Writer: Jonathan Hickman

Art: R. B. Silva, Marte Garcia, VC’s Clayton Cowles, and Tom Muller

Price: $4.99

Release Date: August 21, 2019

Come X-plore the past, present, and far future of the X-Men like never before in this week’s all-new POWERS OF X #3 by Jonathan Hickman. Let’s jump in and X-amine what new mind-blowing revelations this issue as in-store!

WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Jonathan Hickman’s epic continues this week as readers get a few more answers, a possible direction, and even more thrilling questions for the future of this series, as well as the X-Men overall. The shocking revelation in this issue was that X-Men Year 100 is actually Moira’s 9th Life and not the 10th or even 11th life. Fans are finally given some type of time reference. Additionally, readers see that the purpose of Moira’s 9th Life was to gain access to the creation of Nimrod, which was an extremely imaginative take by Hickman. With this information, Moira could use her new knowledge of Nimrod in her 10th Life to help mutant-kind moving forward and stop the machines.

Now, here are some key and possibly hidden takeaways from Hickman’s action-packed melee. The first take away is that Humanity began to worship the machines. Their reverence for the machines was so deep that they literally took a baby and partially transformed it into a machine-like, cybernetic being. That specific scene stunned this reviewer and had me wondering why it was necessary as well as it’s purpose.

Readers, Hickman doesn’t spend time on useless information throughout his writing and this was a huge element of the issue. So, why did Hickman focus on Humanity’s worship of machines, especially within a 50 year period? That’s a drastic change in such a short time. Furthermore, how could Humanity be so willing to worship the machines as gods but not mutants, especially after seeing some of their abilities? This reviewer believes that’s a hidden, if not essential, key to this issue, primarily because it was a solid one-third of the comic and a heavy focus of the narrative.

The next point this reviewer would like to make is that Hickman made an effort to spell out the true connection, purpose, and detail of the POWERS OF X (Powers or 10). There were only 10 mutants, or at least off-shoots of mutants left 100 years in the future. Furthermore, the only purebred mutants left were Xorn, Wolverine, Apocalypse, and Akkaba, who readers find out is actually Moira MacTaggert, which was an INSANE reveal. Not only were humans practically extinct but so were the mutants. Humanity creates the machines in an effort to take down the mutants but instead the machines become sentient and destroy everyone. Plus, in Hickman’s future, it’s the very beings the humans were trying to kill that barely survived and are trying to save the world led by none other than Apocalypse and Moira MacTaggert. Come on guys, that’s astoundingly interesting and so $&@$ crazy!

Additionally, another key point is that readers actually find out that the green-looking Magneto is NOT Magneto. It’s a second-generation Chimera made from Lorna Dane and Emma Frost, which is totally bad$&$! North, the green-looking Magneto, was created to possess the abilities of magnetism, telepathy, and possibly telekinesis. That’s totally nuts! Moreover, Hickman made a point to finally clue readers into what was happening in Year 100 and totally blew this reviewers mind. Jonathan Hickman has created a comic that has filled readers with positive speculation, true mystery, and wildly clever plot twists that keep fans on their toes. What more could anyone want from a comic?

Readers, half of the fun of this series is the speculation, the discussion, the thought exercise, the coffee with friends afterward, and the idea of being challenged by a comic. POWERS OF X has done all of that and so much more. X-Men fans get Apocalypse fighting alongside the good of mutant-kind as he literally sacrifices himself to save mutants and the rest of humanity… all for ANOTHER timeline. Just pause for a moment and say that out loud. It simply sounds ridiculous to even say… but this reviewer wants more!

Additionally, fans see the world blown apart because of a black hole (singularity) in Xorn’s head while Nimrod blows Logan so far apart that you can literally see his metal scalp. And if that wasn’t enough, the issue ends with an Apocalyptic-Moira (who shouldn’t even be alive) receiving a data downloaded into her chest to retain the knowledge of Nimrod’s origination, to eventually be gutted like a fish by Logan. Again, come on fam, what more do you need? This issue was $&@$ crazy!

Hickman shows fans the truth about Year 100 but leaves readers wondering about HOUSE OF X, as well as many of the other Life’s of Moira MacTaggert. Is Year One or Year Ten also in Life Nine or are they in Life Ten? Maybe Year 1000 takes place in Life 11, which isn’t even listed yet? As the Imagine Dragons once said, “the path to heaven runs through miles of crowded hell.” Readers new to Hickman need to be open to a couple of confusing issues before some big reveals. Trust that he has a plan and has done extensive research before diving into a story. Either way you slice it, Hickman is finally putting the pieces together and providing a well-needed direction for the fans reading that feel utterly confused. Again, this reviewer hopes fans can hang in there and keep a list of all their questions until the end because there is no doubt Hickman will answer them all as the story continues to unfold.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Jonathan Hickman grabs readers attention immediately out of the gate and never let’s go until the issues epic conclusion. Additionally, this may have been the most straightforward issue of his run to date with the entire story centered in Year 100. The series continues to be creative, exciting, and well-paced while the intensity continues to increase from one issue to the next making the series incredibly valued and important. If you’re a Hickman fan, this is right in your wheelhouse. If you’re an X-Men fan, you’ll get some crazy-cool team-ups, never before seen moments, and out of this world action that you never thought you’d ever see in an X-Men comic. This reviewer highly recommends this issue, as well as both the HOUSE OF X and POWERS OF X series. If you haven’t bought in yet, you’re late to the party.