REVIEW: ‘X-Men,’ Issue #3

X-Men #3 is written by Gerry Duggan, illustrated by Pepe Larraz, colored by Marte Garcia, and lettered by VC’s Clayton Cowles. It is published by Marvel Comics.  Part three of the “Fearless” storyline sees the X-Men battling against the High Evolutionary, who has come to Earth with a thinly veiled threat against all of humanity. The mutant heroes battle the Evolutionary’s mutated warriors and in the process, Jean Grey learns of Cordyceps Jones’s plans to wipe out the Earth. Meanwhile, the secrets of Krakoa are revealed as forces old and new plot against the X-Men.

Each issue of the series has seen the X-Men battle a different threat, from an alien war machine to a portion of the Annihilation Horde; this issue provides a unique battle as the High Evolutionary is best known for genetically altering beings while the X-Men have often been proclaimed to be the pinnacle of evolution. Although they may share superhuman abilities due to evolution, both groups have wildly different moral stances which leads to them butting heads. Rogue also had a less than pleasant encounter with the Evolutionary during her time on the Uncanny Avengers, which leads to her instigating the conflict.

Larraz’s imagination runs wild while illustrating the Evolutionary’s minions, as the creatures the X-Men fight range in shape and size. A battle with the electrically charged pachyderm known as Teslelephant leads to perhaps the most hilarious line in the book, where Cyclops declares “The X-Men love elephants!” Each page is literally filled with bombastic action sequences, including a panel where Rogue socks the High Evolutionary right in the face.

The issue also continues to mix and match mutant talents. In working to contain a virus that the Evolutionary threatens to unleash on humanity, Jean Grey telekinetically holds it in a forcefield while Synch and Sunfire plan to burn it out of the atmosphere if that becomes necessary. Wolverine and Polaris, two of the team’s heavy hitters, find themselves at a disadvantage against the Evolutionary’s right-hand woman Luminous as she possesses the powers of Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch. Whole pages light up in a reddish-orange color when Sunfire uses his full power or bright pink when Jean uses her psychic powers, thanks to Garcia’s color art.

Duggan’s script, on the other hand, is perhaps a bit too packed. While the battle with the Evolutionary is the major draw of the issue, it also starts to introduce more plotlines that hint at future conflicts. The series has worked because each issue so far has been a standalone story, with elements that often carry over to the next. This issue threatens to overwhelm that balance but, hopefully, the payoff is worth the setup. And to Duggan’s credit, he introduces the idea of the X-Men splitting up into two teams. Given that they have worked as a well-oiled unit so far, it should be fun to see the result of dividing their forces.

X-Men #3 continues to pit its heroes against all manner of threats, while slowly building up future plotlines that threaten to rock Krakoa to its core. The last page is a major bombshell, and I’m intrigued to see where the creators might take it as well as how it can impact other books across the X-Line.

X-Men #3 is available wherever comics are sold.