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By writer Jed MacKay, Penciler Netho Diaz, Inks Sean Parsons & Livesay, Colors Marte Garcia & Fer Sifuentes-Sujo and letterer Clayton Cowles
The Giant Sentinel of Merle
At the very beginning of this run, in issue #1, we saw this iteration of the X-Men had established themselves in Merle, Alaska. Specifically, inside a former ORCHIS factory. Where the locals used to manufacture Sentinels. Indeed, a pretty grim facility for mutants to repurpose for a home and headquarters for their operations. In addition to this, there is a Giant Sentinel in the very outskirts of Merle. The iron giant is nonfunctional, but nonetheless it stands there looking down at the city.
The People of Merle
There is a clear conflict between the people of Merle and the X-Men. Personally, I find it very interesting that Jed MacKay took the faceless and nameless population of this town and made them part of the story for his X-Men run. Basically, the mutants recycled everything from the factory for their benefit, except for the giant sentinel. Clearly, the X-Men leader, Cyclops, wanted to keep it around just a bit longer to remind the people of Merle: “what they owe us”.
Merle is Uneasy
It’s alluded the citizens of Merle are not anti-mutants. Nor that they openly hate mutants perse. However, this is a smalltown where jobs were scarce. And even though they weren’t necessarily happy about building Sentinels. Instead, they just focused on the fact they were earning a living and did not think about how their hard labor was contributing to the extermination of mutants around the world.
Tensions are High
Afterwards, ORCHIS automated the manufacturing and laid off all the people of Merle, returning everyone to unemployment. Just for the Avengers to come through later in the events of the Fall of X and beat ORCHIS, push them out of Merle and shutdown the Sentinel factory. All of a sudden, those same mutants hunted by ORCHIS’s sentinels moved in next door. Yeah, must be awkward at the very least. I applaud MacKay for the nuanced situation the X-Men and the people of Merle find themselves in.
*Spoilers for Issue #7*
From a Core to a Giant
In issue #7 MacKay takes us back to the moment where The Giant Sentinel first appeared. Get this, the new generation of sentinels can rebuild themselves back if their core is leftover intact. Not only rebuild themselves, but they can use all sorts of materials from their surroundings to assemble into something new and better if the conditions are right. Likewise, after the Avengers took down Orchis in Merle, this one core survived and once it started to rebuild itself, it just never stopped growing.
The Giant attacks the Town
Cyclops and Magneto happened to be wallowing in their sorrows together in a cabin nearby the ORCHIS factory. Scott was feeling lost and directionless. While Magento not only disapproved of Scotts demeanor and attitude, but also, he also actively pushed back of Cyclops’ words. If there was a time for the X-Men to be around, this definitely it. Out of nowhere this Colossal Sentinel approaches the town or Merle. Magneto and Cyclops jumped into action without hesitation. Scott Summers transitions effortlessly into a leader even when he was not feeling like it. Proving Magneto’s point that Scott was chosen as to lead weather he liked it or not. Scott is just that good at it.
What about the Art?
One minor gripe I have with the series is that, although Ryan Stegman was originally announced as the penciler for the run, he’s not been on all the issues so far. But don’t let that deter you from reading X-Men. At the same time, every issue has been top quality so far, including this one. Netho Diaz drew some really nice splash pages and a very awesome tag team fight scene. The Cyclops/Magneto vs the Giant Sentinel was amazing. Of course, everyone else’s work shines through. Inkers Sean Parsons & Livesay, Colorists Marte Garcia & Fer Sifuentes-Sujo and letterer Clayton Cowles combined work is top quality.
I give this issue a 9.5 out of 10
The nuanced conflict between the people or Merle and the X-Men has been enough for me to follow the series. Of course this is not all this series has to offer, there’s plenty I refuse to spoil. The X-Men by Jed MacKay has a variety of reasons for everyone to love. The team roster, the new facility, or even Magneto’s health issues. Not to mention the team’s mission of rescuing “new” mutants has taken them all over the country so far. If you are looking to jump into one of the new X titles from Marvel in the post-Krakoa era, X-Men by Jed MacKay is a no brainer.
