The events of the crossover “Raid on Graymalkin” may be over, but the fallout is still fresh in X-Men #10. Leading the charge is Cyclops, who is a master tactician in the field, but can he strategize a way to make peace even with Agent Lundqvist’s O*N*E capable of making their lives a living hell? In X-Men #10, Cyclops does that and more.
X-Men #10 opens at the X-Men headquarters at the Factory in Alaska. It seems they are under siege, and Magneto is ready to lay his life down to ensure any mutants incapable of fighting live to see another day. That’s a rather rash plan, seeing as Magneto has the resurrection-linked degenerative syndrome, but thankfully, Cyclops shows up to take the reigns.
After this opening scene, which allows Jed MacKay to give Magneto a moment to shine and let other characters like Xorn have a place in the issue, the story focuses on Cyclops having a private meeting with Lundqvist. Here, we see Cyclops’ master tactician expertise come into play, which will please longtime Cyclops fans.
Magneto gets to be a leader for a spell.
Credit: Marvel
There are interesting bits of dialogue and framing throughout this one-on-one chat, complete with Cyclops sipping on a beer the entire time. MacKay plucks out just how far Cyclops will go in a cold war against O*N*E, as well as what he’s willing to do to save mutants. Sure, he may come off as altruistic and rash, but he’s confident and stern in his approach.
Intercut with Cyclops’ scenes are the Hellions, who get to do a ton of action as they dismantle a lot of what makes Lundqvist’s strengths run. Netho Diaz does exceptional work with the action, complete with a cool team standing around looking cool shot. They take out server rooms, sentinels, and more. The team’s makeup is pretty cool, and Diaz makes you want more.
If you’re wondering how the story ends, it does leave us with a compelling cliffhanger about Kid Omega. I won’t spoil it, but a certain fiery cosmic character will likely appear sometime in the future.
My biggest gripe with the issue is how rashly Cyclops comes off and how his scene resorts to a single location with little action. It gets tense, sure, but a change of location or a bit more to it than two guys talking for most of the issue could have made for a more interesting scene.
X-Men #10 excels at spotlighting Cyclops’ tactical genius and delivering thrilling action through the Hellions while setting up compelling future storylines. However, its slower-paced dialogue scene and some characterization choices slightly detract from the issue’s overall impact. Despite these minor flaws, it’s a strong entry that balances character development and action, leaving readers eager for what’s to come.
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