The X-Men ended 2023 getting hit hard by the Fall of X direction. The main X-Men series in particular has consistently dealt with the threat Orchis has been to mutants. In all of their fights with Orchis, the X-Men have not had any wins. With the losing streak that they’ve been on it’s time for them to start to turn things around. Maybe during the Fall of the House of X and Rise of the Powers of X crossover event that can happen. Let’s find out with X-Men #30
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Gerry Duggan
Artist: Phil Noto
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
SOLICITATION
“WE ARE NOT ANIMALS! As the chaos of mutantkind’s fight back against their fall at the hands of Orchis rages in FALL OF THE HOUSE OF X, other forgotten foes come from the woodwork to take on the X-Men in their time of peril! Synch and Talon find themselves once more besieged by the High Evolutionary and his creations to reap the consequences of their last encounter!” – Marvel Comics
REVIEW
To help with the transition to the current event X-Men #30 acts as a prequel to the events seen in the Fall of the House of X and Rise of the Powers of X. In doing so Gerry Duggan and Phil Noto are able to make a better transition from where Fall of X ended. It’s exactly what you want from a tie-in comic book.
The opening of X-Men #30 expands on where Cyclops is mentally during his trial in Fall of the House of X #1. The Cyclops’ confidence showed that the X-Men can still win when talking with Orchis’ Dr. Alla Gregor in more depth. Because of their history Cyclops still holds on to the strength Jean has him to not break. This continues the narrative of how Cyclops and Jean Grey are the foundational members of the X-Men.
With Cyclops showing this hope Duggan can present a much more villainous Dr. Stasis. This isn’t the gleeful, overconfident Dr. Stasis we saw in Fall of the House of X #1. Duggan went more into the manipulative, Hitler-like tone Dr. Stasis has shown to not be afraid to present himself. This makes Dr. Stasis a villain you want to see get his comeuppance and for Cyclops to be the one to finish him. This development helps to further evolve Cyclops’ rivalry with Mister Sinister which we have seen before the Krakoa Era.
The additional success found with X-Men #30 is how it shows the multiple angles the team is tackling the Orchis threat. The Trial of Cyclops is just one angle that there is to the X-Men vs Orchis war. As we saw during Fall of X, there are other angles to the war that continue to be in development. A big one is Firestar continuing to act as a triple agent to infiltrate Orchis. Bringing back Firestar’s tie to Iron Man helped highlight how Angelica Jones’s story has been multiple years in the making. Even though their scene was short it was effective to keep Firestar’s story to be a key sub-plot in this event.
We also get some effective ties to the events of Rise of the Powers of X #1 in X-Men #30. Specifically, when it comes to Synch. We get a better idea why when we see Synch in the future that he is at the last of his powers. Adding in that Synch suffered the massive loss of Talon during the fight with High Evolutionary before the events of Rise of the Powers of X #1 was a strong motivator. Synch clearly pushed his powers more to at least save Talon’s consciousness after their loss to High Evolutionary. It was a nice touch by Noto to show how Synch overextended his powers with how he continues to visibly age.
High Evolutionary was also handled well as an outside party to the events going on. Duggan does a great job presenting High Evolutionary as someone always in control. Bringing up the previous meeting made Synch and High Evolutionary come across as personal rivals. That rivalry was deepened by how High Evolutionary did not hesitate to kill Talon. It was a brutal showing that continues to make Synch one of the most compelling characters to follow in the Fall of the House of X and Rise of the Powers of X story.
FINAL THOUGHTS
X-Men #30 does a lot to strengthen the stories in Fall of the House of X and Rise of the Powers of X. This issue works as a prequel that gives greater weight to where we find Cyclops, Firestar, and Synch in the X-Men crossover. This is exactly what you want from a tie-in comic book to complement a big event.
Story Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
