Review: ‘X-Men’ #18 Sees Double

Nearly two years ago, the romance between Synch and Wolverine seemingly came to its tragic end. The latest X-Men issue shows that appearances are not what they seem.

Gerry Duggan, CF VIlla, Matt Milla and Clayton Cowles see double in the latest adventure.

Synch’s Laura has been discovered alive, and the two have reconnected like they never left off. But there is a loose end- the resurrected Wolverine Everett spent a year on the X-Men with. Now the two women need to hash out their problems, while also hunting vampires.

Duggan finally grapples with an idea that the resurrection protocols have presented since HOXPOX. What if someone is resurrected by mistake. While the surface is just beginning to get scratched, Duggan begins to explore the duplicate problem and makes it an emotionally resonant character piece, framed by vampire busting. There’s more to explore here but it’s an interesting start.

The frustrating thing about it, there’s also a lot jammed into the issue that could have used some room to breathe. The  B-plot could have been an A-plot on its own, with Jean and Cyclops rescuing Orchis scientists from themselves. It was only a few pages but could have been longer, and explored further.

Villa’s personal style continues to evolve and shine through Marvel’s house style. In this issue he shows a knack for facial expressions. When the X-Terminators entire the picture, he’s able to play up his comedy chops, with Laura and Jubilee in particular having some very funny physical comedy moments. His acting pacing is really great in the layouts, which allows the emotional beats to land while the two Wolverines duke it out with the vampires. Milla plays with the colors to make a superhero action story feel creepy, with the vampires right in the middle of the action.

There’s definitely some pacing problems here, but overall, this issue was a lot of fun. It’s the sort of story that I think the line continues to need.

X-Men #18 is available now from Marvel Comics.