X-Men Red
| X-Men Red | |
|---|---|
 Cover to X-Men Red #1, art by Travis Charest | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| Schedule | Monthly |
| Publication date | (vol. 1) February–December 2018[1] (vol. 2) April 2022– present |
| No. of issues | (vol. 1) 11 (vol. 2) 15 (as of September 2023) |
| Main character(s) | See below |
| Creative team | |
| Written by | (vol. 1) Tom Taylor (vol. 2) Al Ewing |
| Artist(s) | (vol. 1) Mahmud Asrar (vol. 2) Stefano Caselli |
X-Men Red is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics, featuring characters from X-Men stories.
The first series was an eleven-issue comic book series published by Marvel Comics in monthly installments between February and December 2018. It was written by Tom Taylor and illustrated by Mahmud A. Asrar. The book followed a new team of X-Men led by Jean Grey following her return in Phoenix Resurrection.
The second series featured the conflicting mutant factions on the terraformed Mars, renamed as Planet Arakko.
Publication history
[edit]Volume 1
[edit]X-Men Red is part of the X-Men franchise and a sister book to X-Men Gold and X-Men Blue, which began ten months earlier. It follows events from the December 2017 miniseries Phoenix Resurrection: The Return of Jean Grey written by Matthew Rosenberg and illustrated by Leinil Francis Yu.[2] The series was promoted as part of Marvel's Fresh Start, a full company relaunch of publications.[3] The first issue, released February 7, 2018, was written by Tom Taylor and illustrated by Mahmud Asrar. It was available in ten different variant covers.[4] Taylor's initial plans for the series did not involve any crossovers with other comic series.[5]
Jean Grey, a character recently resurrected after being dead for over a decade, assembles a new team with the intent to create a mutant nation.[6] Her initial allies are Nightcrawler, Wolverine, Honey Badger, Gentle, Trinary, and Namor.[5][7] They use Atlantis as their headquarters.[8] After she attempts to convince the UN to recognize the mutant race as a nation with full human rights, Jean is framed for murder of an English congresswoman who is psychically murdered by a resurfaced Cassandra Nova, who uses this to alienate Jean in the public eye and label her a fugitive. Jean's team is thereby forced to act in secret as she continues in her goal to "heal the world".
An annual was published in May 2018 to detail the events between Phoenix Resurrection and X-Men Red #1.[5]
Volume 2
[edit]As part of the X-Men relaunch post-House of X, a second volume of the title written by Al Ewing was published under the banner Destiny of X and is a successor to Ewing's S.W.O.R.D. series.[9]
Main characters
[edit]These characters are credited as main cast in the respective comics.
| Series and first credition | Characters | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Volume 1 | ||||||||||||
| #1 | ||||||||||||
| #3 | ||||||||||||
| #5 | ||||||||||||
| Volume 2 | ||||||||||||
| #1 | ||||||||||||
| #3 |
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| #4 |
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| #5 |
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| #6 |
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| #8 |
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| #10 | ||||||||||||
| #11 |
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| #12 |
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| #13 |
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| X-Men: Before the Fall - The Heralds of Apocalypse #1 |
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| #15 |
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| #16 |
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| #17 | ||||||||||||
Team rosters
[edit]X-Men
[edit]| Character codename | Real name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Honey Badger | Gabrielle "Gabby" Kinney | Joined in X-Men Red #1. |
| Marvel Girl | Jean Elaine Grey | |
| Namor | Namor Mackenzie | |
| Nightcrawler | Kurt Wagner | |
| Wolverine | Laura Kinney | |
| Trinary | Shilpa Khatri | Joined in X-Men Red #1 (flashback X-Men Red #2). |
| Gentle | Nezhno Abidemi | Joined in X-Men Red #1 (flashback X-Men Red #4). |
| Storm | Ororo Munroe | |
| Gambit | Remy Etienne LeBeau | Joined in X-Men Red #5. |
X-Men Red
[edit]X-Men Red was formed by Abigail Brand for control and to police planet Arakko.
| Character codename | Real name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Abigail Brand | Leader. Joined in X-Men: Red, vol. 2 #2. | |
| Cable | Nathan Christopher Charles Summers | Field leader. Joined in X-Men: Red, vol. 2 #2. |
| Frenzy | Joanna Cargill | Joined in X-Men: Red, vol. 2 #2. |
| Manifold | Eden Fesi | Joined and left in X-Men: Red, vol. 2 #2 |
| Mentallo | Marvin Flumm | Joined in X-Men: Red, vol. 2 #2. |
| Random | Marshall Stone III | |
| Vulcan | Gabriel Summers | |
Brotherhood of Arakko
[edit]Brotherhood of Arakko was formed by Storm as an opposition to X-Men Red and they fought against Genesis' army during the Genesis War.
| Character codename | Real name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Storm | Ororo Munroe | Joined in X-Men: Red, vol. 2 #1. |
| Magneto | Max Eisenhardt | Joined in X-Men: Red, vol. 2 #1. Died in X-Men: Red, vol. 2 #7. |
| Sunspot | Roberto "Bobby" da Costa | Joined in X-Men: Red, vol. 2 #1. |
| Fisher King | Joined in X-Men: Red, vol. 2 #1. Merged with fellow teammate Xilo in X-Men: Red vol. 2 #14. Died in X-Men: Red, vol. 2 #18. | |
| Khora of the Burning Heart | Joined in X-Men: Red, vol. 2 #5. | |
| Wrongslide | ||
| Lodus Logos | Joined in X-Men: Red, vol. 2 #10. | |
| Sobunar of the Depths | Joined in X-Men: Red, vol. 2 #10. Left in X-Men: Red, vol. 2 #13. | |
| Nova | Richard Rider | Joined in X-Men: Red, vol. 2 #12. |
| Jon Ironfire | Joined in X-Men: Red, vol. 2 #14. | |
| Kobak Never-Held | ||
| That-Which-Was-Xilo | Joined and merged with fellow teammate Fisher King in X-Men: Red, vol. 2 #14. | |
| Syzya of the Smoke | Joined in X-Men: Red, vol. 2 #15. | |
Great Ring of Arakko
[edit]Great Ring of Arakko is the governing body of planet Arakko.
