REVIEW: Hellions No. 16

The pencils on “Hellions” No.16 slightly lacks in a tale that is more mature than what then first glance would give away. One could almost wish that the artist on “New Mutants” would have switched places this month; but then where would those gorgeous renderings of the Shadow King in his red kufi be?

Enough gushing over Ayla’s X-joint, back to the title at hand: Wells essentially hits the reset button after Havok goes nuclear and almost as if right on cue, the more popular (I still don’t know why) Summers brother in Cyclops steps in to mediate the aftermath of the DNA harvesting situation that has been taking place since X of Swords, much to the resistance of Krakoa’s resident rejects.

There’s an air of uneasiness as Psylocke is making strides to abdicate herself out of her position on the team (which is enough to make Wild Child shed a tear) as well as Nanny further distancing herself from Orphan-Maker in favor of a new seed that she can push her maternal instincts towards. The matriarchs of the group end up pushing so much for their own betterment, leaving their male compatriot’s to pine and ultimately rot away.

Take Orphan-Maker, who looks as if he should have been past puberty – his slowed capacity to handle intra-personal norms are not a joke , though Wells easily could have went for the low hanging fruit here he doesn’t and gets the audience to pity Orphan-Maker as he makes grabs for attention to the parental figure he lauds. Then the audience gets to see Greycrow and Wild Thing do the same in their own right, except for Psylocke, and these superhuman levels of “simping” are plainly uncomfortable to view. The emotional heaviness within this issue was enough to even make Empath shed a tear, and that character is typically as selfish as they come. Further prood that “Hellions” No.16 features plenty changes in character behavior and previews how each Hellion will apply that emotional baggage to their new paths yet to be foraged.

“Hellions” is a team book, so roster changes are par for the course, but in the Hickman-era no team can truly compete with the Hellions, even if they are breaking down. “Hellions” No.16 let’s readers in on the secret adhesive that holds this title together as other groups go about their fall in the vein of “X-Factor” & “Children of the Atom” . There’s evolution regardless even if the reset button is pushed a few more times.

Score : 3/5

(W) Zeb Wells (A/CA) Stephen Segovia