X-Men #5 and 6, published just before Lockdown—and therefore at the tail-end of the Before Times—were the two issues of Hickman’s run that each most clearly prefaced a mystery whose suspense was left to hang for a long time, with the mystery of the mutants in the Vault having been recently and only partially resolved (of course), in X-Men #18-19, and with the mystery of Mystique’s scheme apparently now in payoff mode with the Inferno miniseries. In the Dawn of X, it seemed likely that these and the HOX/POX mysteries—which is obviously where the Destiny plot thread started—would all come crashing down simultaneously when the time came. And they still might, but these days, it seems likelier that these early story seeds will each develop further and resolve at least somewhat on their own and with hopefully more decompression, perhaps aided by a more adroitly staggered publication schedule. Although each of these issues is a teaser and no longer appears to offer any clues to the near future, they still read well and look gorgeous. [Read more…] about (Re)Read Hickman’s X-Men: The City and the Mask – X-Men #5 & #6
, whose hallowed name inevitably set up fan expectations of what the franchise’s flagship title is supposed to look and feel like. Unsurprisingly, Hickman upset what was expected—how X-Men-like after all!