It’s Sinister versus everyone in Immortal X-Men #9, by writer Kieron Gillen, artist Lucas Werneck, colorist David Curiel, and letterer Clayton Cowles. This issue is a lot of fun, if one enjoys massively resetting carnage.

The crux of this issue is Sinister trying to kill Hope. Using his Moira Engine, he keeps trying to do it, with each time failing because of Destiny finding out or some other mistake he makes. Finally, he comes to the perfect solution, taking out the telepaths before killing Hope, leaving Kate Pryde, Mystique, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Shaw, Destiny, and Storm to hunt him down.

Sinister’s constant failures are played for laughs, even though this issue is deadly serious, which makes it all go down better. This could have easily been a grim slog, but Gillen keeps it from being that way. From Kate’s narration to Sinister’s brand of hilarity, the comic keeps things light.

However, the stakes of the thing are what makes it so great. Sinister has stepped up his plans. The Doctor Stasis reveal is getting to him. Judgment Day was a slog. He’s played the game for too long, and for him, he wants to show that he’s still Sinister, that he’s still the one they should all fear. With Sins of Sinister upcoming, this issue kicks things off in a very entertaining fashion. Sinister’s ultimate plans are still unknown, but that makes him even scarier. He’s throwing away the entire Quiet Council and the Five to make his terrible point. He’s reached another level when it comes to his plan, and he’s gotten to the point where there’s no time to mess around. The stakes are at their highest, which makes this chapter more than an exercise in the most efficient means to murder a group of powerful mutants. It’s a brutal kick-off into the next phase of the Krakoa Era.

Werneck and Curiel kill it. The action looks great, which is to be expected, but Werneck’s character acting is where things really pick up. Werneck knows how to make things nice and expressive, which helps the script. He captures the emotion of the Council in the quiet moments, as well as the varying feelings of Sinister as he goes through trying to figure out what comes next. Curiel’s colors are fantastic, but that’s to be expected at this point. He knows how to make the art really pop, using wonderful bright colors. He also kills it with the gore, which this issue has a lot of.

Immortal X-Men #9 is a perfect thrill ride. Gillen keeps things light, but the stakes never feel unimportant. Werneck and Curiel’s art complements the script beautifully. Immortal X-Men remains an amazing book.

Grade: A