Backing up before the opening salvo of Fall of the House of X, Synch and Talon take center stage in this week’s X-Men #30. Gerry Duggan, Phil Noto, VC’s Clayton Cowles, and Jordan D. White serve as our captains on this mission to Counter-Earth. Everett and Talon have led the remnants of the X-Men throughout the Fall of X, but the lovers have had little space for a story of their own until now.
Issue #29 left off on a serious cliffhanger just over a month ago, with the resistance base in the Morlock tunnels trashed in the aftermath of a fight. The team returned from Latveria to find the upsetting scene with their leaders Synch and Talon nowhere to be found. In X-Men #30, we can begin to fill in the gaps. Before diving in there though, the issue opens with the team’s previous leaders, Cyclops and Jean Grey.
Burning with passion, Scott and Jean share a sex dream. Scott is worried, isolated, and has been tortured, and Jean does her best to comfort him with all-consuming fire. The cold open then zooms out to show Cyclops in a pre-trial psych evaluation at the Paris branch of Orchis. Conducted by Dr. Goldsmith (perhaps a nod to Cerebro podcast host Connor Goldsmith), the session is sweetly sad on Cyke’s part but ultimately serves as a signpost to readers that this issue works better when read before FoHoX #1. More on that later.
After an ominous tarot card of the Lovers featuring Synch, Talon, Krakoa, Jean, and the Phoenix as well as a brief recap of Everett and Talon’s time in the Vault, the central problem that the X-Men must tackle in this issue comes into focus. Resist all they like, mutants have no way to protect any of their human family members, friends, or allies from the Krakoan medicines that Orchis tainted with a kill-switch. Those on hand for a strategy meeting are Ms. Marvel, Talon, Synch, Spider-Man, Gold Goblin, and Iron Man. Still shaken from Orchis’ meddling in MJ’s aunt’s meds causing a psychotic rage, Peter and Norman are eager to help, and Spider-Man’s ramblings inspire the mission to use the High Evolutionary’s tech to reverse the tampering. The group then breaks, as Tony heads out to meet with Firestar to “leak” the resistance’s assault in the Australian outback. Kamala Khan, perhaps still unsettled by her previous adventure on Counter-Earth, also departs to take care of personal matters.
Credit: Marvel Comics
This leaves Synch and Talon together once more on a dangerous mission. Both in the Morlock tunnels and on Counter-Earth, Noto’s art and Duggan’s writing highlight how at home both Everett and Talon have become with living in crisis by mirroring aspects of their lives in the Vault and their lives now in the FALL OF X. An exciting showdown ensues as the two heroes, prize in hand, must face the High Evolutionary and Luminous on their way out. Just before Talon and Synch can feel nostalgic for the love they found in a hopeless place, Talon once more becomes the price Everett has to pay to succeed. Using Jean’s (and perhaps a bit of Karma’s) gift, Synch pulls his lover’s mind into his own at the very moment the High Evolutionary kills her. The Lovers is a card of choice, sacrifices made for or at the cost of relationships; a test that impacts the partners’ ability to remain in sync. For better or worse, Talon and Everett are now united more closely than ever before.
Noto’s work on the art in this issue really is something special. Each of his leading women: Jean, Talon, Kamala, and Firestar each have beautiful subtleties that make each visage unique. Synch’s fluid age due to his power use lives in the details of his face and are handled deftly. Bringing the same level of alien gravitas to the High Evolutionary that Pepe Larraz brought is no easy feat, but Noto does so handily. Jean and Scott’s dream, Talon’s death, and the final page are all standout stunners.
X-Men #30 is a solid issue; the problem is it was released two weeks later than it should have. The debut of Fall of the House of X #1 left many readers feeling unsatisfied. Key plots seemed to have gone nowhere, and other aspects felt rushed. All in all, readers felt that what was meant to be the start of a new arc was disjointed compared to what came before. But X-Men #30 (as well as this week’s Invincible Iron Man) shows that this is not an issue of poor production, but of uneven release. Sadly it seems that this thorn will continue to burden the line for the next couple of months since upcoming issues of Invincible Iron Man, X-Men, X-Force, and Wolverine will continue to be set before FoHoX #1.
Synch and Talon’s relationship continues to keep us on our toes in X-Men #30. Though the issue does not fully fill in the gap left at the end of the previous installment, it gets the ball rolling. Filled with dream sex, drama, action, and set-up for another huge X-Men nostalgia pull (looking at you, Outback Era), fans excited to see Synch step up and lead the team have some fun to look forward to here and hopefully more to come.
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