Posted in: Comics, Comics Publishers, Marvel Comics, Review | Tagged: empyre, Empyre X-Men, jonathan hickman, jorge molina, x-men

Empyre: X-Men #4 Review: Hickman Returns for the Finale

Empyre: X-Men was an interesting experiment, with different writers currently on various titles within Marvel's mutant line-ups collaborating on each chapter. Jonathan Hickman and Tini Howard launched the Empyre tie-in with the first issue; Gerry Duggan, Ben Percy, and Leah Williams took over for the second; and Vita Ayala, Zeb Wells, and Ed Brisson continued with the third. Now, Hickman is back for the fourth and final issue of this superhero horror mash-up. Now that Empyre: X-Men #4  is out and the series is complete, how did it all come together?

Empyre: X-Men #3 got the series back on track after an unfortunately unimpressive second issue, and Hickman keeps up that quality for this finale. There is a restrained, grounded grace to Hickman's writing, especially on X-titles, that goes against the way his writing has been perceived in the past. Hickman is a heady writer known for these big, universe shaking stories, such as his Avengers title that unraveled the threads of Marvel's mythology in major ways. In Hickman's X-Men titles, though, every bit of sci-fi fun and every plot point is used to cut to the humanity of this sprawling cast of characters so that every single mutant matters.

Empyre: X-Men #4 starts with something Hickman does best: a sit-down, of sorts. Scarlet Witch goes to Doctor Strange for help about the zombie infestation she caused in Genosha, and all I could think while reading was how Hickman's conversations are every bit as exciting as another writer's battle scenes. This is true, too, of the main emotional core of this issue, which focuses on Explodey Boy. While the main fight goes down, a resurrected Explodey Boy sits with a zombie version of himself, catching the undead version up on how life is like now that he's back. It's surprisingly sweet, tender, and funny for a scene that includes a zombie throwing up vegetables. This kind of writing, which finds humanity in the midst of chaos, is what makes well-told superheroes so compelling. This is the kind of character building that creates a legacy.

Like every issue of Empyre: X-Men, the art is terrific. The entire art team excelled on the battles, the horror, the gross-outs, and the emotional moments. Jorge Molina, Lucas Werneck, Adriano Di Benedetto, Nolan Woodard, Rachel Rosenberg, and VC's Clayton Cowels created a beautiful comic that elevated Hickman's already stellar script. Empyre: X-Men may be a tie-in series that had a bit of an uneven run, but this final issue was the best writing in any Empyre series, the core title or the tie in, so far.

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