They got me with Magik being on the cover. Magik does not appear in this comic! But it is a cool cover.
Luna Snow is about to put on a concert for the nice folks of Seoul. Some in the audience haven’t forgotten her time on Doom’s Division. But they’re more upset she turned on Doom to side with Sunfire. She didn’t know he was a bad guy, but Sunfire rightfully points out, much later in the comic, that the name should have been a clue.
The record label is done with her, immediately, and hires Vibe, who isn’t as talented, but the manager has particular set of skills to get her over. Let’s get this out of the way now. The manager is secretly Starfox, who is the absolute worst. Should be a warning that he is in this comic. So, this is that warning.
There was also parts where I kept thinking, so we’re doing the Dazzler down slope part of her career for Luna Snow? Where she has to build herself back up, or at least, back in some people’s good graces? Shame she can’t be loved, and we get a fun one shot of her being a huge success with personal drawbacks, or something. People do like an underdog. I just would have liked to see a woman succeed.
Tokyo, one month later. Some guy is harassing her, she asks if his mom cuts his hair, he admits she does, and Luna softens. I really like that moment.
Did you know they have released five KPOP songs for Luna Snow? That’s fun. She’s had two different singers to be her, Hyungseo, and Krysta Youngs. The songs seem good. I haven’t bought them.
Sunfire shows up to help Luna Snow. They go to Vibe’s concert. Her song has something to it, that people can tell it isn’t good, but it is very catchy. Wave is part of Vibe’s security detail. I don’t know Wave that well, besides people like her in Marvel Snap. Wave has special ear plugs, so she can hear, just not the music.
We get the Starfox reveal, ugh. I imagine Thanos rather him not name drop him in his name reveal. The Titan of Desire, double ugh. I just hate emotion manipulators. In comics, and in life. They’re gross. Especially when they lean into the grossness.
Rick Jones shows up. Luna Snow calls him the greatest superhero musician of his generation. He correctly corrects her that Dazzler has that title, so I like that.
It is a good comic, I wanted more from it, but it isn’t an X-Men comic featuring Luna Snow, this is her one shot, so we got Sunfire, that’s the X-Content, with Dazzler references. That should be enough.
We’re back! Issue opens with MacKenzie and Kurt, who I really like together. In a lot of relationships, that first kiss is something to really anticipate. But imagine waiting to be bamfed? And four times?! She wasn’t ready for that.
Kurt wasn’t ready for his surprise birthday! I have to remember this issue come November 11, Kurt and Dave Cockrum’s birthday. That splash page is perfect for that post.
I like all of the love Kurt gets this issue.
Logan notices someone at the door, it is Mutina, who wants to join the X-Men. Logan isn’t having it, and they fight. He thinks she is all talk, that she hasn’t killed anyone, but even if that is true, she’s getting closer to finally killing. She has definitely cut some fools, as she gets two clean hits on Logan. Does she have a Nightcrawler like shadow power? She keeps fading into the darkness. Was she born in the darkness, molded by it? Or has she merely adopted the dark? Do the shadows belong to her?
Mutina has done her homework on the Uncanny X-Men.
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As Logan is confronting her, nearly the full cast of The X-Pets comes out. Ember, the dog shaped Sentinel, all of Gambit’s cats. Mutina tries to feed good boy, Ember, but he doesn’t want her food. The cats literally eat up the cat food she brought for them.
Mutina discloses information about The Outliers. She implies Calico burned her family home down, but I feel like that was heavily implied before.
Ransom threw four kidnappers out a window, which we also knew.
Jitter hurt a girl so badly, she can barely walk. I feel like this may have been a bully, which you shouldn’t beat a bully until they can’t walk, but you have to stand up to bullies. Or tell someone at your school, as there should be zero tolerance for that. Or she hurt someone who shouldn’t have been hurt, and there’s a story there.
Where there is a story is Deathdream. He apparently has a brother, and the story is awful. We do know that he is almost on the verge of tears whenever Ransom calls him, brother, so there’s a story there that I want to be told about.
What was in her box? Cupcake or thumbs? It was cupcake!
So, I’m liking Mutina, until I don’t. Logan goes inside, and we see she has a knife up to MacKenzie’s throat. Poor MacKenzie is in tears. Kurt talks Mutina into a duel. Mutina gets a cut on Kurt. He tells her she’ll never be an X-Man, but there is a path, which is odd. So, she could be an X-Man?
