There was a lot for this X-Men fan to be thankful for this week as all four major X-titles shipped on Wednesday. While in many ways this is great, I can’t help but recognize how much the publishing scheme for these books has changed after they had been coming out weekly for almost all of 2010. With this in mind, I thought it might be a good time revisit the state of the books post-Second Coming.

This will probably contain what some would consider spoilers, so keep that in mind if there are things you’d rather not know about these books.

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Mike Carey’s final X-Men: Legacy issue of the X-Men: Second Coming crossover is on the shelf this week. Carey is one of my favorite writers, so the expectations are high. I haven’t been disappointed by many of his issues over the course of his run on this title, but  how does this one measure up? Read on to find out.

Spoilers ahead.

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I suppose there had to be a week without an issue of X-Men: Second Coming shipping. Every week for 14 weeks was just too good to be true. As anxious as I am to know what’s coming next, the break just makes the anticipation that much sweeter. There’s only one more issue of each of the titles involved before the finale, so I’m expecting everyone to put out some of their best work once things start back up.

While we’re waiting, it provides an opportunity to say a few words about two of the Second Coming tie in books that slipped through the cracks last month.

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X-Men: Second Coming Chapter ø4 is in stores now, and the book did not disappoint. Spoilers below.

The New Mutants’ victory over The Right comes at a price, though not the one I expected. While Karma is seriously wounded, the real sacrifice is that Warlock is forced to make an impossible choice and take several lives to save his friends. This is dangerous territory for any character, but given the warlike nature of his species, it could be enough to send him spiraling out of control. The fact that the decision came at the urging of his most trusted friend, Doug Ramsey, might not help their relationship going forward.

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