The Trials of X line of books is quickly coming to an end, with this volume collecting three final issues from key titles, two of which got their start in the wake of House of X/Powers of X. Getting a solid 26 issues of a run is pretty good by today’s standards, but the issues collected here also end their respective runs on a high artistic note, and pave the way for future stories still being explored in the monthly titles. Trials of X Volume 10 might not house the utmost point from these titles, but it does give a way to read the satisfying conclusions to some recent beloved X-books.
Collected here we have Hellions #18, Excalibur #26, Marauders #27, New Mutants #24, and X-Men #6, with the first three titles all being the final issues in their run. Zeb Wells’ final chapter in Hellions gives plenty of character development to Orphan-Maker and Nanny, as they are tried by the Krakoan Council and sentenced to the Pit. It’s a moving issue, that gives this misfit group of mutants the authentic sense that they are a team that cares about each other. It’s a testament to Wells’ strong writing that he took such a hodgepodge group of B-listers and made them into something stimulating.
Tini Howard and Marcus To’s final issue of Excalibur hardly feels like an end to their run, as they were likely already hard at work on this book’s successor, Knights of X. Having said that, it wraps up aspects of this title’s narrative and finds Betsy continuing her battle for Citadel, leading the Captain Britain Corps into their next adventure. If you weren’t aware of the series that follows this issue, you could be forgiven for thinking this comic haphazardly wrapped up the series (something that seems to be a recurring theme with Howard’s books). It goes without saying that like all of Marcus To’s issues, this looks beautiful.
Lastly, we have Gerry Duggan’s Marauders, the title in this collection that was the most enjoyable as a traditional superhero book made up of lovable X-Men. While a new version of this title launched a few months later, it would not be written by Duggan (who was now focused solely on the mainline X-Men title), so as the shakeups in the Hellfire Club result in Kate Pryde’s team experiencing a reshuffle, it provides a fine action-packed end to this swashbuckling run. It unfortunately has two artists working separate portions of the issue (Matteo Lolli and Phil Noto), but their work blends relatively well throughout.
New Mutants #24 isn’t the last issue of this run (that wouldn’t be for a few more months), but it does set up the final major arc of Vita Ayala’s writing on the title. Building off her excellent storyline surrounding misfit mutants on Krakoa falling under the sway of the Shadow King, this issue wraps up the narrative and places its core characters on the board for future tales and with new motivations. It’s an acceptable, reflective issue that understands its core cast of Magik, Moonstar, Wolfsbane, Cosmar, and No-Girl. As far as I am concerned, there should always be a book like this in the X-line, allowing its youth to get some characterization and attention.
Lastly, we get a mid-point issue in Duggan and Pepe Larraz’s X-Men book, this one giving us background into who Captain Krakoa is and the plans the Quiet Council has for the hero. It’s a picturesque issue, with more than a few gorgeous battle scenes that require numerous contemplations. It’s a bit out of place in this collection that focuses on the end of so many storylines, but it’s a great issue in its own right.
Like all Trials of X trades, it gives you an assortment of variant covers at the end of the book, with most being full-page reproductions. For folks who read their X-Men books via these chronological collections, the variant cover inclusions might not matter much, but I always appreciate when I see each with their own page.
It was sad to see books like Marauders and Hellions come to an end, but at least their creative teams were able to wrap up their respective storylines on their own terms. As we shift into another iteration of the X-titles with the upcoming Fall of X storyline, this trade is a good example of how to end a beloved title on a strong note.
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