Magneto #11 Review

Can this tie-in issue impress? Or will it follow suit with the main event and fail to impress? Read on to find out.

The official description from Marvel:

AXIS TIE-IN!
• The Red Skull is sending the world into a spiral of destruction…and Magneto is one of a handful of heroes with the means to stop him!
• But will the Master of Magnetism also crumple before the maniac who’s using the formidable telepathic powers of his deceased best friend to usher in his new, terrifying Reich Eternal?
• With the grudge personal on MANY levels, Magneto is amply motivated to be the one to take down the Skull once and for all!

Having proven himself to be a key fixture in the rather poor AXIS event, I was looking forward to seeing how this Magento tie-in would fair. And I have to say so far much better than the main event. Taking place near the end of this weeks Avengers & X-Men: AXIS #2, Magento leaves the battle against Red Onslaught to reflect on how he can help, ultimately realising that the only solution is a band of villains.

Cullen Bunn has overall been doing a stellar job on this series, as though like most series some issues aren’t as thrilling as others, for the better part the series has been good. The way he works the events of AXIS around the story he’s already been building really impresses, with the narration near the start allowing a smooth transition from the main event. It was however Briar’s video highlight of Magneto’s life that captivated me the most with the notion of Magneto having been both a villain and a hero being prominent in this. Despite this the team building wasn’t as impressive as I hoped, with Deadpool being the only character to deliver something of interest.

Gabriel Hernandez Walta does a brilliant job of the art on this issue, as though there’s once more some rough patches, with certain characters not suiting his style, Magneto himself is intense as ever. I also loved the artwork in the first few pages, with the dull, yet soft colours of Jordie Bellaire helping show the desperate situation that Earth’s heroes are in. Reflecting on Walta’s art on certain characters, I really enjoyed his take on Deadpool, though really disliked the way he handled Red Onslaught.

Magneto #11 may not be the best entry in the series, but it’s far from the worst. More to the point, it’s much better than the first two issues of Avengers & X-Men: AXIS, with Magento’s reality check being very intriguing. Highly recommended.