Uncanny X-Men

Uncanny X-Men #521

Seems like the Uncanny X-Men is a permanent 3.5 level title at the moment, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with it. What receiving a 3.5 practically every month means I can expect the same ample results within Uncanny in terms of its scripting and penciling. Even when Terry Dodson takes over on art, there's something wrong with certain characters' dialogue (i.e. Professor X and Magneto a few months ago). Then when Matt Fraction nails a adeft script, Greg Land goes and ruins its visuals (not the case here thankfully). In the meantime, I'll enjoy Uncanny for what it is: very solid, with lots of hope.

For those in love with Grant Morrison's New X-Men--me being one of them--there's plenty to like in this issue. There's also quite a few resolutions and shockers along the way. But how shocked can one be when the villain, Lobe, and his merry bandit of Mutant Power Stealers are relatively undistinguished thus far in the run? How much do we take their threats or continuity relevations seriously? I suppose in a crossover "event" such as Nation X, no to mention the pointless Necrosha ongoing, pacing can be quite difficult. So many solid moments, so hastily they're presented. And since Greg Land actually excels with some landscapes and character work in this ish...can he ever take the time to vary his facial expressions? Err, hate to beat a dead horse, but it's forever unforgiving...

Fantom-X! Buy it for him. Do it.

3.5/5 Bags&Boards - I know--again!--I'm sorry.

#521 was very solid. I like that Fraction is giving nods to runs by both Whedon and Morrison. It was good to see Fantomex saving the day...and revealing he wants to be an X-Man. But I'm sure that's not the last we've seen of that group of faux-mutants. The parts with Magneto meditating to find the giant bullet in space was badass! Looking forward to the big return.

Uncanny X-Men #522

Quite the return for Miss Kitty Pryde. I love Kitty so naturally I loved this issue. It showed how the X-Men are a true family and how much each member means to everyone. Magneto really proved himself in this, not just in pure power but also pure will (I always thought he would make a perfect Green Lantern ). I liked the flashback showing how he discovered the giant bullet when he was with the High Evolutionary. Then the part with Emma comparing Magneto and his natural confident swagger to Scott's more "learned" swagger.

I thought it was funny when Reed Richards called in and lectured them about trying to keep this a secret from him lol. But the best part was the end with Colossus and Kitty finally reuniting, sort of. With the state Kitty is in, I'm interested to see if/how she plays a role in Second Coming. Can't wait for the kick off.

UXM #522

As far as revelations go, this week's Uncanny is a sure treat. Fraction doesn't do it by the numbers either; you've got no choice but to feel a little goosebumpy by the end. It's a shame a moment of such high anxiety comes upon the gates of Second Coming, as it's momentum all but halts with Hope and Cable's impending mutant resolution. I'm not sure if Fraction felt the book needed an added jolt heading into the giant crossover, or what. Regardless, with Portacio's descriptively more surreal Landish art, especially shining during the panels of Magneto's mental struggles against the phantom bullet, this issue will go down as one of Fraction's strongest.

It's just a shame Marvel felt the need to charge us another buck, while adding something so insignificant.

3.5/5 Bags&Boards - The last four pages--all without dialogue--ironically prove among the issue's best.

Uncanny X-Men #522

Meh. It wasn't awful, but I didn't love it. It was great that Land wasn't on the book this issue. I am thrilled to have Kitty back. She's one of my favorite Marvel characters.

I didn't like how Fraction kind of glossed over exactly how the X-Club blocked satellites from seeing the bullet. It was a "how are you doing that?", "don't worry about it" thing and I don't like that.

Portacio's art was weird for me. I loved the issues of Uncanny he did in the early 90s, but here is was weird. It looked like an odd mix between the art of Khoi Pham, Phillip Tan, JRJR, and Greg Land.

I haven't even read that story at the end and I don't know if I will.

LOOSECANNON wrote:Regardless, with Portacio's descriptively more surreal Landish art, especially shining during the panels of Magneto's mental struggles against the phantom bullet

That's so weird cuz I thought his art was very Land-esque too, but with more fluidity and realistic facial expressions. Pretty good stuff.

