Whatever It Takes: Reviewing ‘Rise Of The Powers Of X’ #3

Professor Xavier sure is a jerk, isn’t he? Would hate to have the fate of mutant kind in his hands. Oh, what’s that, this exact situation is what mutants are facing right now?

Well, that sure does suck.

Guess we’ll have to see just how far the X-Men’s founder is willing to go in Rise of the Powers of X #3 from Kieron Gillen, R.B. Silva, David Curiel, and Clayton Cowles.

Hot damn. This comic is just gorgeous to behold.

I know I led off talking about Xavier and his jerkiness, but we just have to start with the visuals. In a period of time where we’ve talked about the rushed nature of Fall Of X affecting many books’ artwork, this is a breath of fresh air. Just Silva, over here pulling out every stop and doing amazing things.

Silva helped kick off the Krakoa era leaving our collective jaws on the floor all the way back in 2019. Somehow, it’s only gotten better. Jaws hit the floor, sunk through the Earth, and are dangling above the core at this point. Visually, everything feels so epic and dynamic, shifting from full page panel shots to smaller collected beats. Finding ways to frame everything so that whatever emotion or vibe we’re meant to feel is inherently clear.

Curiel’s colors are so amazingly vibrant, pushing to the furthest side of the colorful spectrum. Yet, they do not feel artificially bright, as if belonging to a world beyond our own. They feel realistic and tangible while being colors that are from outside of time and space and settings that could never exist for those of us in the real world.

Just the right amount of darker tones and shadows are sprinkled throughout to really deepen the overall visual scale. While there is a style that is prevalent throughout the issue, Curiel makes sure that each visited place has its own distinctive life.

Similarly, Cowles always handles the lettering the same way. Finding the best ways to really showcase the different voices of characters, giving them their respective flavors. Dropping in modifiers for visual flair that not only make the volume or tone clear but add spike of fun to everything. Emotion flows through every page in every single visual from the figures to the words. Creating a rich warm blanket that keeps us engaged.

Gillen has been really building something for the past few years. Some of the events or shifts in the line have bounced what he was trying to do, stretching it out, but at the end of the day his work follows his plan.

Xavier is always the one doing shifty things, it’s become his niche in the franchise since early on. Sometimes though it’s about trying to make tough calls and taking the sins on himself. The problem is he goes about it the wrong way, lying or leading others astray in the process. Everything on the page between Xavier and Moira and the rest of Xavier’s team feels authentic and earned. We’ve built to this moment, and we’re just as invested as every character on the page.

Through conversations and a few action-packed moments, Gillen fills in a lot of the gaps of this era without making it feel that way. We feel like we’re the ones discovering everything, the reward for our long journey, rather than feeling like we’re just being told things. Similar to the whole show don’t tell creative advice.

Rise Of The Powers Of X #3 is now available from Marvel Comics.