EXCEPTIONAL X-MEN #7 – He’s Not Who You Think He Is!

Creative Team – Eve L. Ewing(writing). Carmen Carnero(artist). Nolan Woodard(color artist). VC’s Travis Lanham(letterer). Carmen Carnero, Nolan Woodard(cover artists).

Published by Marvel Entertainment

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The Story

Kitty and Emma are training the young mutants, Bronze and Melee when they realize they’re missing a key player, Axo. Axo being late is very unlike him, so of course there’s plenty of worry to go around. Turns out Axo is spending time with Sheldon Xeno, the creator of a mysterious app called Verate that guarantees a cure for mutants if they submit their DNA.

With Xeno, Axo is able to connect with him like he’s never been able to connect with anyone. Axo feels Xeno truly cares and understands what he’s going through. But surely that’s just too good to be true, right?

Axo realizes how late he is to his training session with Kitty and Emma, and hurries over. Late being an understatement, Axo arrives at the end of the session, with excuses in tow. The rest of the mutants don’t believe a word he says, and shows that they just worry about him. Things escalate when Axo accuses them of not caring but it’s all halted when Bobby bursts in with urgent news. Bobby fretfully tells them that Professor Charles Xavier has escaped Graymalkin Prison and is met with the same stunned reaction from Emma and Kitty. The younger mutants are surprisingly unaware of who Xavier is, so they don’t quite understand the magnitude of the situation.

Axo running out of the training session angrily meant that he needed a shoulder to lean on, and who’s he to turn to but Xeno. Xeno takes Axo to his personal lab, and tells him he’s now in the “inner circle”. Axo knows that something feels very off and tries to politely leave, but Xeno isn’t having it. Turns out there’s much more to Xeno that Axo doesn’t know, starting with who even is Xeno?!

The Writing

I think we all knew that something about Sheldon Xeno was just not right, and all those suspicions are confirmed! While that confirmation happened, I really didn’t expect the big reveal at the end, and I have to say, I loved it. Xeno being cunning and diabolical while portraying someone who cares has been written perfectly by Eve L. Ewing.

With Axo, I think Exceptional X-Men #7 does a great job showing just how trying being a telempath is on him, and really puts it into perspective how alone he feels. I’m really interested to see where his story goes, as he’s a character who I think could really have a huge impact. Overall I think this was an emotional installment, but I do wish it had more to do with the X-Manhunt event.

The Art

Carmen Carnero, Nolan Woodard, and Travis Lanham continue to impress in this Exceptional X-Men run, but in the seventh installment, it felt more emotionally charged. With Axo’s feelings being all over the place, I think the artwork perfectly reflects that. Carnero flawlessly shows each feeling he’s experiencing with his facial expression, which adds a lot of depth to each panel he’s in. I think what really showcases the artists talents is towards the end with Axo and Xeno in the lab. You can feel a big shift in energy and it’s displayed perfectly with the characters.

Overall Grade – 7.9/10

Let me know in the comments your thoughts on the X-Manhunt event!

This review was written by Megan from the Vigilante Vibes Podcast. If you liked my review, be sure to check out my other reviews! Let me know what you think of Exceptional X-Men #7, or tell me what comics you’d recommend me trying out! Find me on my socials, and check out my Marvel podcast, Vigilante Vibes, by clicking here!