Racing Past the Tipping Point –

V. What Is Not Human? (pgs22-25)

In the second half of Hickman’s debut X-Men issue, the story returns to the Orchis Forge in a big way, though subtle (apparently my favorite adjective when describing Hickmanian storytelling). It’s reestablished here that Orchis is a “last gasp” supremacist hate group, and it will be nigh-untoppable as the ultimate organization of antimutant bigotry. Further, its existence is possible only in the absence of S.H.I.E.L.D., or at least as run by Nick Fury (Sr. or Jr.) or Maria Hill. (Which should make us wonder about the possibility of the super-spy organization’s eventual return.)

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Hickman X-Men Reading Order

Krakin’ Krakoa!

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The Stressor Points of an Unsustainable Paradise

We have arrived at the Dawn of X! After our exhaustive coverage of HOX/POX, it’d be nice to look back with a piece on general takes on the whole maxiseries—even just looking at Hickman’s overall patterns of timelines, narratives, and imagery would be interesting. But. We spent a long time on the opening of this new era…

So, for now, let’s renew our momentum by diving right into the Dawn of X.

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Hickman X-Men Reading Order

Krakin’ Krakoa!

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[Read more…] about (Re)Read Hickman’s X-Men: “Pax Krakoa” (X-Men vol. 5 #1), Pt.1

Before stepping back to Year 1000 in POX 5, let’s briefly look at this devastating cover to POX 6. Already we’ve speculated about this image, that it speaks to the potential tragic fallout of Moira’s own hubris. (Why would she otherwise be the one left standing?) The only other thing to mention for now is that those trees do resemble cherry blossoms, symbolic for the Japanese of the ephemerality of life.

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Hickman X-Men Reading Order

Krakin’ Krakoa!

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[Read more…] about How to (Re)Read the Hickman Era of X-Men: Xavier & Magneto’s Coup Against Moira X- the Ultimate “Precog”?

VI. Memorializing Human Villainy (the HOX4 data page)

At last! We return to the HOX 4 data page, which, relative to the series’ other data pages, comes across as the least objective piece of interstitial documentation in the series—although not because the tallies of mutant dead and who’s responsible are wrong.

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Hickman X-Men Reading Order

Krakin’ Krakoa!

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[Read more…] about How to (Re)Read the Hickman Era of X-Men: Look at What They’ve Done (House of X #4-5)

As usual, Larraz’s cover work is stunning. The choice of figures is interesting but hard to parse: Is there some commonality between Storm, Exodus, and Emma? Exodus’ presence here and throughout this issue is subtly provocative, but to what end—who can say? Otherwise, what we see is presumably another moment of Krakoan celebration, with MC Storm helping shape the celebrating Krakoans’ emotions. There are celebrants high above among the gargantuan trees, in what keeps me thinking of an Ewok village. The sky, though, is eerily red: An ominous portent?

Related:

Hickman X-Men Reading Order

Krakin’ Krakoa!

More in this series!

[Read more…] about How to (Re)Read the Hickman Era of X-Men: Arguments for a Nation (House of X #6)