Set sail aboard the cruise ship of the damned – for science! Have a psychic heart-to-heart with your true love as you both fight rage zombies – for science! Punch MODOK in the face – for science!
X-Men #8
VC’s Clayton Cowles (letterer), Gerry Duggan (writer), Marte Gracia (colorist), Tom Muller (design), Javier Pina (artist)
Marvel Comics
February 16, 2022
Gerry Duggan and Javier Pina’s X-Men #8 takes a vacation from ongoing threats Dr. Stasis and Feilong to bask in the rays of an old-fashioned superhero ass-kicking. Like Duggan and Pina bringing Nightmare into the waking world in X-Men #4, this issue features a special guest supervillain outside the X-Men’s treehouse – MODOK! One of the joys of the “Krakoa is for All Mutants” era is that it shattered the old paradigm pitting the “good” mutants against the “evil” ones, necessitating new foes to fight. Dragging these disparate villains out of the dark corners of the Marvel Universe and dropping them into the X-books feels like one of MODOK’s bizarre science experiments. Will it fizzle or sizzle?
X-Men #8 sees MODOK and AIM commandeering a cruise ship to act as a floating petri dish. Unleashing his maddest mad science yet, MODOK turns the passengers into mindless murder hordes, complete with a red-eyed, knife-wielding chef ripped out of a Bugs Bunny cartoon. The X-Men arrive via the Blackbird, with Marvel Girl, Polaris, and Cyclops/Captain Krakoa rescuing overboard passengers (but not, thankfully, Wilbur Weston). Synch and Wolverine scour the ship for MODOK, but surely Everett’s love for Laura – and his memories of the time they spent together in the Vault – won’t be a distraction. Right?
BUT WAIT! I’m interrupting this review for a fashion update. The green dress is gone. I repeat: the green dress is gone! The Silver Age Marvel Girl costume worn by Jean Grey since House of X #1 has been officially retired in favor of a modified version of her Hellfire Gala ensemble. Why a green dress with go-go boots and gloves spawned four years of heated debate among fans is beyond me, but while I’ve previously defended the Silver Age costume, I agree that it’s time to put it back in the closet. Despite MODOK manhandling Jean’s gold mask on Pepe Larraz’s cover, there is no sign of mind control here or even a mention of the change, leaving room for (totally chill and normal) fan speculation. Ultimately, any Russell Dauterman costume design appearing in an X-book is a net win for humanity. This armored, emerald green look remixes design elements from Jean’s previous costumes into something all-new, all-different.
Marvel Girl’s fashion sense isn’t the only thing bringing the drama. This wouldn’t be an X-Men comic without the soap opera flashiness of a psychic confession between ex-lovers as they fight gunned-up beekeepers, and issue #8 delivers. Synch confides in Wolverine, telling her he won’t burden her with his memories of the centuries together trapped in the Vault. Wolverine isn’t unresponsive to his attention. When Synch admits it took two hundred years for her to warm up to him, she smiles and, backlit by a cool explosion, says, “Broke me down that fast?”
Not even Wolverine’s promise that she “likes patience in a partner” can console Synch. The customary flashback to the Hellfire Gala reveals that Synch wanted to join the X-Men because he wanted to be near her, but he now accepts that his teammate Laura is not the Laura he loved in the Vault. As much as I want to cheer on Duggan for dishing out classic X-Men romantic angst, it’s a shame that eight issues in, it is still so one-sided. Everett’s having a compelling internal journey as he processes his feelings for Laura, but, well, what does she think about all this She asks Everett a single question, but is that really all she wants to know? Laura’s state of mind, whether she’s putting up a cool façade or not, remains vague.
Javier Pina does excellent work in an issue full of heartstring-tugging pathos and hideous absurdity. MODOK must be an absolute delight to draw. Whether he’s chowing down on the ship’s buffet or grilling the X-Men’s heads for a backyard barbecue on the astral plane, the sheer joy of a weird little guy in a floating chair radiates off the page. Pina’s polished, dynamic art, animated by Marte Gracia’s colors (the icy blue and violets in MODOK’s mindscape are appropriately chilling), combines with Pepe Larraz’s work on the previous two issues to give the series a distinct visual cohesiveness. These issues will look beautiful next to each other in the trade paperback.
X-Men #8 is an extremely good superhero comic. Ah, but there’s that tickle at the back of my brain again – I say it’s good, but it’s not great. I’m not sure what’s missing. Pina’s art is stunning, and Duggan’s script is a strong foundation with a few surprises (Negasonic Teenage Warhead!) baked in. This book is trying to write new songs instead of wearily replaying the hits, which is noteworthy. X-Men #8 is an extremely good superhero comic – and maybe I just want it to be the best superhero comic.
I suppose Wolverine likes patience in a reader, too.
