• Written by: Jed MacKay
• Art by: Ryan Stegman, JP Mayer, Livesay
• Colors by: Marte Gracia
• Letters by: VC’s Clayton Cowles
• Cover art by: Ryan Stegman, JP Mayer, Marte Gracia (cover A)
• Cover price: $4.99
• Release date: August 28, 2024

X-Men #3, by Marvel Comics on 4/28/24, finds Scott Summers in a parlay with Agent Lundqvist of the ONE to discuss the PR fallout from the San Francisco mission. Meanwhile, the Factory receives uninvited guests.

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Is X-Men #3 Good?

Well, well, well. Look who started to get their act together, and I’m not talking about the X-Men. I’ll be the first to say the debut round of X-Titles of Tom Brevoort’s From the Ashes era failed to knock anyone’s socks off but give credit where credit is due. I could get used to more comics like X-Men #3. It’s not perfect by any means, particularly with an annoying continuity hiccup in the opening pages, but the potential is there.

When last we left the team in X-Men #2, Scott and his allies were tasked with tracking down one of the newly-emerged adult mutants wandering the city streets of San Francisco at the same time an alien invasion just happened to show up. After a fight and feats of illusion, the team figured out the invasion was a figment of the new mutant’s mind power manifesting, so they secretly spirited him back to the Alaska base for care and study.

In X-Men #3, we begin with a squad of Shrikes in psi-shielded armor teleporting into the Factory with Vanisher. The team immediately splits up for an undisclosed objective. Meanwhile, Scott wraps up a call with Beast as the former heads into town for a meeting. With who? Scott is scheduled to meet Agent Lundqvist of the ONE to discuss the last issue’s public battle in San Francisco. It won’t be a friendly meeting.

Jed MacKay opens the issue with energy, purpose, and solid pacing. Everyone is moving for their respective reasons toward some dramatic event, so the anticipation starts strong. That said, the annoying continuity gap comes by way of Scott ending his call with Rogue from Uncanny X-Men #2 and recounting the contents of that call to Beast. What Scott says Rogue told him doesn’t make any sense without the context of the other side of that phone call, so we’re informed about a piece of an event with no way to give it weight or importance because the issue involving those events (Uncanny X-Men #2) hasn’t come out yet. I don’t know why issues sharing an event are coming out far enough apart so as to create a disconnect this early in the game, but it’s Marvel, so sloppiness is to be expected.

Scott enters the local diner, after cordially greeting Chief Robbins on the street, to find Agent Lundqvist in a booth and enjoying a piece of pie. Lundqvist wastes no time telling Scott that the X-men’s actions in San Francisco were unacceptable. Worse, Scott’s speech to Ben about manifesting powers as an adult was recorded and went viral, stoking fears that a virus is turning people into mutants. Scott returns Lundqvist’s energy by stating the Factory and every single action the X-Men take are due payment for the government’s misdeeds after the fall of Krakoa, and every mutant Scott “rescues” relieves the government of one more headache to tend.

Admittedly, Scott and Lundqvist’s tense verbal sparring session is the highlight of this issue. MacKay presents a Scott Summers who is a leader, secure in his purpose, and absolutely done with bowing to self-serving pressure from the government or anyone else. Sure, there’s plenty of legitimate criticism to conclude that the X-Men are mostly to blame for their present predicament, but Scott handles himself like a boss here.

Meanwhile, Kid Omega finds Beast knocked out and replays Beast’s memories to deduce the Factory has invaders. He establishes a psychic link with the rest of the X-Men, who leap into action to find the invaders. What follows is a clever sequence of cat & mouse as each mutant (or not, in Juggernaut’s case) uses their wits and abilities to tag and take out the Shrikes.

The issue concludes with Scott telling Lundqvist how things are going to be, Temper barely containing her temper, and Scott privately showing he’s not okay.

What’s great about X-Men #3? Jed MacKay delivers an emotionally impactful issue that showcases the nuanced personality of Scott Summers, reinforcing why he’s the best man to lead. Plus, the invasion of the Factory gives the issue visual and structural variety to keep the energy high for a thoroughly engaging read.

What’s not great about X-Men #3? Surprisingly, the majority of problems with this issue are minor when compared to the positives. The continuity disconnect between this issue and Rogue in Uncanny X-Men #1 is annoying, and Kid Omega’s personality is still more obnoxious than it needs to be, but the combined issue doesn’t detract much away from the issue.

How’s the Art? To be fair, Ryan Stegman hasn’t delivered his best work in this series, but much like the writing, Stegman’s art in this issue has stabilized and improved. Sure, Beast’s eyes still look weird, but the odd waffling between strong character poses and cartoony figure work isn’t as noticeable, and the tense scene between Scott and Lundqvist is carried off well.

[Author’s Note: A reader rightly pointed out the other part of the phone call involving Rogue is referring to a scene in Uncanny X-Men #2, not Uncanny X-Men #1. The review has been updated to reflect the clarification.]

About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.

Follow @ComicalOpinions on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter

Final Thoughts

X-Men #3 is a noticeably improved issue over the previous two when Scott has a contentious meeting with a government agent while the Factory is invaded by a Shrike team. MacKay keeps the pace, scene transitions, and drama high while significantly elevating Scott Summers’s badass status. Likewise, Ryan Stegman’s weirdly inconsistent art from the first two issues has leveled out and improved.

8.2/10

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