X-Men #19
Wolverine, Synch, and Darwin struggle to adapt to the Vault and survive in X-Men #19, by writer Jonathan Hickman, artist Mahmud Asrar, colorist Sunny Gho, and letterer Clayton Cowles. This is a chapter better than the last one, and that's saying something. Actually, it's so good it's frustrating, but more on that later.
This issue chronicles Wolverine, Synch, and Darwin's time in the Vault, as they learn, adapt, and survive. Getting into the minutiae of it all is futile because that's the gist of it. The three mutants learn all they can and put it to use, trying to escape. Synch and Wolverine bond and fall in love. Eventually, Wolverine and Synch get captured, and after many cycles, Synch rescues Wolverine. They eventually go after Darwin but learn that the Vault has taken his abilities and put them to work, creating the fourth generation of Children of the Vault. Wolverine sacrifices herself so that Synch can escape, and the Children kill him but not before Xavier can download all of his memories. The three are resurrected, with only Synch remembering the centuries in the Vault.
This is probably one of the best issues of this book ever. Hickman hits just the right tone here, using Synch's narration and superb infographics to lay out the three X-Men's time in the Vault. There's also an emotional core to the book that is often missing from Hickman's writing- Synch and Wolverine's budding relationship. The sheer heartbreak of the whole thing is palpable at the end, as the reader realizes that Wolverine will never remember their time in the Vault of what they shared. She'll never remember the moment she became Laura, and he became Everett. It's melancholy and bittersweet, and all kinds of adjectives are used to describe sad things. Synch's smile at the end of the issue, knowing that she doesn't remember their love is also something special. It says so much and what's best about it is due to the abrupt ending of the issue; it's ambiguous. What it means is left up to the reader.
The problem with this being one of the best issues is that it really shows just how bad this book has been for ages. Well, not bad, exactly. X-Men has been spinning its wheels for ages now. The book's last really good issues were the Empyre crossover issues, and even before that, the cracks were starting to show. The problem comes in that fans were sold some in House Of X/Powers Of X that they weren't getting- the developing war between human and mutant, as humans used technology to bridge the evolutionary gap. Building up Krakoa is great, but so many stories in this book were just filler. X Of Swords was filler. This issue gets back to that main plotline, showing mutants fighting for their lives against the encroaching tide of post-human power and reveals the worst part of it- it's their fault. The Children of the Vault only reach their fourth generation because of Darwin's DNA. These last two issues are part of what made HoX/PoX so great. This is setting up the coming war. This is important. It's not four issues retconning Apocalypse's origin to make it fit a mediocre story.
Asrar's art is great as usual. The best part of the issue is definitely the end, where he uses character acting to really get across how Synch feels. It's effective and really sells the emotional through-line of the story. The best panels in this issue have to do with the Synch-Wolverine relationship. Asrar injects so much emotion into each one, and it's kind of breathtaking, honestly.
X-Men #19 is everything this book should be. It tells a great story about evolution and change, pushes plot lines that have been dormant for ages while mediocre ones get pushed, and has a great doomed love story at its center. This is Hickman at his best and shows just how much other issues of this book have taken it off the rails. Asrar's art is wonderful, with him really catching the quiet moments of love between Synch and Wolverine. If X-Men were more like this issue, it would be the best book on the shelves. However, with another drawn-out, overly long "read every issue" story coming, it feels that this issue will be the exception and not the rule.
