Super Sunday (Part 5): ‘X-Men’ #8 Dives Into Cosmic Danger By Hickman, Asrar And Gho
by Tony Thornley
Sometimes in the middle of deeper stories, you need a good old fashioned alien invasion for a change of pace. Luckily after the challenging reads of the last few issues, X-Men #8 drops the Brood on Krakoa…
Jonathan Hickman, Mahmud Asrar, Sunny Gho, Clayton Cowles, and Tom Muller give the island nation its greatest challenge yet.
The New Mutants have settled back into their home after their space adventure. However, the souvenir they brought back with them is much more than a pretty space rock. It’s a King Brood egg, and it’s going to take the entire forces of the X-Men to stop the coming invasion…
Hickman cuts loose in the series’s first actual story arc with a full out action story. It’s not deep in the way we saw with the bleak ending of the Children of the Vault story, or the insightful examination of faith we saw last issue. Monsters are coming to Krakoa and they have to stop them before they tear the island apart. However, that doesn’t stop the issue from exploring character dynamics (giving Vulcan a much-needed spotlight) or introducing new mythology, which it does deftly.
Most important to the driving action is the hints at what happened to Vulcan in War of Kings. We get a glimpse at the in-universe intelligence reports about the former Emperor. We see the moments immediately after Vulcan’s supposed death (which mirrors another character’s return). It adds depth to a character who has been seen as the X-Men’s biggest “jump the shark” moment.
Asrar continues his hot streak with this issue. His character work is extremely strong, showing the internal struggles that Vulcan is going through, and Broo’s horror as he sees the King egg. He does a fantastic job with the action, pushing the entire nation into defense on a scale that we haven’t seen the X-Men on perhaps ever.
But the best thing about the issue is his depiction of the Brood. In the past they were depicted as the xenomorph’s Marvel Universe cousins. Here though, Asrar transforms them into parasites, swarming over their living Acanti starships like ants over a dead fish, and onto the island like a horde of ravenous termites. It’s gross, disorienting, and truly makes them feel like a threat in a way the Brood haven’t in years.
The X-Men are in the most difficult circumstances they’ve faced in the last year, and only the Summers family can save them. They might be screwed but it’s a great read.
X-Men #8 is available now from Marvel Comics.
