Extermination #5

By Ed Brisson, Pepe Larraz and Marte Gracia

All right folks, here it is, a moment 5 years in the making. The fate of the X-Men, the original 5, and young Cable are all on the line in this week’s Extermination #5. Last issue ended with a catastrophic cliffhanger that could ruin the timeline for the future and for the X-Men currently battling Ahab and his hounds. Whichever way you feel about the young X-Men from the past being in the present is irrelevant at this point. This issue, everything comes to a head, and things will not be the same afterwards.

Ed Brisson has done a great job of keeping this series interesting and leaving you wanting more at the end of each book. Last issue we were left with a huge cliffhanger that had people talking, and due to an unfortunate delay with issue 5, we all had to wait just a little bit longer. The suspense gets cleared up within the first couple of pages in this issue, and we get back on track with the battle. Throughout this mini, Brisson has written young Cable as a mysterious character, but this should be the issue that will win readers over on him. Brisson shows off some more of his personality and we see his care and concern for the remaining members of the original 5. Brisson does allow this final issue to be about the young X-Men though. While others are involved here, this is their farewell issue and it’s handled well. After all the fighting and action, Brisson gives us some sweet moments between the young X-Men as they say good-bye to their life for the last 5 years. The final page is something that will be talked about. Brisson left enough pieces to invite interest into the X-books moving forward. If there is one gripe about this issue, it’s that it wasn’t enough pages. It would have been great to see more of the aftermath, but issues, unfortunately have to end.

The pencils this issue were handled by Pepe Larraz with colors by Marte Gracia. Larraz is a great addition to the Marvel universe, and this issue highlights the reasons why. There is an awesome full page spread of all of the X-Men battling Ahab and his hounds. Larraz doesn’t skimp on any detail, no character looks disproportioned, it’s a well done page. Larraz also shines with his emotional panels in this issue. As Jean says goodbye to someone that she loves, the emotion on both of their faces seems very real. This is a great kudos to Larraz for being able to capture that look in a comic. The colors by Marte Gracia are also amazing this issue. Gracia really shines when using bright pinks, like when Jean attacks someone. There is also a great panel where Ahab’s ship is coming to attack the O5 X-Men and Cable, and the ship is gray, and the characters standing below it are a shade of purple. The color contrast works well and Gracia makes it look wonderful.

Extermination #5 brought some closure to the teen X-Men from the past. Fans of these characters should be happy with the resolution, and anxious about what the future holds. Ed Brisson had a big task in front of him, and he did a wonderful job wrapping everything up. The art this issue was stunning and you honestly couldn’t ask for a better crew. Extermination set the path for where the X-books will go in the foreseeable future.