I’m still not quite getting Hickman’s X-Men, in the same way I never really quite got his Avengers. The ideas are mighty – offering a partial origin for the Brood, and tying them to the Kree is genuinely interesting, and the final panel is extraordinary, but it feels like most of the issue is moving characters around to service the idea. I may be a little old fashioned in hoping for character work to complement the space operatics, but I’m not getting a sense of who these people are. The intensity of Claremont’s soapiness doesn’t have to be prevalent all the time, but their natures have changed profoundly since Dawn of X and neither Hickman nor Leinil Yu give us much to go on.

I’m not Yu’s biggest fan either – his dynamism is beyond doubt, and he’s an adept storyteller, but there’s rarely any warmth to it; the lightness of touch on the cover isn’t matched on the interiors. Sunny Gho’s colours do add an extra dimension to expressions in particular though. The vibrant greens for the scenes with the Supreme Intelligence were particularly nice, and the careful attention paid to all the backgrounds adds a level of majesty that such a big plot needs. Hopefully the next issue will allow a breather for the implications of such a big change to have an effect on the characters.

writing	★★★★½
art	★★★★☆
colours	★★★★☆
overall	★★★★☆