By Zack Quaintance — Since writer Jonathan Hickman and his collaborators reinvigorated the X-Men comics with the 2019 landmark dual series, House of X/Powers of X, things have gone pretty well for Marvel’s mutants. There have been hiccups, sure, but for the most part, the X-Men and their adjacent characters have been living in an island paradise and wielding a level of geo-political clout we’ve never seen in these comics before. Put simply, life has been good.

In this week’s Inferno #2 — the second chapter of a four-part series that will end with Hickman departing as a writer for the X-Men (albeit saying he’ll still be in the room, though the level of influence he’ll wield is vague) — things start to fall apart. And it’s a welcome development. Things don’t just get difficult for the central characters in this saga — Professor X, Magneto, and Moira MacTaggert — they get difficult in interesting ways, painting our characters and their decisions twice over with foggy shades of gray.

See, if there is a central plot point to the last two years and change of X-Men comic books, it is the revelation from House of X #2 that long-time human ally Moira MacTaggert is actually a mutant. Not only that, but her mutant power is reincarnation, backward into the same life that she’s just lived. So, Moira lives her life, her life comes to an end, and she is reborn with all the knowledge she gained in her previous lifetime. There are many other interesting things happening in the Krakoa era — mutant immortality based on cloning, relations with the global community, the amazing broken toys Hellions comic — but none of it functions even a little bit without the Moira plot, or least not as well.

Other books in the line have tried to point difficulties at the mutants (I mean, a story is barely a story without conflict), but it’s all for the most part felt pretty limp, mostly threatening individual characters rather than Krakoa as a whole. Inferno #2 builds on the first issue of this book to point a threat directly at the heart of the era, Moira MacTaggert. It’s a great choice, and it gives this Hickman concluding miniseries a greater sense of consequence than any mutant story since House of X/Powers of X.

Not only that, but the threat here is one you can easily sympathize with, for a growing number of reasons. Since these comics began, the creators on these books have done a great job depicting Krakoa’s rulers as living right on the edge of responsible leadership. When done well, the Quiet Council of Krakoa (namely Professor X and Magneto) sits squarely on the brink of power abuse. We’ve previously seen that power abused, most prominently in their mysterious refusal to not revive Destiny, who is the lover of Mystique. And in this second issue, let’s just say things change, and they change in a way that force Krakoa’s leaders to make a decision from a vulnerable place for the first time in more than two years. They make that decision in a way that I as a reader thought was entirely logic, and yet it still doesn’t work out. That’s great stuff.

From a craft standpoint, everything in this book is done well. Inferno #2 is illustrated by Stefano Caselli, after Inferno #1 was drawn by Valerio Schitti. This might be jarring, but the book unites the two artists with the same colorist — David Curiel — giving the books similar ambient feels, much as Marte Gracia’s coloring did for Pepe Larraz and RB Silva drawing House of X and Powers of X respectively. It’s not entirely coherent between issues, but it’s coherent enough. Plus, there are so many interesting things happening from a plot standpoint that it gives the artwork an added boost to its pacing. Letterer Joe Sabino also does great work leading the eye across the page.

Overall: In Inferno #2 the morally-gray leaders of Krakoa get their most pressing challenge of this era, and they’re forced to make a difficult decision. All of that is to say this is one of the more interesting X-Men comics, and a great second part for this event. 9.0/10

REVIEW: Inferno #2

Inferno #2
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Artist: Stefano Caselli
Colorist: David Curiel
Letterer: Joe Sabino
Designer: Tom Mueller
Publisher: Marvel Comics
FEEL THE FIRE! Secrets. Lies. They have a way of coming out and biting you when you least expect them. The secrets and lies of Krakoa will shake it to its foundation. Head of X Jonathan Hickman, continues a tale of consequences with one of his first Marvel collaborators, artist Stefano Caselli!
Price: $5.99
Buy It Here: Inferno #2

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Zack Quaintance is a tech reporter by day and freelance writer by night/weekend. He Tweets compulsively about storytelling and comics as Comics Bookcase.