X-Men #4
The mutants get invited to an economic summit in X-Men #4, by writer Jonathan Hickman, artist Leinil Yu, inker Gerry Alanguilan, colorist Sunny Cho, and letterer Clayton Cowles. This issue doesn’t have much in the way of action, but there’s still a very large battle going on.
Xavier, Magneto, Apocalypse, Cyclops, and Gorgon are invited to an economic summit in Switzerland. Security doesn’t allow Gorgon and Cyclops into the meeting, which is a discussion over dinner. Various dignitaries ask questions, and Magneto answers them. Xavier senses two assault groups ready to attack the mutants and sends Gorgon and Cyclops to handle them. Magneto goes on explaining what mutants have learned about world power from humans as Gorgon and Cyclops eliminate the assault teams. Xavier reveals to the table that the assault teams have been taken care of and tells the dignitaries that while things have changed, he still believes a bit in his old dream and loves them all. However, he warns them that this is the last time something like this will happen.
This issue is a treat or is for a certain kind of reader. Hickman uses Magneto to lay down the law about the shortcomings of the human race. The beauty of it is that at no point is Magneto wrong. When one of the people ask him about the Krakoan drugs, saying that their scientists don’t think they have to be taken as much as mutants say they do, he waves their supposition away and implies that even if they didn’t, he doesn’t feel bad because mutants learned things like this from humans, a subtle jab at the real-life pharmaceutical industry. He points out humanity’s tendency to forget things on a macro level while implying that mutants will never forget the lessons they have learned from humans.
It’s all so masterfully done that Hickman barely feels the need to shift the focus to the actual physical fight of the issue. That’s because, in the end, a few assault teams are unimportant, nothing men of Cyclops and Gorgon’s caliber can’t handle. The real battle is happening at the bargaining table, as Magneto attacks his enemies with as much zeal verbally as he would have with his powers in older days. He may be using words, but he still has that signature ruthlessness that made him such a compelling villain. Xavier barely speaks for most of the issue, but when he does, he takes his helmet off and lets the table now that he does not hate them. He doesn’t hold it against them that they tried to attack him today or that they tried to assassinate him on Krakoa. He loves them, as he loves all people, but he will not tolerate this type of behavior. He’s still trying to teach them. He puts the helmet back on as he tells them he won’t tolerate their violence. This is such a powerful moment. He takes off the helmet as he talks about the part of him that still believes in his old dream; he puts it back on to deliver his judgment on them. It’s the two faces of Xavier, the old one and the new one.
Leinil Yu’s character work really shines through this issue. The main action of the book isn’t physical at all, it’s verbal, and he does a great job of illustrating the faces of the speakers, especially Magneto and Xavier. Magneto’s expressions run the gamut, matching his dialogue perfectly. Xavier, once his helmet is off, has a beatific almost angelic look to him. His blue eyes pop off the page (Sunny Cho gives Xavier’s eye the perfect shade of blue to really draw the reader’s attention), and the last panel of his face before he puts his helmet back as he tells the humans how much he’s always believed in them is perfect.
X-Men #4 is a beautiful slow burn of an issue. Hickman seemed to have a lot of fun with this one, breaking down the flaws of humanity. There’s more than a hint of hubris to Magneto as he tells the dignitaries about their own failures as a species and that mutants won’t make those mistakes; since day one, it’s felt like the mutants were heading for a fall in the future, especially talking down to everyone like Magneto has had a tendency to do. Hickman is building something, and issues like this show that while the mutants have power, they have a lot to learn about how they use it and who to use it against it. Leinil Yu’s art, and his character work in particular, really sell everything that goes on the issue. A heavy dialogue issue like this can turn a lot of readers off. But there’s so much tension going on in this issue and that’s what makes it so fun to read.
Grade: A+