I’m glad Jed MacKay doesn’t write the X-Men this way, but then again, his Age of Revelation was a pretty epic story, told over multiple pages, and issues. This issue is the Avengers talking at Kang, as he’s up to one of his classic Kang attacks. I think, I was looking for Storm, and any X-Men appearing. Storm gets a cool, “What is the meaning of anything, Kang,” with her hands on her hips. Kang, you are so lucky she isn’t stabbing you with all of her knives.
Scarlet Witch brings up friendships.
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We see Juggernaut and Quentin Quire playing baseball, and jerk me, immediately asks, “these two are who you show for the X-Men?!” But right below that panel, we see Magik talking to FalCap, and the rest of the X-Men and Avengers. I want to know more about those two talking? Does Magik keep bringing up his “boy / girl thing” that he said to her in Civil War II? Then she teleported him to Hollywood, and out of the fight? I bet she brings it up.
Avengers appear to defeat Kang, but then he asks which one of them will survive the death of this universe, so we’re still rocking Kang stories for the next two issues.
. . .
Writer Brian Michael Bendis
Penciler Mark Bagley
Inker Scott Hanna & John Dell
Colorist Frank D’Armata
Letterer Cory Petit
For this big anniversary issue, Brian Michael Bendis, and Mark Bagley, one of my all time favorite creative teams, came back for a fun little backup story. We get the Big Three – Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor, chatting it up. Fighting Viper, who I’ve liked ever since she married Logan, that one time. My one problematic fave. Hulk shows up. Captain Marvel shows up. Beast, having a big start to the year. Scarlet Witch, and Wasp. We get just the best final page ever, as it is the Avengers Anniversary, in-universe, and everyone shows up!
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Including Kitty Pryde, asking Logan, “uh, Logan? Is this an X-Men thing, or an Avengers things?” She’s the best, and we get our first Kitty Pryde of 2026!
X-Men I see : Sunfire, Sunspot, Namor, Cannonball, Logan, Kitty Pryde (not an Avenger, yet, maybe?), Quicksilver,
The People’s Princess, Crystal, is there, Tigra too. Moon Knight, She-Hulk, Monica Rambeau.
Peach Momoko, Zach Daivsson, and Travis Lanham give us such a compelling penultimate issue! I believe we only have one more after this.
We are introduced to Makoto Amano, who I feel is very Doug Ramsey coded, but I may be completely off base here.
Issue opens with Akihiro still being tortured, so we shouldn’t forget that is happening.
Every couple pages, like chapter breaks, we get this very intriguing hand written information.
# 0 Amano, who is the escaped 256.
# 1 March 2024, Hisako. 256 is telling Mei that Armor is still around. But he’s like a ghost?
# 4 June 2024, Nico. Nico gets a warning from a pair of floating red eyes.
# 5 July 2024, Secret Society X-Men, I want this spin off!
# 5 July 2024, Natsu. Amano taunts Natsu, which isn’t very nice.
# 8 October 2024, Meat case. Good reminder that Kanon’s brother was one of the first characters introduced.
# 9 November 2024, Kanon. Amano helps Kanon channel her ancestors through her stick.
# 9 November 2024, friend. Mei hasn’t given up on Armor yet. Didn’t issue 22 end with Christmas? Interesting that we have gone back to fill that skipped time.
# 11 January 2025, New Home. Natsu is taken back in with the Children of the Atom. Who Amano hates as much as he does the X-Men it seems.
# 12 February 2025, Purpose. Mei is told Armor is still out there.
# 13 March 2025, Crew. Natsu isn’t sure if she deserves to be part of the team. She should be part of the team!
# 22 December 2025, Result. Did Mei get merc-ed? We see her face, with what appears to be blood coming at her, from her? I’m not sure. Such a crucial page to not know what is happening?! Amano clearly did something to her, as he floats into the sky, and appears to be another shadow like being?
What the heck is going on?!
Issue ends with Hi-Chan, maybe? Seeing Iron Lad’s big speech.
We begin a Magik arc, so I guess I’m still on for the rest of this series. I’m all for a series getting extra issues, if those are going to be focus on Magik. I guess I might as well follow Ultimate Endgame until the end, they’re definitely building toward something in issue 4.
