Writer: Gerry Duggan
Art: Joshua Cassara, Marte Garcia, Clayton Cowles, Tom Muller, and Jay Bowen
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price:$3.99
Release Date: June 7th, 2023
Anti-mutant fantasist Feilong has taken control of Tony Stark’s businesses and devoted Iron Man’s technology toward the next generation of Sentinels! These Stark Sentinels are as hard to beat as old Shell-head himself and are fully devoted to crushing the X-Men! Let’s dive into X-Men #23 by Gerry Duggan and see just how difficult these things are to defeat!
If you’re interested in this comic, series, related trades, or any of the others mentioned, then simply click on the title/link to snag a copy through Amazon as you read the X-Men #23 Review.
THE DISPATCH
Duggan opens with more of the over-complication that is Doctor Stasis, Mother Righteous, Dominion, cloning, and that entire convoluted mess that was the past X-Men event. All I feel readers can decipher is that Mother Righteous is a clone of Sinister. Doctor Stasis is also a clone of Sinister. And together, they’re somehow working and not working with Orchis. But otherwise, we open with more of this nonsense that just adds more fuel to the fire that was this past event.
Meanwhile, we dive straight into the Feilong dilemma, the Invisible Iron Man ongoing crossover, and the shocker we left off within the last X-Men issue. Together, this is the story that’s the most intriguing. The medical sabotage from Orchis through the Krakoan medicine mixed with the Iron Man-infused Sentinels is going to make for a pretty killer story between the X-Men and humanity in these next couple of books.
Now, when I say killer, I mean it! This Iron Man Sentinel is massive, destructive, and as you’ll see, can take on dozens of mutants with ease. Our X-Men are outmatched in almost every avenue. Leave it to Magik to come to everyone’s aid as the classic fan favorite to put a dynamic stop to all of this! However, just like X-Men: Before the Fall – Mutant First Strike #1 which is also debuting this week, the media decided to spin our fellow mutants as the villains in this mess making it rather difficult for our lovable X-Men to ever get ahead.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Overall, X-Men #23 does an outstanding job of making multiple titles and storylines feel important. From Ms. Marvel to Tony Stark and the other X-books, Duggan writes like a team player that’s paying attention. He dabbles in all of Marvel Comics and puts all the pieces together nicely. People want to know that what they read is important. And after reading X-Men #23, you find yourself seeing which titles are definitely the most important. And thus, you feel safe in knowing your money is well spent.
Additionally, the action and story beats are on point. The Stark Sentinels are absolutely nuts and the agenda being pushed by Orchis and its associates is top-notch. Nevertheless, the only things bringing down X-Men #23 are the insanity that is Doctor Stasis and Mother Righteous AND the art. The illustrations are chunky and remind me of the late 90s in terms of style and authenticity. When allowed to zoom in tight on the character’s faces, the design was amazing. However, the more action that transpired, the more chaos ensued and thus the more disheveled the design and illustrations. Hopefully, it can get a bit more buttoned up before the next issue is released. Let me know what you think, have a great week, and God Bless!