you couldn’t possibly miss out on Emma Frost’s ridiculous fashion choices, so welcome to the Hellfire Gala!

The idea of the Gala is pretty interesting. In theory, all the X books have taken a break from their ongoing storylines to let their characters get up to some shenanigans. There are major events taking place at the Gala, but I guess they’re old news now as far as the Krakoan Age is concerned.

In practice, the Gala issues are still written by the writers of their books, so your mileage is gonna vary there. The X-Factor issue was only slightly less annoying than usual, but I still struggled with Excalibur. I should also point out that a few of these issues do still build on the events of their books, so those can be tough reads for folks who pick up this Red Carpet Collection. A pretty good rule of thumb is to skip any issues from titles you weren’t reading.

You also get a bonus issue from Claremont’s run, showcasing one of the old school Hellfire Galas, but it doesn’t really contribute anything to the narrative of this book.

The X-Men issue is still the best one, followed closely by Planet Sized. I also continue to be one of the ten fans of Benjamin Percy’s writing, and I was unexpectedly thrilled by SWORD.

Now, you could just pick up the trade collection of this Gala to get all the essentials, so is The Red Carpet Collection worth it? Unless you’re weird about your book collection like I am, that’s gonna be a no from me. Most of the Gala issues are collected in the trades of each book, so if that’s how you’re reading Krakoa, this is an easy skip.

Overall, interesting concept, especially making it an annual shindig, but it isn’t any more or less enjoyable than these books usually are.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summer 2021 (June/July);

The Hellfire Gala has come to an end and I can finally review this one!

How do I, where even. I was so impressed with how these books were scattered entirely across the night, everything being put together through time stamps as you got to see where dozens and dozens of people were, what they were doing, who they were talking/interacting/fighting with etc, etc, etc the whole time. The way it lead to hints of reveals right before and after they happened.

Shout-outs: OMG MARS AND EVERYTHING/EVERYONE INVOLVED WITH THAT. AAAAHHHH, WANDA, I'M STILL NOT OKAY, BRING ME THE TRIAL BOOKS NNNNNOOOWWW. Every appearance of Jean was my most favorite, of course. Hank ... really is just barely not a supervillain because he's still on the side of the angels, doing dark, bloody deeds for them at this point, isn't he? Everything about the new formation of the team, and the musical reveals. The interactions with Reed, Captain America, and Namor were delightful in all their multifaceted ways.

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

As with many comic book omnibus, there are normally good, mediocre, and bad issues. However, in this instance, the worst you get is mediocre. Let me start with the cons:

-No clarification, expansion, nor specific definition on the extent and limits on the powers of the mutant from the Inner Circle of Arrako. All we know is some vague demonstrations and that every mutant on the Inner Circle is Omega level. A couple of the powers are really interesting and I wish I understood them more.

-Part of this is a farewell to X-Force and as a result some of the bigger events happen in those issues which are the mediocre issues to which I alluded. I didn't hate the X-Force Comics but I am not gonna miss it either.

Pros:

-There are some genuinely funny moments in this event. Nightcrawler being three sheets to the wind is one (what on the Council's green island is he talking about?!?!). The Hellions gatecrashing along with the romantic development of Greycrow and Psylocke. The bouncer is a nice surprise.

-A very touching comic about the evolution of friendships and how complicated they can be but only because it's a sign that the love between two friends is real. It didn't move me to tears but it certainly warmed my heart and made me message my bff.

-All the twists and turns regarding diplomacy such as Terra Verde, the Braddock lighthouse, and the rudeness of some diplomats baked into the prejudice against mutants

-The "right" of conquest and modern Manifest Destiny which boils down to whoever ends in first place gets the prize, and a satisfying resolution to the problem that is Arrako.

-A great and touching family moment

This issue will be very important going forward

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read as single issues.

The things I can do on vacation: binge 400+ pages of comics in a day. :)

This was a good crossover. It felt much more low-key and low stakes than, say, Inferno or X-Tinction Agenda, and I am happy with that. I enjoyed getting to see events and conversations from multiple perspectives as we crisscrossed the events of the night. I particularly enjoyed the Planet-Sized X- Men and the X-Force and Wolverine issues, as they showed the scope and spectacle (Planet-Sized) and the behind-the-scenes security and snafus (X-Force/Wolverine) that most guests didn't see.

This sets up yet another step in Hickman's grand design for the X-Men. I'm intrigued but also wonder why we had this step so "soon" (I say as I look at the pile of comics written JUST since X of Swords) as I feel like Krakoa is still finding its footing as a nation, and this is going to change things with them, Arrako, and the rest of the Marvel universe.

[Rocky Sunico · Rating 4 out of 5]

So the Hellfire Gala had been hyped up significantly across the different X-Titles for some time leading up to the release of the connected issues, and so I was pretty eager to dive in once I got a copy of this compiled edition.

To be fair, the big reveals at the gala were pretty epic. The finale really felt like the sort of game-changing ideas that kickstarted the Hickman era of X-titles, which what makes happens during the onset of SWORD feel like a cheap parlour trick in comparison. Mutantkind continues to demonstrate their superiority versus every your average human and the events in this book will really piss some people off.

I thought it would just be fluffy stuff given all the hype around everyone's outfits as featured on the different covers of the book. And yes, the fashion was still there, but on the whole it still served a greater purpose. I'm just a little confused by how things ended (in order to lead up to the next story arc), but we'll see how that plays out.

[Adan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The day of the Hellfire Gala has finally arrived, and it’s gonna be an amazing party! Many (most? all?) of these issues are collected in their respective series’ collections, but there were a few stories I hadn’t read yet, including the very important Planet-Sized X-Men. While I enjoyed most of these stories, I was really here for the fashion. There were some pretty amazing outfits, and here are some of my favorites: Emma (all of them), Kate, Colossus, Psylocke, Havok, Captain Britain, Rictor, Rogue, Sunfire, Karma, M, Storm, Mystique, and Marvel Girl. I might be forgetting some, but there weren’t any bad outfits except for my boy Cyclops and the entirety of X-Force.

I know Hickman’s leaving soon (too soon, frankly), so I hope whoever comes after him will keep going in the same direction.

[Rahul Nadella · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting idea. However. The theme that seems to repeat itself - for me - as I read the Krakoa era of X-Men is how the quality swings from book to book. X-Men, X-Force? Those are typically highly rated, fun, engaging, interesting, deep, and well written. X-Factor? Not so much. So with events like this, the quality of writing and art shifting rapidly gives near whiplash to me as a reader. The Gala makes a fine excuse to tie a bow in the title's ongoing plot threads. They resolve a little abruptly, but the details are satisfying. And it finishes with a bombshell. I actually like the increased clarity that the rush to finish brings to the script. Nonetheless, it's an interesting idea and made some changes to the world of the X-Men. I just hope in the future it's a little more streamlined and engaging. O