X-Men Gold #18 review
By Mark Lynch
Reviewing the latest issue of X-Men Gold.
X-Men Gold #17
Written By: Marc Guggenheim
Interior and Cover Art By: Ken Lashley
At the end of X-Men Gold #17, Nightcrawler teleported blind to escape his kidnappers. Problem with a blind teleport is this trick can leave Nightcrawler dead or in serious pain if he teleports into something solid. And that’s exactly what happened. Nightcrawler teleported blind and ended up ‘porting into a statue. Unbeknownst to him, The X-Men were on their way to rescue him and Kitty Pryde. Old Man Logan, Colossus, Ink, Armor, and Storm were in the process of working out a deal with Kologoth to get their teammates back. Too bad Nightcrawler didn’t get this message sooner.
X-Men Gold #18 synopsis
While Nightcrawler is stuck with his back fused to the hand of a statue, the rest of the X-Men were on their way to make the exchange. The deal was that the X-Men would leave the Negative Zone in exchange for their teammates. Obviously, Old Man Logan was very skeptical of this deal. On top of that, there was a discussion between the X-Men. Would it be a good idea to leave in the middle of this war or was it irresponsible to pick sides since they didn’t know which side was right or wrong.
The X-Men are stranded in the Negative Zone, their transport back home destroyed, and two of their teammates lives hanging in the balance. While all this is going on in the Negative Zone, Rachel Grey is still in a coma and devolving a bit of a skin condition (X-Men fans will immediately recognize what’s going on). It’s just another day in the life of the X-Men.
Review
X-Men Gold remains one of the best comic books produced by Marvel. Marc Guggenheim continues to bring up the subplots like Rachel Grey being in a coma and the continued growth of Kitty and Colossus’ relationship. All while telling the story of the X-Men’s battle in the Negative Zone.
One of my favorite things about this current issue is the use of Ink. He was a character who seemed to disappear after Young X-Men. Hopefully, this won’t be a one-off. He fits the dynamic of the team. And you can never have too many telepaths or powerful teammates. Ink also keeps getting better and his powers keep getting stronger. Ink’s character is probably being built up to die at the end of this arc. Hopefully, I am wrong.
Rating: 7
This issue was a very quick read. Fun, but quick. with a few great moments. Hisako (Armor) and Old Man Logan randomly speaking to each other in Japanese (a reminder that Logan is fluent in the language). There’s also a fun scene with Colossus and Hisako. Hisako saying, “Welcome to the Dartayu, X-Men” in Japanese and Colossus responding, “Hope you survive the experience” in Russian. This was a fantastic throwback fans of the old school X-Men will appreciate.
Next: 50 greatest super heroes in comic book history
The end of this issue left something to be desired. There was a cliff hanger, but nothing so amazing that got me excited about the next month’s issue. Thankfully, the story itself is good enough to keep me invested. Overall, this was a fun read.