Writer: Jonathan Hickman

Art: Leinil Francis Yu, Sunny Gho, VC’s Clayton Cowles, Tom Muller, and Michael Del Mundo

Price: $4.99

Release Date: February 26th, 2020

Well, this should be an interesting issue. Marvel sent out absolutely no previews for this issue other than a picture of Cyclops saying, “Crucible is today.” What the $&@$ could this mean? If readers take a trip down HOXPOX lane, they’ll see Magneto and Professor Xavier discussing Genosha referring to it as a “Crucible”. So Hickman X-MEN readers, if I may borrow a term from the HOXPOX run, it appears as though we are getting a “red” issue here. What big reveal will we see this week that will blow our minds? Will all Genoshan’s be resurrected? If so, how is that possible for The Five to do all at once? Or, is this something more? Is the Crucible something entirely different? Let’s dive into X-MEN #7 by Jonathan Hickman and see what secrets and deep moral codes are scratching at the surface!

X-fans will truly love this issue. Now, they won’t love it for the action, thrills, or suspense that many of these past high-octane issues have in it because this issue isn’t that at all. What comic fans will admire about this issue is the conversations that it will spark or the water cooler talk it will enchant readers with at their local comic shops. And let me begin by simply saying, talk, discuss, and share your opinions. This is what makes comics so amazing!

Jonathan Hickman uses this issue to not only explain what the Crucible is but to also pick at the scab that is the resurrection process that Charles has created with The Five. Anybody who’s been reading all the X-titles since HOXPOX would realize that there appears to be a problem involving mutant death. Lately, everyone is dropping like flies and being reborn. Where has death’s sting gone? Emily Dickinson says, “that it will never come again is what makes life so sweet.” To mutants, life’s sweetness is gone. Hickman’s poking through readers morality this week and getting a few of the characters, as well as all of us, to begin to question the levity of these resurrection protocols. However, after reading this issue, fans will see that it’s developed into something so much more… something almost ghastly and creepy in a way… dare I say uncanny.

Readers can dive deep into this week’s narrative and decide for themselves where they stand. Kurt and Scott have an interesting conversation that plays out throughout most of the story in the background while the heavy lifting is taking place in the foreground. But ultimately, Hickman wants us to decide which side we stand on. Do we stand with the mutants in this story or the humans? Personally, I find myself wanting to stand with the mutants who I grew up viewing as heroes. However, each week I continue to find myself leaning more and more on the side of the humans, especially with this eerie and almost cult-like portrayal that continues to emerge from Krakoa. Sure, mutants have been persecuted, killed, erased, ridiculed, and outcasted. I’m not trying to demean their history. However, the world is filled with billions and we continue to focus on the subgroups of humanity and not the whole, which leads me to begin to side more and more with humanity each week. It’s pride that continues to destroy this world, whether it be humans or in this case mutants. And after this story, I wonder if some of the mutants will begin to feel the same way as I do.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Overall, Hickman creates a wordy issue that reveals some new wrinkles and ignites some creative discussions for readers. This issue isn’t fast-paced and at times became extremely heavy. But, this narrative is important and filled with substance, which ultimately every reader wants at the end of the day. This issue is significant and unveils something in the Crucible that I never really saw coming until the issue developed. However, I genuinely see the problems on the horizon it will cause. Hickman once again creates and wildly intriguing and interesting issue that every X-MEN fan needs to pick up. This is a “must-read” this week and I highly recommend grabbing X-MEN #7 by Jonathan Hickman immediately over lunch on Wednesday. Give it a read and feel free to let me know what you think.

9.2/10