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Issue opens with a young Illyana Rasputin (no a).
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She has only ever feared one man, a true monster. A thing that welcomed her into Limbo.
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The character is definitely super gray, with a red cloth for an outfit. Could just be a gray Belasco, but he has both arms, but I’ll miss the pink, there isn’t that many pink characters, and especially pink male characters.
Wolverine and a Sentinel are taking care of Jean Grey. She’s hurt, and needs medicine, so Logan is sent to get some. He comes across Ursa Major, the bear Canadian, eating Crimson Dynamo. They are in EuRussia. Logan has to kill Ursa Major, who is of course a simple beast who was experimented on.
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He gets the medicine, but sees that someone on the wall BRING THEM HOME ILLYANA RASUTPIN. I didn’t recognize any of the characters, but the arc is called, “The Search for Illyana Rasputin” so I’m all in.
Magik was named in the solicitations, which I appreciate as that means I can order a comic as it is released, instead of adding it to my far too big Wishlist.
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Magik only appears on one page, but it is a fun page where she is teaming up with the Hulk to fight Angela.
This comic is all about Luna Snow, trying to get to a gig in K’un-Lun, where Iron Fist gets his powers. She wasn’t given the exact location, and is trying to best to get there.
We get a fun moment where she is taken back by how tall Angela is. She gets to one bar, where Winter Soldier and Namor are fighting, but she calms them down with a war bond theme. Apparently, she is very old, as Peni Parker says later that her grandmother was a huge Luna Snow fan, and this is only the second comic I’ve read with her, so I’m not familiar with her backstory. I play Marvel Rivals, not too much, so I’m not sure if I’ve even seen her in the game. I do like how hectic that game is, and how much this comic matches that energy.
To get directions, maybe, to the actual location, she has to do a drink off with Logan. Which I like the rules being “first one to finish” as if it is first one to fall, that isn’t fair. She freezes his hand, and does her best to finish her drink. She wins, but the guy didn’t think she was going to win, so this was fruitless.
Cloak & Dagger agree to help the actual bar out, but Cloak gets his Lane and Avenue confuse, and sends her to where Doctor Doom is. This turns out to be a Doombot, and if she lets him be her backup singer, he’ll tell her where it is. She agrees, and turns out, the dragons burn the place down, so she goes back to the bar Winter Soldier, Namor, and Logan are, and has a blast.
Before that, we are introduced to Mark, the Cave Squid, as opposed to Jeff, the Land Shark, so that’s fun. Daredevil is there too, he’s never been a lawyer, and his mission is to vanquish all wars, and he got his powers from a dragon, Yinglong. So I’m not familiar at all with the lore of Marvel Rivals, besides the Rogue & Gambit marriage, as I played that season. Apparently, all of the mutants are in a different dimension, and that is why we don’t have many of them in the game. I was told that by reddit.
Paul Allor wrote a fun story, and the art is great, Michael Shelfer & Eric Gapstur. Dee Cunniffe is the color artist, and VC’s Joe Sabino is the letterer.
All I really want from a solo Logan title is to be a team up book with characters I enjoy, and I’m a sucker for Silver Sable, that’s the 90s Spider-Man fan in me. I would had loved an Uncanny Spider-Man reference, as we must NOT forget Uncanny Spider-Man. I just learned last week that Funko made an Uncanny Spider-Man Pop, and I think about it every day. Silver Sable is a lady who stays on task, and I don’t see her asking Logan about Kurt. Though, that would have been fun.
I kept noticing Jesus Aburtov’s coloring this issue, and really liking it. Really highlights Martin Coccolo’s art.
Logan runs out of gas, and comes across a not so abandoned town. Two mutants, and I love so much that they took the time to give themselves code names, that’s just so cute.
They do a decent job of alerting Logan that they are there, but it is Silver Sable who gives him pause. She tranqs him, giving him a bit of a buzz.
Her “are you high?” panel is a delight.
Some military goons show up, and I like how they had a mission statement to just show up, make sure no one was too dangerous, and leave, but then Logan showed up, spanked them, and now it is a whole thing.
Metha, who is in charge of some Department H division, is done with Logan’s nonsense, and calls in Alpha Flight, as the issue ends. We get a classic line up of Vindicator, Puck, Snowbird, and maybe Mera, a green lady with big ol bat wings.
Shadow and Flame with Magik 