Writer: Gerry Duggan
Art: C.F. Villa, Matt Milla, VC’s Clayton Cowles, Martin Coccolo, Jesus Aburtov, Jay Bowen, and Tom Muller
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price:$3.99
Release Date: January 11th, 2023
Synch has a lot to sort out. His life has been derailed, his powers have grown and he’s experienced a loss that no one understands. The universe has had its way with him. Now… it’s his turn as X-Men #18 continues to unfold. Let’s dive in and take a look!
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THE DISPATCH
At some point and time, the confrontation was bound to happen. The Laura’s would have to meet. And ultimately, X-Men #18 sets all that up for our readers. Now, I enjoy a good crossover like the next person, however, X-Men #18 jumps into the female vampire romp of X-Terminators and intertwines books on a Vampire Hunt. Readers get the funny, almost adolescent feel from Jubilee, Boom-Boom, and even Young Laura (I say Young Laura since the other one was alive in the Vault for hundreds of years as a distinction between the two).
Meanwhile, we get a small side story for the rest of the X-Men team that’s basically a throwaway narrative used to incorporate the rest of the team. Nothing big happens within this side story and maybe Duggan will later drop a name or a nugget from this side parlay. Nevertheless, there really isn’t a ton to focus on with this element of X-Men #18 other than to attempt to balance out a “team book” a bit better than simply a Laura book.
However, diving back to the Laura’s, Duggan uses a vampire killing session to iron out the details of these two Laura’s both being alive at the same time. It’s actually quite clever and done in Laura fashion as you’d expect. Some reasonably heavy things are discussed with answers. Who gets resurrected if one of them should die? Who gets the name “Wolverine”? Will they basically be like sisters? Will there be backyard BBQ reunions? And rightfully so. These are great questions that readers may want to know the answers to instead of waiting another year to find out.
Yet, Duggan unveils another clever story beat or two as X-Men #18 comes to a close. There is a discussion with Beast where in all practicality… he’s right! Even though Beast has been so cynical and demented as of late, his discussion with Emma and Jean is accurate on both levels. One contains Laura, which I see as a clever carrot that Duggan could pull out at any point and time down the road as a unique wrinkle or huge, devastating reveal down the road. And, Beast’s other argument about Orchis is also valid. I’m not one to side with his secret experimentations and labs as of late. However, his points at the end of X-Men #18 are extremely valid and should pose as great water cooler comic discussions at your LCS.
FINAL THOUGHTS
X-Men #18 cuts to the chase and, just like a Wolverine, attacks the duplicate Laura problem head-on. Questions most fans would have are answered, great comic discussion topics are brought to light, possible story beats are left in the wind to be forgotten by readers (but not Duggan), and a reasonable amount of action was used to balance out the issue. X-Men #18 was more informative, but that’s ok. Every issue can’t be explosive action-packed melee. Plus, you will get some minor vampire action to complement the story a bit.
My biggest concern within X-Men #18 was the cliffhanging last page involving a Summers (which I can’t talk about without spoiling anything) AND the depiction of the X-Terminators as this group of teenage girls, which they aren’t. But otherwise, X-Men #18 had a purpose in clearing the air and at the end of the day it succeed in that objective. If you have any questions on the review or are ever interested in tackling a comic review of your own, feel free to email me directly at dispatchdcu@gmail.com. Let me know what you think, have a great week, and God Bless!