Powers of X #4 is one of those comics which delights in being nebulous. Even though it provides key information about what’s been happening with the X-Men, it holds back just enough to still make you scratch your head. Then again, that’s Jonathan Hickman for you. He never makes it easy for his readers, assuming they don’t need him to be lead them by the hand.
And just what revelations does this comic give us? Well, in the first of three vignettes, we learn that Professor X and Magneto secretly made a deal with X-Men nemesis, Mister Sinister, for him to collect and catalog mutant DNA. Considering Sinister dabbles with cloning, this may or may not hint what’s really happening on Krakoa. Speaking of which, the second story reveals how the sentient island and the mutant multilinguist, Cypher, met via Xavier. We also learn about Krakoa’s origins, and how it ties in with Apocalypse. Finally, Hickman gives us an update of the far future, and the negotiations between Earth and AI collective, the Phalanx.
What all three of these stories share in common is they’re deceptively straightforward. However, if you’ve paid close attention to House of X and Powers of X, certain things will catch your attention. Xavier and Magneto’s arrangement with Sinister echoes a similar deal talked about in earlier data pages from Moira’s ninth life. Krakoa’s backstory seems to provide a glimpse at some possible new villains for the upcoming “Dawn of X” era. Also, two of those blue-skinned future humans are starting to look very familiar, aren’t they?
You also start having a vague idea as to how everything fits together, emphasis on vague. In particular, the far future of “X-Men: Year One Thousand” is still an unknown factor. Since Powers of X #3 revealed “X-Men: Year One Hundred” as a separate timeline, this future could be one as well.
Powers of X #4 is also a very talkative comic. As House of X #4 was an action-heavy installment, having an issue with nothing but dialogue scenes becomes a welcome reprieve. And while it’s mostly exposition, there’s plenty of great character moments. The scene where Xavier and Magneto confront Sinister’s guard perfectly highlights how Xavier’s calm demeanor and Magneto’s impatience complement each other. Cypher’s dialogue, too, feels natural, conveying the cockiness and curiosity of a youthful genius.
But of all the characters, it’s Hickman’s Sinister who stands out the most. Sometimes, a little too much. Like some bizarre mixture of Heath Ledger’s Joker, David Bowie, and Tim Curry’s Dr. Frankenfurter, Sinister oozes flamboyance and mania with his every word. It’s such an odd depiction, it almost takes you completely out of the book. Still, I suppose one can’t fault Hickman wanting to inject some humor into an otherwise melodramatic property like X-Men. Between this and Nimrod, Hickman loves writing cheeky villains.
Fortunately, if you feel too disconnected, the art from R.B. Silva and Marte Gracia will pull you back. More specifically, it’s how their figures look and act as they speak are what captivates you. Amidst the courtly opulence of Bar Sinister or the wild verdant landscape of Krakoa, their figures always take center stage. How they illustrate these characters also tells us much about them. Take Xavier, for example. In the first story, he looks as he did during the Jim Lee era, all business. In the second, he’s happily strolling about in an explorer outfit. It’s as though his change in wardrobe, and regaining the use of his legs, has given him a new personality.
In terms of the larger puzzle behind the “Two Series That Are One,” it’s obvious Powers of X #4 provides essential pieces. Yet Sinister’s antics and the future 1,000 years from now distract us from seeing the whole picture. Maybe, for now, that’s a good thing. Maybe, Hickman has given us enough to make all the connections. We just need our imaginations to do the rest.
Stillanerd’s Nerdy Nitpicks
- Does “Bar Sinister” sound familiar? It should. It first appeared as a region of Battleworld during Hickman’s Secret Wars. But it looks like it was always a thing according to this comic. Not the most cumbersome of retcons, but still kind of pointless.
- The “Red Diamond” gossip section is a plethora of fascinating, but frustrating, riddles for upcoming X-Men plots. For instance, “Sinister Secret #5” hints that Wolverine is carrying on an extramarital affair, and the woman’s husband is okay since he’s having one, too. Is this suggesting a return of the Wolverine/Jean Grey/Cyclops/Emma Frost drama?
- Meanwhile, “Sinister Secret #7” suggests there are more Summers brothers than just Cyclops, Havok, and Vulcan. Wonder if this hints towards Chris Claremont’s original plans for Gambit. Or the origins of Adam-X?
- Also, “John Proudstar,” the original Thunderbird? Of all the DNA Mr. Sinister could’ve injected himself with. Of course, Thunderbird was part of the “All-New X-Men” team on Krakoa, so…
- Speaking of Krakoa, his face looks more like Guardians of the Galaxy’s Groot than how it originally appeared during Giant-Size X-Men #1. Coincidence?
- Also, if there’s “rumors” of a hidden “Krakoan skunkworks” despite the lack of evidence, you know there’s a Krakoan skunkworks. Wonder if it involves those seed pods from House of X #1?
- “I don’t understand what just happened.” Said every reader during that Phalanx transformation scene. Though in layman’s terms, this is looking less like the Borg from Star Trek: The Next Generation and more like Johnny Deep in Transcendence. If that’s our future, comic, then no thanks.
Check Out: Stillanerd Reads: House of X #4