X-Men Red

Last updated
X-Men Red
XMen Red.jpg
Cover to X-Men Red #1, art by Travis Charest
Publication information
Publisher Marvel Comics
ScheduleMonthly
Publication date(vol. 1)
February–December 2018 [1] (vol. 2)
April 2022– present
No. of issues(vol. 1)
11
(vol. 2)
15 (as of September 2023)
Main character(s)(vol. 1)
Gambit
Gentle
Honey Badger
Jean Grey
Namor
Nightcrawler
Storm
Trinary
Wolverine
(vol. 2)
Brotherhood of Arakko
X-Men Red
Great Ring of Arakko
Creative team
Written by(vol. 1)
Tom Taylor
(vol. 2)
Al Ewing
Artist(s)(vol. 1)
Mahmud Asrar
(vol. 2)
Stefano Caselli

X-Men Red is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics, featuring characters from X-Men stories.

Contents

The first series was an eleven-issue comic book series published by Marvel Comics in monthly installments between February and December 2018. It was written by Tom Taylor and illustrated by Mahmud A. Asrar. The book followed a new team of X-Men led by Jean Grey following her return in Phoenix Resurrection.

The second series featured the conflicting mutant factions on the terraformed Mars, renamed as Planet Arakko.

Publication history

Volume 1

X-Men Red is part of the X-Men franchise and a sister book to X-Men Gold and X-Men Blue , which began ten months earlier. It follows events from the December 2017 miniseries Phoenix Resurrection: The Return of Jean Grey written by Matthew Rosenberg and illustrated by Leinil Francis Yu. [2] The series was promoted as part of Marvel's Fresh Start, a full company relaunch of publications. [3] The first issue, released February 7, 2018, was written by Tom Taylor and illustrated by Mahmud Asrar. It was available in ten different variant covers. [4] Taylor's initial plans for the series did not involve any crossovers with other comic series. [5]

Jean Grey, a character recently resurrected after being dead for over a decade, assembles a new team with the intent to create a mutant nation. [6] Her initial allies are Nightcrawler, Wolverine, Honey Badger, Gentle, Trinary, and Namor. [5] [7] They use Atlantis as their headquarters. [8] After she attempts to convince the UN to recognize the mutant race as a nation with full human rights, Jean is framed for murder of an English congresswoman who is psychically murdered by a resurfaced Cassandra Nova, who uses this to alienate Jean in the public eye and label her a fugitive. Jean's team is thereby forced to act in secret as she continues in her goal to "heal the world".

An annual was published in May 2018 to detail the events between Phoenix Resurrection and X-Men Red #1. [5]

Volume 2

As part of the X-Men relaunch post-House of X, a second volume of the title written by Al Ewing was published under the banner Destiny of X and is a successor to Ewing's S.W.O.R.D. series. [9]

List of characters

Volume 1 roster

CharacterReal nameNotes
GentleNezhno Abidemi
Honey BadgerGabrielle Kinney
Jean Grey
NamorNamor Mackenzie
NightcrawlerKurt Wagner
StormOroro Munroe
Trinary Shilpa Khatri
WolverineLaura Kinney
GambitRemy LeBeauJoined in X-Men Red (vol. 1) #4

Volume 2 roster

Main characters

IssuesCharacters
#1 - #18

X-Men Red

Formed by Abigail Brand to police and control matters on the planet Arakko.

CharacterReal nameNotes
Abigail BrandStation Commander
Cable Nathan SummersField Commander
Frenzy Joanna Cargill
Manifold Eden FesiLeft in X-Men: Red (vol. 2) #2
Mentallo Marvin Flumm
Random Marshall Stone III
Vulcan Gabriel Summers

Brotherhood of Arakko

Formed by Storm as an opposition to X-Men Red, supported by Arakkii. They fought against Genesis and her horde during the Genesis War.

  • Bold indicates current members as of 2023.
CharacterReal nameJoined inNotes
Storm Ororo MunroeX-Men: Red (vol. 2) #1
Magneto Max EisenhardtDied in X-Men: Red (vol. 2) #7
Sunspot Roberto Da Costa
Fisher KingMerged with Xilo in X-Men: Red (vol. 2) #14
Khora of the Burning HeartX-Men: Red (vol. 2) #5
Wrongslide Santo Vaccarro
Lodus LogosX-Men: Red (vol. 2) #10
Sobunar of the DepthsLeft in X-Men: Red (vol. 2) #13
Nova Richard RiderX-Men: Red (vol. 2) #12
Jon IronfireX-Men: Red (vol. 2) #14
Kobak Never-Held
That-Which-Was-XiloMerged with Fisher King in X-Men: Red (vol. 2) #14
Syzya of the SmokeX-Men: Red (vol. 2) #15

Great Ring of Arakko

Governing body of Arakko, consisting of powerful players in planet Arakko.

Reception

Prior to publication, the series generated interest for starring Grey, a character who was killed nearly 15 years earlier in New X-Men #150. [8] [10] [11]

According to review aggregator Comic Book Roundup, the debut issue received an average score of 8.2 out of 10 based on 33 critical reviews. [12]

In a review for Newsarama , David Pepose praised the plot of the book for its focus on the coexistence of humans and mutants, which he said was the main premise of the X-Men franchise. [13] IGN reviewer Jesse Shedeen agreed, saying the "franchise has a bad habit of ... losing sight of the mutant metaphor and its allegorical power", but was glad X-Men Red makes it a primary focus. [14]

Although they found Asrar's art to be flawed but adequate, both of them liked Taylor's portrayal of Grey and her supporting cast. [13] [14] Pepose specifically liked that Grey was a leader instead of a symbol, love interest, or target. [13]

Prints

IssuePublication dateWriterArtistColorist Comic Book Roundup rating [15] Estimated sales to North American retailers (first month)
#1February 7, 2018Tom TaylorMahmud AsrarIve Svorcina8.1 by 34 professional critics98,468 [16]
#2March 7, 20188.0 by 15 professional critics49,084 [17]
#3April 11, 20188.1 by 10 professional critics56,531 [18]
#4May 16, 2018Rain Beredo8.2 by 13 professional critics44,607 [19]
Annual #1May 30, 2018Pascal AlixeChris Sotomayor7.5 by 16 professional critics38,444 [19]

Collected editions

Volume 1

#TitleMaterial collectedPagesPublication dateISBN
1The Hate MachineX-Men Red #1–5, Annual #1144September 18, 2018 978-1302911676
2Waging PeaceX-Men Red #6–11136March 19, 2019 978-1302911683

Volume 2

#Material collectedPagesPublication dateISBN
X-Men Red by Al Ewing – Volume 1X-Men Red #1–5152November 2, 2022 978-1302932831
X-Men Red by Al Ewing – Volume 2X-Men Red #6–10136March 7, 2023 978-1302947521
X-Men Red by Al Ewing - Volume 3X-Men Red #11–13, X-Men: Before the Fall - The Heralds of Apocalypse #1120November 17, 2023 978-1302952280
X-Men Red by Al Ewing - Volume 4X-Men Red #14–18136March 12, 2024 978-1302953430

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References

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