The Quiet Council plans war as Sinister regrets his conquest in Immoral X-Men #1, by writer Kieron Gillen, artist Paco Medina, inkers Walden Wong and Victor Olazaba, colorists Jay David Ramos and Chris Sotomayor, and letterer Clayton Cowles. This issue is good, but it feels a little convenient.

After Xavier deals with Nick Fury and some rebels, he and Emma get in touch with Hope, who calls a meeting about the future. She’s afraid of the intergalactic empires attacking, so the Council discusses what to do next. Sinister goes off and talks plans with a clone of himself, trying to figure out what to do with his Moira Machine gone. He decides to do some gene tampering and starts with Emma, but she’s ready for him. He escapes, and she hunts him down, forcing him to submit to her. Before she kills him, he shows her his newest Chimeras and how they can help Krakoa survive the future. The Council votes to keep him alive, and Sinister’s worst dreams come true.

So, on the one hand, it’s great to see Emma on top. Emma has been more amoral than heroic for years. Sure, she’s been an X-Men bigwig, but she was still the White Queen. She was always willing to do whatever it took to make sure mutants survive and thrive. She embraces the Sinister part of her and takes glee in being unleashed upon the world with no morals. She mocks Xavier’s softness and basically is the queen bitch that she always had the potential to be. She makes short work of everyone, including Sinister, and does it with style.

The problem with the issue is Sinister. Seeing him flail and try to come up with a new plan because of the loss of his Moira Machine is fun, especially him using a clone to get his thoughts in order. However, the problem is that he had everyone played and beaten before. He’s the one who gave them all of his great genetic technology. How does he not have a way to beat them? The issue establishes that he lost his fail-safe in the main lab, but there’s no way Sinister could have taken Emma’s powers? He had no clever traps at his secondary lab other than some Chimeras? Gillen loves Emma and wants to make her dominant apparently, but feeding her Sinister flawlessly hurts the villain of the entire story. Maybe this is part of the whole plan, but it would have been better if she overcame him in a battle where she beats his best-laid plans.

Medina, Wong, and Olazaba give readers some nice art. There is a definite Arthur Adams/’90s American manga vibe to the art. That’s pretty fitting for an X-Men title since Adams and the American manga style started there. However, there’s really nothing that sticks out about the art. There are no big battles but some good character acting and detail. It’s just a solid issue, with some wonderful colors from Sotomayor and Ramos.

Immoral X-Men #1 has a vibe that makes up for some of the weaknesses of the story. Emma is awesome, Sinister is a bit disappointing, but the set-up is intriguing. The art is pretty strong, but nothing jumps out. All in all, it’s a pretty cool comic.

Grade: B