The murderer and so much more is revealed in X-Men: The Trial Of Magneto #5, by writer Leah Williams, artist Lucas Werneck, colorist Edgar Delgado, and letterer Clayton Cowles. This story has had its ups and downs, and the ending is as uneven as the rest of the book for a variety of reasons.

This story goes back and forth in time. It reveals the murderer and the reason behind the murder and basically serves as Scarlet Witch’s way of redeeming herself in the eyes of mutantkind. That’s the best way to synopsize it without ruining some of the surprises.

To say this book is disappointing is not a controversial opinion. Williams’ X-Factor was amazing, but it was cut short by Marvel, with the last issue being changed by the editors with her knowledge. This story was supposed to be a story arc in that book, and one gets the feeling it might have fit there better. This book has long seemed like yet another stop on the Scarlet Witch apology train tour, and while this issue does nothing to break readers of that supposition, it’s better than most of the other ways that Marvel has tried to redeem her actions. That said, the whole thing has not been up to snuff with Williams’ usual writing. Issues three and four feel like padding, especially in light of the ending and the whole thing is a bit too convenient.

Here on out, there be spoilers. So, SPOILER WARNING.

Basically, the whole point of Scarlet Witch’s death was for her to create Eldritch Orchard. Constructing a timeless place for Krakoans to store their memories. It also allowed them to resurrect mutants from before Professor X was able to keep back-ups. It was actually suicide, as Scarlet Witch decided to do it after Magneto explained Krakoan resurrection to her. Magneto knew it was going to happen, and he and Wanda ended up framing Toad for the whole thing, who gleefully takes credit, meaning that Magneto probably roped him into it.

So, going from there, this would have been a much better book if it had focused on the investigation. Readers never got to see the clues to any of this, and it made the story feel like yet another excuse to have Magneto fight everyone and let the Avengers judge the X-Men. There was too much padding of the story and not enough meat to the whole thing, which felt more like a Marvel mandate than anything Williams wanted, as she proved adroit at writing mysteries in X-Factor. Marvel wanted to sell this book as a way to make people think that Scarlet Witch was going to be a mutant again. That was a terrible way to advertise it, and this story would have been much better without all the padding. The ending is better than anything else, but it doesn’t really make the book worthwhile.

Werneck’s art throughout this comic has been inconsistent, and this is yet another example of that. Some pages look great, others not so much. There’s nothing bad in it, but it’s disappointing, which feels like a microcosm statement about this book in general.

X-Men: The Trial Of Magneto #5 has a good ending, but it also shows just how bad this book really has been throughout its run. It would have been a fine mystery book, but Marvel apparently had other plans for it, and it hurt things immensely. The ending doesn’t do much to redeem the story and is even more frustrating because it could have been a great story if it had been done differently. Werneck’s art is uneven, which is basically this book in microcosm. This comic is the ultimate missed opportunity, and its ending can’t save it, even if it’s the best part of this five-issue tale.

Grade: C+