Reception
[edit]Prior to publication, the series generated interest for starring Grey, a character who was killed nearly 15 years earlier in New X-Men #150.[8][10][11]
According to review aggregator Comic Book Roundup, the debut issue received an average score of 8.2 out of 10 based on 33 critical reviews.[12]
In a review for Newsarama, David Pepose praised the plot of the book for its focus on the coexistence of humans and mutants, which he said was the main premise of the X-Men franchise.[13] IGN reviewer Jesse Shedeen agreed, saying the "franchise has a bad habit of ... losing sight of the mutant metaphor and its allegorical power", but was glad X-Men Red makes it a primary focus.[14]
Although they found Asrar's art to be flawed but adequate, both of them liked Taylor's portrayal of Grey and her supporting cast.[13][14] Pepose specifically liked that Grey was a leader instead of a symbol, love interest, or target.[13]
Prints
[edit]| Issue | Publication date | Writer | Artist | Colorist | Comic Book Roundup rating[15] | Estimated sales to North American retailers (first month) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | February 7, 2018 | Tom Taylor | Mahmud Asrar | Ive Svorcina | 8.1 by 34 professional critics | 98,468[16] |
| #2 | March 7, 2018 | 8.0 by 15 professional critics | 49,084[17] | |||
| #3 | April 11, 2018 | 8.1 by 10 professional critics | 56,531[18] | |||
| #4 | May 16, 2018 | Rain Beredo | 8.2 by 13 professional critics | 44,607[19] | ||
| Annual #1 | May 30, 2018 | Pascal Alixe | Chris Sotomayor | 7.5 by 16 professional critics | 38,444[19] |
Collected editions
[edit]Volume 1
[edit]| # | Title | Material collected | Pages | Publication date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Hate Machine | X-Men Red #1–5, Annual #1 | 144 | September 18, 2018 | 978-1302911676 |
| 2 | Waging Peace | X-Men Red #6–11 | 136 | March 19, 2019 | 978-1302911683 |
Volume 2
[edit]| # | Material collected | Pages | Publication date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| X-Men Red by Al Ewing – Volume 1 | X-Men Red #1–5 | 152 | November 2, 2022 | 978-1302932831 |
| X-Men Red by Al Ewing – Volume 2 | X-Men Red #6–10 | 136 | March 7, 2023 | 978-1302947521 |
| X-Men Red by Al Ewing - Volume 3 | X-Men Red #11–13, X-Men: Before the Fall - The Heralds of Apocalypse #1 | 120 | November 17, 2023 | 978-1302952280 |
| X-Men Red by Al Ewing - Volume 4 | X-Men Red #14–18 | 136 | March 12, 2024 | 978-1302953430 |
References
[edit]- ^ "It's Official: X-Men Red Stealth-Canceled with December's X-Men Red #11". Bleeding Cool. October 16, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
- ^ Moore, Trent (September 13, 2017). "Marvel Comics bringing the original Jean Grey back to life, like a phoenix". SyFy. Archived from the original on September 14, 2017. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
- ^ Jamie Lovett (February 20, 2018). "Marvel Announces "Fresh Start"". ComicBook.com. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
- ^ Babos, John (January 30, 2018), "Marvel Comics Legacy Spoilers: All 10 X-Men Red Covers Including Variants!," Inside Pulse. Retrieved March 1, 2018
- ^ a b c George Marston (February 16, 2019). "X-MEN: RED ANNUAL #1 to Fill in Gaps After JEAN GREY's RESURRECTION". Newsarama. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
- ^ Dave Richards (February 26, 2018). "Tom Taylor Explains Why Jean Grey Sets Out to Change the World in X-Men Red". CBR. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
- ^ X-Men Red #1
- ^ a b Polo, Susana (February 8, 2018), "X-Men: Red #1 brings back a powerful villain and a terrible pun," Polygon. Retrieved March 1, 2018
- ^ Liu, Narayan. "Marvel Mutants Explore Their Very Own Planet in X-Men Red". Comic Book Resources. Publication: 01.07.2022. Retrieved: 01.09.2022.
- ^ (December 8, 2017), "Phoenix Resurrection: Jean Grey's Return is an All-Hands on Deck," Comic Book Resources. Retrieved March 1, 2018
- ^ Yehl, Joshua (September 18, 2018), "Original Jean Grey Returns in Marvel's Phoenix Resurrection," IGN. Retrieved March 1, 2018
- ^ "X-Men Red #1," Comic Book Roundup. Retrieved March 1, 2018
- ^ a b c David Pepose (February 1, 2018). "Advance Review: X-Men – Red #1 Brings 'Compassion, Warmth, & Clear Purpose to JEAN GREY's Mission' (8/10)". Newsarama. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
- ^ a b Shedeen, Jesse (February 7, 2018), "X-Men Red #1 Review," IGN. Retrieved March 1, 2018
- ^ "X-Men Red Comic Series Reviews at ComicBookRoundUp.com". Comic Book Roundup. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
- ^ "February 2018 Comic Book Sales to Comics Shops". Comichron. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
- ^ "March 2018 Comic Book Sales to Comics Shops". Comichron. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
- ^ "April 2018 Comic Book Sales to Comics Shops". Comichron. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
- ^ a b "May 2018 Comic Book Sales to Comics Shops". Comichron. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
