Writer: Jonathan Hickman

Art: Mahmud Asrar, Sunny Gho, VC’s Clayton Cowles, Tom Muller, and Leinil Francis Yu

Publisher: MARVEL COMICS

Price: $3.99

Release Date: November 25th, 2020

X OF SWORDS CHAPTER 20

This 20th installment of X OF SWORDS will yield no large results nor will it progress the story much farther than CABLE #6 did last week. Reader’s surmised last week with the fight of all fights lingering on the horizon that $&@$ was about to hit the fan! And, as we concluded X-MEN #15 by Jonathan Hickman, we’re practically at the same spot we began. The battle still needs to be finished and Arakko and Krakoa are still at a draw. So, it’s down to this one last fight and a lover’s duel. However, will there ever really be a victor?

If you’re interested in this comic or any of the others mentioned, simply click on the title/link to snag a copy through Amazon.

X-MEN fans, only 7 of these 28 pages contained the Apocalyptic showdown between Genesis and Apocalypse. The other 75% of the issue was wordy discussion mixed with 7 to 9-panel grid layouts of conversation involving a non-plan to somehow save the day with what appears to be two mutants and a design from the Golden Girls of Botany. Readers, we left last week with excitement and arrived with the wind out of the sails of this epic melee readers have been salivating for. I can’t help but think this 22 issue event could have been a few less without so many of these filler issues each week packed with humor and now exposition. In Hickman’s defense, he could have made everyone else’s issues filler… but alas he took one for the team this week!

The most interesting aspect of this issue was the fight between Genesis and Apocalypse. Something is developing under the surface. Plus, the mask is controlling more than meets the eye. This reviewer wonders if Genesis will be able to break from its “spell” before this tournament is complete. Furthermore, I still question what Saturnyne has to gain from all of this. What’s her motivation? What does she want? Granted, we still have two issues left this week to find out. So, stay tuned!

FINAL THOUGHTS

X-MEN #15 is not what I expected and was truthfully heavy on the dialogue while also creating small panels where my boy Mahmud Asrar couldn’t shine as well as he normally can with such small space to work. When given the canvas, Asrar can be explosive. Look no further than the last page of this issue as proof. However, the over-saturation of text and conversation dulled down the issue and put the breaks on a narrative that should be reaching its epic conclusion. That said, X OF SWORDS has been batting 300 each week (in terms of successful issues). Here’s to hoping Chapter 21 and 22 kill it because X-MEN #15’s info dump wasn’t my cup of Darjeeling. Nonetheless, if you made it this far, you’re going to see it through anyway. I know I am.

7.3/10

Check out the CHAPTER 21 Review HERE

Check out the CHAPTER 22 Review HERE

If you’re interested in X-MEN #15, click HERE to get a copy! Maybe you’ve been really digging Hickman’s X-MEN run? In that case, click HERE to get your hands on the latest Dawn of X trades and comics. And finally, if you’re looking for something else to read, check out my Amazon Online Comic Shop by clicking HERE. Thank you all for the read and continued support. Stay safe and stay healthy.

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