DISTINGUISHED GUESTS

Planet-Sized X-Men #1, X-Corp #2, and New Mutants #19.

GALA ITINERARY

The OG New Mutants are in attendance at the Hellfire Gala. Wolverine (Laura) expresses concern that she hasn’t seen Scout all evening. She asks Daken if he’s seen her, but he also does not know where she is. Mirage talks with Wolfsbane, who has chosen to wear her usual uniform in lieu of a flash outfit like everybody else. She’s lacking mutant pride because she doubts her late son, Tier, is a priority for the resurrection protocols.

Warlock is caught mimicking his various friends because he is lonely now that Cypher is spending so much time with his new wife Bei. Warpath assures Warlock that he has not been replaced and encourages him to approach the newlyweds so they can hang out together. Elsewhere, we see glimpses of a conversation the Shadow King is having with Scout, warning her that nothing lasts forever and Krakoa is doomed for failure like everything else. When Wolverine goes to look for Scout at their home, she finds a letter addressed to her in which Scout expresses concern about the recent seduction of her friends by the Shadow King. She also confesses that she misses her big sister, who’s been distant lately. Soon thereafter, Scout’s friends find her lifeless body in the woods.

While the Gala is underway, Penance and Angel prepare for various business meetings regarding X-Corp, specifically filling out their board of directors. They’re under increased scrutiny from Xavier after their very public (and sooner-than-expected) launch in Brazil and know they need to make up for the mess they caused. Among their interviewees are Sunspot and Mastermind. Complicating matters is the unexpected (and unwanted) arrival of the Fenris twins, Andreas and Andrea von Strucker. While Andreas manages to woo away one of X-Corp’s potential board directors, Andrea slinks away to steal information from their rival. The twins both end up in a conflict with Penance and Angel, but Mastermind manages to help dispatch them, which we then learn has resulted in his instatement on the X-Corp board.

Later, we finally learn what the Gala attendees saw in their telepathic fireworks show through flashback. Making a long story short, Krakoa has successfully terraformed Mars and colonized it with the entirety of Arakko, effectively creating a mutant planet.

EVENT IN REVIEW

Whew. In what is probably the most significant plot development of the Krakoa era since we found out Moira was a mutant of existential importance, the title of Planet-Sized X-Men reveals itself to be surprisingly literal. You thought that the X-Men establishing an island nation of mutants was big? Now they have an entire world to themselves. Surely nothing wrong will come of this! It’s definitely a major move that has major implications for not just the mutant side of things, but the entire Marvel universe. (Canny readers might remember rumors of Marvel shuttering mutants off to their own planet to keep them separate from the company’s more movie-friendly-at-the-time properties, which makes this new wrinkle even more amusing. Coincidence? Maybe not.) I’m very interested to see how the rest of the event plays out with this breaking news.

Conversely, the other two tie-ins this week are weirdly disconnected from the larger event proceedings. X-Corp #2 and New Mutants #19 are mostly doing their own thing, with the backdrop of the Gala giving their characters an excuse to be together. This might have been on purpose to contrast with the huge revelations of Planet-Sized, but I almost wonder if it would have been better to just release the latter this week solo.

BEST/WORST DRESSED

I’ve given him a shoutout out already, but I have to once again say how much I enjoy Angel’s open jacket ensemble now that he’s at the forefront of this issue (it’s very much giving you Josh Cornillon’s “Himbo Angel” series vibes). But I also like Penance’s look, particularly how her spiky fascinator is reminiscent of how she looks when she’s in her altered form. Another mention goes to Karma’s puffy red jacket. As for worst, I’m unfortunately going to have to put Wolfsbane in here. I understand why she didn’t get dressed up like everybody else, but sis, it’s a gala. Play along!

COMING UP

Wolverine #13, SWORD #6, and Way of X #3. Given the events of this week’s Planet-Sized, I wonder if the ramifications of mutants colonizing other worlds will play out in SWORD…

Hellfire Gala: Week Three

7.7

Planet-Sized X-Men #1

9.0/10

X-Corp #2

6.5/10

New Mutants #19

7.5/10

Credits

Writers: Gerry Duggan (Planet-Sized), Tini Howard (X-Corp), Vita Ayala (New Mutants)
Artists: Pepe Larraz (Planet-Sized), Alberto Foche (X-Corp), Alex Lins (New Mutants)
Color Artists: Marte Gracia (Planet-Sized), Sunny Gho (X-Corp), Matt Milla (New Mutants)
Letterers: VC’s Clayton Cowles (Planet-Sized, X-Corp), VC’s Travis Lanham (New Mutants)
Cover Artists: Pepe Larraz and Marte Gracia (Planet-Sized), David Aja (X-Corp), Martin Simmonds (New Mutants)