While we’ve seen the Hellfire Gala fallout on Earth in X-MEN #25 and IMMORTAL X-MEN #14, X-MEN RED #14 reveals what’s happening on Mars after Genesis returned to reclaim the land she once ruled, and it turns out things are a bit messy on Planet Arakko.

The book opens with two scenes showing the opposing sides of the Genesis War. The first few panels show Genesis brought the dead planet back to life, kicking off a propaganda machine that creates dividing lines between inhabitants across every inch of Arakko. We also see Roberto/Sunspot returning to the Red Lagoon in a state of despair, bringing news of the ORCHIS invasion and it’s incalculable mutant casualties. Storm processes the news and wonders if Genesis returning and the ORCHIS invasion were coordinated. Whether they were or not, she realizes she needs to respond with a show of force and announces that Arakko must go to war. We then get a helpful data page recapping which parts of Arakko support either Genesis or Storm, which ends up coming in handy later in the book, before we’re immediately thrust into battle.

The rest of the book is action-packed as we witness the Battle of the Fallen occurring on Day 70 of the war. The sides appear to be at a stalemate until Storm arrives and unleashes her Omega-level powers, while still holding back to show that mercy (or weakness as Genesis would call it) is what defines those who wish for peace. After the battle, Storm and her forces are planning for Genesis’ next attack when a very different looking Fisher King arrives with an ominous declaration.

I’ve been so impressed at how Ewing has continuously understood Storm’s character and given her one of the strongest voices in quite some time throughout X-Men Red. He’s resisted turning to one of her usual tropes — someone on a short fuse or one who succumbs to imposter syndrome — and in this issue we get to see Storm’s leadership evolve from deft political powerbroker to respected field commander. I’m really excited to see how he continues to showcase Storm as a leader in her new role against a very formidable foe. I also really enjoyed all of the exposition we get throughout the early stages of the book and Ewing makes great use of the two data pages. You really come away feeling like you’ve read a comic that was half action, half history.

Yildiray Çinar takes over penciling duties this issue from Jacopo Camagni who had been on the title for the previous three issues. I’m not sure if the transition was ahead of schedule or if something else happened, but the cover still listed Camagni’s name on it. Either way, Çinar’s art doesn’t stray too far from what readers have gotten used to though there are some noticeable differences from Camagni. The first difference that caught my eye was a bit more use of shadowing throughout the book than Camagni, or even Stefano Caselli in the first ten issues, used. It made sense for the current dire situation we find on Planet Arakko but in certain panels it felt like a way to get them finished rather than for effect. The second difference was a less refined approach to wide-panel shots. Characters in these panels didn’t have strong details and it took away from the severity of the situation that Ewing was building with his story. Some of the action sequences had a staccato feel to them where we didn’t follow individual confrontations for more than a panel or two which also made me feel somewhat removed from it all. However, it was all saved by the gorgeous scene where Storm enters the fray and puts an end to the battle. Federico Blee’s coloring for Storm’s lightning power made this even better.

I also had a bit of a hard time with Ariana Maher’s lettering for the issue’s exposition. She used a thick all-caps white font in a black box, with a white drop shadow that didn’t work for me. Ewing was giving us so much information on certain pages that this approach made the pages feel cluttered and too heavy.

None of the outcomes depicted in the book are entirely unpredictable, yet Al Ewing’s story is another extremely strong entry into the Fall of X following the aforementioned X-MEN #25 and IMMORTAL X-MEN #14. He’s been building to this moment for awhile now, giving readers sufficient examples of how Arrakan peace was always tenuous at best. This is all likely leading to the return of Apocalypse and him creating a new team of X-Men, but I’m going to sit back and let Ewing continue to impress me with his Storm-focused storytelling.

Rating: 8/10