Hellions #18
It’s the end of the road for the team in Hellions #18, by writer Zeb Wells, artists Ze Carlos and Stephen Segovia, colorist Rain Beredo, and letterer Ariana Maher. Hellions has long been a highlight of the X-Men line, and this issue is a fitting ending for a great book.
After a fight with the X-Men, the Quiet Council calls in the Hellions to judge Orphan-Maker. Much speechifying and drama occur until Nanny shows up and demands to be in the pit with Orphan-Maker. After some threats, the Council makes it so. From there, each member of the team gets their own ending- Wild Child starts taking his meds, Empath goes back to hang out with old Hellions who all hate him until he changes their mind with his powers, Havok talks to Cyclops and is reunited with a resurrected Madelyne Pryor, Emma Frost, and Magneto discuss her actions against Sinister who is preparing his own plans. Finally, Psylocke and Greycrow share a moment together on the beach.
Wells has been killing it with this book since the beginning. Eighteen issues is a long time, especially with the pandemic pause, and this book is one of the few that has actually stayed great since its debut. Wells has balanced humor, action, and characterization better than anyone could have expected, and this book took a lot of characters who weren’t exactly stars and made them great. It’s quite sad at this point for this book to end; even with the recent Destiny Of X announcements, none of the books have the same feel of this one, leaning heavily towards replacements for books like S.W.O.R.D. and Excalibur, neither of which is very good. Nothing is replacing Hellions, which is a tragedy.
Everything about this issue makes perfect sense for what the book is. Nanny and Orphan-Maker’s ending worked; everyone expected them to end together. Wild Child wants a change, so he takes his meds. Alex gets what he wants, but it seems to be a set-up for the future stories, the same with Sinister’s ending. Psylocke and Greycrow’s ending is sweet, and it’s nice to see them get a nice moment in the sun together.
This book is a tale of two art styles. Carlos draws most of the book, and it’s fine. There’s nothing extraordinary about it, and it kind of feels like cliche ‘90s style art but not from any of the superstars. It’s good in some places and not so good in others. Segovia takes over for the last few pages and completely kills it, but that’s to be expected.
Hellions #18 is the end to one of the best X-Men books being published. Wells sticks the landing with the writing, even doing some build-up for future books he won’t be involved in. Segovia is his usual amazing, and Carlos’s art is perfectly fine if a little uninspired. All in all, this is a great ending that would have been perfect if Segovia drew the whole thing.
