There has been so many good things building up in all of the new X-Men series that it’s hard to keep track of them. Probably my favorite storyline among them (aside from the ‘All-New X-Men’) is the recreation of the Hellfire Club in ‘Wolverine & the X-Men’. During the potential time travelling madness in issue #29, we didn’t get a ton of new information but we did see Idie deciding to take The Hellfire Club up on their offer.

This issue we jump right into the action as Wolverine is taking his teachers and attacking The Hellfire Club’s New York location. Sure the new group of evil children running things these days aren’t at that location, but it’s interesting to see their response of almost not even caring aside from one jesting that they should potentially nuke New York to deal with them and another responding he owns too much of New York to want to lay waste to it.

The lack of information in the last issue quickly changed with now putting us back on course. A ton of things are happening this time around. While the teachers are busy with The Hellfire Club, the students and Beast have other things in mind.

Beast is convinced that there has to be a way to save Broo. Using his relationship with Abigail Brand as an in, he takes Broo to the S.W.O.R.D holding cells and speak with Starblood (the alien teacher who tried to kidnap Broo previously.) Beast wanted Starblood to help save Broo, though was unable to make any progress. Things turned bad when the Hellfire Club frees him in order to make him a teacher at their school and brings Broo along.

On the student end of things we specifically see Quentin Quire investigating Idie’s disappearance. He’s apparently also been in touch with The Hellfire Club and his motives are mixed. While he seems to want to help save Idie, he’s also Quentin and probably relishes the idea of being able to run things from within the club itself. He’d make a prime candidate for being a high ranking member if I had ever seen one if he  ever decides he’s sick of what Wolverine’s school has to offer. Quentin learns that one of the staff is behind things and that staff member was Toad.

Shocking I know. Toad of all people ended up being a villain once again after how much the X-Men’s teaching faculty have been completely walking all over him ever since he supposedly reformed.

At the meet up, the X-Men had just discovered what was going on and Quintin gets ported out with Toad and those that had just been taken from the S.W.O.R.D. station right as he is saying that he’s having second thoughts.

We still don’t know what the Hellfire Club’s goal is or why they are recruiting mutants to their school. Without the Phoenix being one of their driving factors (so far at least) it seems a bit too petty to just be about money. We’re still being withheld some critical piece of information and I  want to know what exactly that is. Thankfully the subtitle of this issue was ‘The Hellfire Club Prologue’. We’re finally going to be getting some answers on what exactly is going on here soon.

Writer: Jason Aaron
Artist: Pasqual Ferry