Mutants and the X-Men are in a bad way, mainly due to the events at the Hellfire Gala. Writer Gerry Duggan shocked us with that issue and continues that narrative in X-Men #25. Primarily focused on Kate Pryde, this issue also serves to pave the way toward a mutant uprising.
At its core, Duggan utilizes the events of this issue to see how dark things have gotten for mutants. Spiritually, we see Kate was once open to the world but is now looking only inward in a darker place. The issue opens with Kate connecting with a woman in New York. Set in the past, we see how things were once a lot simpler. The next scene juxtaposes Kate’s state of mind as she goes to the Xavier school to pick up some weapons. She’s alone, and it is dark.
As the story progresses, we get check-ins on the state of Orchis as Dr. Stasis speaks lies to the world. On a global scale, we see Orchis is mostly trusted by humans and told mutants are being sent to Mars peacefully. We know this isn’t true, punctuated by a check-in with Cyclops, who is being tortured as a captive.
This dude speaks lies!
Credit: Marvel
Seeing the villains with so much power is depressing, but thankfully we get a check-in with the heroes hiding in the sewers. They’ve got a decent group of heroes, even with Kate Pryde going rogue. There is also a key scene with Ms. Marvel you won’t see coming. I can’t say I love the rather quick retconning of her death, but part of me wants to move on from it so we can get new and hopeful Ms. Marvel stories. Plot-wise, the story feels a bit unfocused due to these scenes since Kate is such a major focus from the start, but the story focuses back on Kate for most of tend of the comic.
With Kate Pryde taking up so much of the issue, one might wonder where the X-Men fall in this story. In clever writing, Kate makes it clear to a scared mutant that everyone is an X-Men who fights for the cause. It’s also quite clear Kate is one of the strongest X-Men left, as we see in a revealing scene explaining what happened to her after she fell through a gate at the end of the Hellfire Gala.
Duggan and Stefano Caselli capture her abilities well for anyone who daydreams about how dangerous Kate could be in a fight. We’re talking phasing enemies into each other, sticking weapons into people’s heads, and being untouchable. Traditionally a peaceful character, we see Kate is the most dangerous mutant alive when pushed too hard. Caselli does an excellent job with her main fight scene, as we see creative fight skills that are clear and easy to follow.
X-Men #25 is an exciting check-in on critical elements after the fallout of the Hellfire Gala with a major focus on Kate Pryde. It excels at showing Kate as the most dangerous mutant alive while setting up the impossible odds she faces. Anyone who likes a good hero’s journey will attest we’re in for a ride with Kate’s new role as vigilante X-Man.
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