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The Hickman X-Men (Re)Read: House of X #5, Pt.3 – The Villains

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A screenshot of a video game Description automatically generated with medium confidence

[Panel 1, left to right: Wildside, Random, Sinister, Lady Mastermind, Mesmero, Mentallo, Animax;

Panel 2: Shaw, Selene, Emplate, Exodus, Gorgon, Callisto]

V. Villains’ Amnesty; Magneto’s Epigraph (pgs 24-29)

Including Apocalypse and Sinister, 22 villainous or adversarial mutants step through the gates. Below, are 18* brief descriptions of those we haven’t yet covered in this series. Speculation on expectations for each following HOX/POX won’t include spoilers. In sum, what we’ll find is all the varieties of inter-mutant strife the X-Men have dealt with over the years. And we’ll likely never see this particular collection of mutants together on the same page again! Pages 25 and 27 are unique snapshot moments in time.

Related:

Hickman X-Men Reading Order

Krakin’ Krakoa!

More in this series!

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IRON MAN by Matt Fraction & Salvador Larroca: Resilience and Reinvention

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To many, Superheroes are a monolithic force for good: infallible, incorruptible, and invincible. But what happens when these heroes fail? And what does it take for them to recover, and rebuild? In 2008, writer Matt Fraction and artist Salvador Larroca began a 4-year tenure on The Invincible Iron Man, with the aim of restoring Tony Stark to his former glory as a shining vision of tomorrow. But to shape this new chapter for the character, Fraction had to confront Iron Man’s troubled past, and tear down his complicated legacy to forge something better in its place.

Unfortunately, Fraction’s run is often overshadowed by the characterization shown in Marvel Studios’ Iron Man and the subsequent entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But in spite of this, Fraction’s run has endured over the years on the strength of its deep, critical look at the character of Tony Stark, his numerous flaws, and his desire to move beyond them in the pursuit of a brighter future. Digging deep into Stark’s strengths, weaknesses, and insatiable curiosity, Matt Fraction’s run brings an entirely new outlook to the character, and superheroes at large: In the end, the best heroes aren’t invincible; they’re resilient.

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

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Wherever You Go, There You Are: Loki, Agent of Asgard Review!

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Many of Marvel’s most notorious villains have gone through changes that added layers to their personalities, transforming them from mustache-twirling fiends to complex figures in their own right. Be it Doctor Doom’s relationship with his mother to Magneto’s lost family, superhero comics have given the genre world many of its most nuanced characters with supervillains.

Still, none of Marvel’s baddies have quite achieved the antihero status of Loki. Making his first appearance in Journey Into Mystery #85 in 1962, Loki spent several decades experiencing relatively little in the way of depth. Yet in recent years, his movie counterpart and a handful of dedicated comics writers have somewhat helped redeem the irredeemable God of Lies. To find this new, heroic Loki at his very best, we have the Loki: Agent of Asgard complete collection. [Read more…] about Wherever You Go, There You Are: Loki, Agent of Asgard Review!

Silk (Cindy Moon) Reading Order!

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Cindy Moon (aka “Silk”) first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #1 (2014). Created by Dan Slott and Huberto Ramos, this Korean-American journalist is one of three members of the Spider-Women; she’s been a member of both the Protectors and Agents of Atlas; and is a co-founder of The Order of the Web.

In her recent appearances, Silk has really come into her own as a superhero by stepping out of Peter Parker’s shadow and learning to open up to others after ten years of isolation resulted in her developing anxiety and her family going missing.

Not only has Cindy Moon reunited with her family and saved the multiverse. All while finding time to  but she has also been:

  • An Agent of Atlas
  • A Protector
  • A co-founding member of The Order of The Web
  • In three solo series…
  • …And more than a few team-ups

Silk has woven her own excellent web of stories. Since it was recently announced that a Silk live-action television series is currently in development, Silk’s future seems very bright. [Read more…] about Silk (Cindy Moon) Reading Order!

Crossover by Donny Cates & Geoff Shaw Vol. 1 Review!

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So the last time I talked about Crossover for the site, I ended things with a cliffhanger about the fascinatingly horrifying final page. A page that invoked such a great amount of cosmic dread in me, I couldn’t help but laugh like a maniacal lunatic at the sheer scope of its wrongness. I laughed and laughed at every single element of it, because it was just… W O W. Now that the first volume of Crossover has reached its end, I think it’s time I shared with you the final page of that first page. [Read more…] about Crossover by Donny Cates & Geoff Shaw Vol. 1 Review!