X-Men #14
The X-Men have to deal with another threat as the war against the Eternals rages in X-Men #14, by writer Gerry Duggan, artist CF Villa, colorist Matt Milla, and letterer Clayton Cowles. This issue is mostly good, which has been a rarity for Duggan’s run for a long time.
So, this one is bookended by a segment at a newspaper office, taking place before the meat of it. A reporter turns in their story about Iceman saving the day, and the editor says she should lose the gay angle. The story then shifts to the sun, where a group of aliens launches a torpedo into the sun, trying to destroy the Earth for the Gameworld prize. Cyclops and Magik attack them, finding out what’s going to happen. They warn Jean, who mobilizes Iceman and the other X-Men to stop the oncoming solar flare. Iceman takes the lead, creating an ice shield where the flare is about to hit, with Firestar, Synch, and Rogue helping out over Chicago. After saving the day, the reporter from the beginning asks Iceman for an interview, and he gives her a quick statement about his life as a closeted gay mutant, how it affected him, and how he’s changed. The editor lets her keep the whole thing. Later, Cyclops visits the Celestial, sasses him, and is judged worthy of life.
Duggan is a bad X-Men writer, but even a broken clock is right twice a day. This issue is fine, but it’s not as good as some people want to believe. For example, using the Gameworld plot again, after completely ending it, is just strange. Did the aliens not know Gameworld was done? Is there a new one? Are readers going to have to sit through Gameworld 2: Electric Bugaloo? There’s some cringey dialogue, which is pretty Duggan, but at least there’re no terrible caption boxes. There is also a little visual gag of Magik spray painting “Magik Was Here” on the back of a protester at the Chicago Krakoan gate, which is dumb on multiple levels, but this is a Duggan comic.
If there’s anything Duggan has done well in his run, it’s figuring out interesting ways to use mutant powers. The middle section of the book does a great job of showcasing this. It’s not as imaginative as the creation of Arakko, but seeing the way the X-Men use their mutant powers together to stop a solar flare and take care of the literal fallout is nice. It’s a little clunky at times, dragging a bit, but it’s cool and not as bad as when Duggan has tried to be cool. The framing device is pretty good, with Iceman’s little speech being well-written. The section with Cyclops and the Celestial is an example of Duggan being cringe again, but that’s his default setting.
Villa’s art is pretty good. His detail on wide shots, especially when it comes to faces, isn’t great, but the long shots look amazing. If there’re any problems, there’s just not a lot of interesting stuff for him to draw this issue. There’s the opening action sequence against the aliens, with Duggan using his favorite Cyclops’s optic blasts to deflect off things, but other than that, Iceman building an ice shield and everyone else taking care of falling ice doesn’t make for great art or memorable scenes. It all looks cool, though, so there’s that. As cringe as the end sequence is, that looks good too. Milla’s colors look great, as well.
X-Men #14 isn’t terrible, which is pretty good for this book. It’s not really a tie-in, feeling like something that Duggan planned anyway. X-Force #31 did the same thing, but it felt better in that book, mainly because Percy is just better than Duggan. The book is a mixed bag, but the good parts shine enough that it overshadows Duggan’s usual dross. Villa and Milla do a good job, for the most part. All in all, it’s a mostly entertaining issue that has just enough good stuff to overcome Duggan’s usual shoddiness as an X-Men writer.