Review: ‘X-Men’ #32 Goes For Blood

One of the key members of the X-Men has been missing since the Mutant Massacre. In X-Men #32, she returns and she’s out for blood.

Gerry Duggan, Phil Noto and Clayton Cowles draw the Krakoan era closer to its climax.

Illyana Rasputin was a War Captain of Krakoa. Under her watch, the X-Men were slaughtered and the citizens of Krakoa cast out, and she was powerless to do anything. Now that she’s returned from her exile, there will be hell to pay, and Orchis will be the ones paying…

This is a weird issue.

I liked it better than a lot of what I’ve read in this series recently. Illyana is absolutely the sort of person that would try to take on the world by herself. She’s largely in character, and she’s relentless. Duggan also nails her relationship with Kate, as you can see the closeness they have with one another (which Cowles nails the patter between them as he puts it on the page). I also like that he doesn’t shy away from Polaris’s battles with anxiety and depression, though it was a plot point that could have used more time and space in previous issues as well.

But man, for all the positives, this issue is so bloodthirsty, and there’s no reckoning with that violence. The body count includes the assassin Lockheed fried, the two Orchis agents Emma popped (seriously read the issue if you haven’t yet), and at least 10 more agents directly at Illyana’s hand. It’s a lot, it’s graphic and there’s nothing really done with it outside the surface level. I also didn’t love how quick Illyana went back to full strength after her powers were restored.

For the pros and cons of the story, the art has no such issue. Noto paces his pages well, his figure work is top notch and I always enjoy his colors. The opening scene with Lockheed, for example, is a great example of how he paces pages, while using shadows to set a mood, then throws in a splash of color to make the action pop. It simply looks great.

X-Men #32 is available now from Marvel Comics.