Marvel’s X-Terminators follows Dazzler, Boom-Boom, and Jubilee after a night between gal pals snowballs into a bloody and bewildering adventure. This X-Men book features a content warning before readers get to the credits page, and it certainly lives up to that warning. It’s violent, chock-full of overt and direct sexual innuendos, and full of profanity. Seeing these characters let loose with this type of material is honestly a blast. Written by Leah Williams with art by Carlos Gómez, colors by Bryan Valenza, and letters by Travis Lanham, X-Terminators #3 blends maturity and immaturity for a uniquely fun reading experience.
After being kidnapped by Dazzler’s vampire ex-boyfriend, she, Boom-Boom, and Jubilee run into Laura Kinney, aka Wolverine, in a death arena. The quartet team up to attempt an escape, but the arena is magically bound and has the team fighting evil doppelgängers of themselves. To make matters worse, a group of vampires is sent into the arena to hunt them down, escalating the violence to another blood-soaked level. The story finds a way to become increasingly ridiculous, and it’s all the more fun for it.
Williams’ writing is a joy to read throughout. These characters are typically in a relatively strict PG-13 setting, so seeing them go full bore into R-rated mischief is incredibly entertaining. This book is body positive, to put it mildly, and it does so in a hilarious fashion. The back-and-forth between characters is phenomenal, and each of their personalities shines on the page. Williams makes great use of the narrative power of flashbacks, as most of the story is technically set in the past. This juxtaposition presents the opportunity for strong comedic moments as the quartet recounts their rowdy adventures.
Gómez’s art is a treat for the eyes. Carnage and beauty are present on every page as the book nails the mature level it’s shooting for. Character expressions are playful and mischievous. The action is over-the-top violent, in the best way, and always easy to follow. The level of detail in both characters and environments is impressive, especially given the amount of mayhem on each page. Panel and page layouts create a great sense of pacing, and the use of gutters and overlapping images brings a nice visual variety to the pages.
Valenza’s colors are as smooth as ever. This book is dealing with very mature themes, but it approaches them with a lighthearted mood that the coloring helps reflect. This is a bright book. The primary trio of Dazzler, Boom-Boom, and Jubilee also have light-based powers, which Valenza colors with intensely brilliant hues. Lanham’s lettering is a highlight of the book, as well. Swearing is censored in a way that adds personality, and there is a hilariously ingenious use of an emoji to replace the normal text at one point.
X-Terminators continues to be one of the most unique books coming out of the X-Men world at Marvel. It’s incredibly self-aware and embraces the content it’s going for in a ludicrously fun way. It’s not a book for everyone, as it astutely points out in its content advisory, but those that find that advisory appealing will have a wonderful time with this series. With X-Terminators #3, Williams, Gómez, Valenza, and Lanham deliver a raunchy and gleefully violent read.
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