Marvel's Immortal X-Men focuses on the ruling body of the mutant nation Krakoa, the Quiet Council. With each issue, the narrator changes to a different council member, giving new perspectives and tone. The last few issues have occurred amidst the carnage of the ongoing Judgment Day event, a trend that continues in Immortal X-Men #7. For this issue, the point-of-view character is Kurt Wagner, aka Nightcrawler, one of the most beloved X-Men characters and an eternal optimist. Written by Kieron Gillen with art by Lucas Werneck, colors by David Curiel, letters by Clayton Cowles, and design by Tom Muller, Jay Bowen, and Gillen, Immortal X-Men #7 is a thrilling ride featuring ingenuity and hope in the face of annihilation.
The Progenitor, a new Celestial god, has deemed Earth unworthy and kick-started the apocalypse. But Marvel's mutants never give up, so the Quiet Council immediately gets to work formulating plans for survival. From there, the reader follows Nightcrawler as he takes one necessary step after another, working plans within plans to ensure Earth's salvation. The plans presented are harrowing and ingenious, requiring sequences of specific dominos to fall into place perfectly. The issue highlights just how powerful and useful Nightcrawler truly is as he performs one death-defying feat after the other.
Gillen has proven he has an impressive knack for embodying the voice of whatever character he's writing, and that shines through again here. Nightcrawler's unyielding optimism, even in the face of death and destruction, is spot on. Though this appears to be the end of times, there is a profound sense of hope sprinkled throughout the issue. Small moments carry tremendous weight. Gillen also manages to inject a healthy amount of levity into the dialogue and narration, never letting the issue become overwhelmingly dour.
Werneck's art is superb from cover to cover. There is an inherent sense of motion to Nightcrawler's teleportation power, and Werneck is able to capture that movement time and again. Half of the issue features characters standing around talking, while the other half features jaw-dropping action. Werneck's biggest strength is making the dialogue scenes just as engaging as the action, with phenomenal character expressions, panel layouts, and body language. A lot happens in this issue, but Werneck makes it all a breeze to read.
Curiel's colors work wonderfully with the art. Warm and cool tones shine in various moments, popping off the page brilliantly. Curiel knows exactly when to dial things back, bringing in neutral hues for somber scenes. Cowles' lettering in this issue is magnificent. This script is packed, but Cowles manages to keep any page from feeling like a wall of text. Text bubbles and boxes carry the reader across the page swiftly without obscuring the art underneath.
This issue brings despair, hope, and every emotion in between, in spades. It toes the line between event issues from Judgment Day and other tie-in issues while presenting a wholly unique and worthwhile narrative on its own. Nightcrawler is the focus, and he shines like never before. There are many moving parts at play, and this issue deftly navigates all of them. With Immortal X-Men #7, Gillen and the rest of the creative team showcase resilience across 22 stunning pages.