With Magneto's actions this issue, I wonder if in some way he's trying to undermine Scott in front of the rest of the X-Men. It was Magneto that took the initiative and figured out a way to bring Kitty home, not Scott. And at the end it looked like Scott was kinda down about that. Interesting stuff to ponder...

^I honestly think that Magneto was only trying to prove his loyalty. I think he's really trying to change.

I really hope they stick with this. I kind of prefer him as an ally and not an enemy (though I do love him as an enemy too).

Batman25JM wrote:^I honestly think that Magneto was only trying to prove his loyalty. I think he's really trying to change.

I really hope they stick with this. I kind of prefer him as an ally and not an enemy (though I do love him as an enemy too).

You're probably right, but you never know with Magnus. He could be doing it and not even knowing it lol.
I'm actually loving him as an ally too right now, I hope he hooks up with Rogue.

Batman25JM wrote:I didn't like how Fraction kind of glossed over exactly how the X-Club blocked satellites from seeing the bullet. It was a "how are you doing that?", "don't worry about it" thing and I don't like that.

So...you wanted Madison Jeffries to explain how his mutant powers work? Because, essentially, machines do what he tells them to do. So, if he told satellites to ignore the bullet, they would do it. It wasn't necessary to go into how he convinced the satellites not to see the bullet.

The whole Cuckoos/Danger thing seemed a bit...forced. Like Fraction was trying to include everyone when it wasn't necessary.

It'd be like Scott explaining how he shot a fighter jet out of the skies with his eyes.

It DIDN'T make sense for Scott to ask how it was being done, as he'd be familiar with everyone's powers and would have known that Jeffries just told the satellites to ignore the bullet.

superdoug wrote:

Batman25JM wrote:I didn't like how Fraction kind of glossed over exactly how the X-Club blocked satellites from seeing the bullet. It was a "how are you doing that?", "don't worry about it" thing and I don't like that.

So...you wanted Madison Jeffries to explain how his mutant powers work? Because, essentially, machines do what he tells them to do. So, if he told satellites to ignore the bullet, they would do it. It wasn't necessary to go into how he convinced the satellites not to see the bullet.

The whole Cuckoos/Danger thing seemed a bit...forced. Like Fraction was trying to include everyone when it wasn't necessary.

It'd be like Scott explaining how he shot a fighter jet out of the skies with his eyes.

It DIDN'T make sense for Scott to ask how it was being done, as he'd be familiar with everyone's powers and would have known that Jeffries just told the satellites to ignore the bullet.

That's not really what I meant. It just felt like one of those things where a writer has an idea, but doesn't really know how it would work, and so they just brush past it in the story. Like it's so illogical that it would never happen and so no one questions it. I know this is comics and not everything is logical, but it still bugged me.

superdoug wrote:

Batman25JM wrote:I didn't like how Fraction kind of glossed over exactly how the X-Club blocked satellites from seeing the bullet. It was a "how are you doing that?", "don't worry about it" thing and I don't like that.

So...you wanted Madison Jeffries to explain how his mutant powers work? Because, essentially, machines do what he tells them to do. So, if he told satellites to ignore the bullet, they would do it. It wasn't necessary to go into how he convinced the satellites not to see the bullet.

The whole Cuckoos/Danger thing seemed a bit...forced. Like Fraction was trying to include everyone when it wasn't necessary.

It'd be like Scott explaining how he shot a fighter jet out of the skies with his eyes.

It DIDN'T make sense for Scott to ask how it was being done, as he'd be familiar with everyone's powers and would have known that Jeffries just told the satellites to ignore the bullet.

This and I kind of saw this as Scott wanting the job done and not wanting the details. On the flip side, if unusual for him, it would show how urgent the situation is and how much this is affecting Scott.

Dr. Wade Fucking McNasty wrote:

superdoug wrote:

Batman25JM wrote:I didn't like how Fraction kind of glossed over exactly how the X-Club blocked satellites from seeing the bullet. It was a "how are you doing that?", "don't worry about it" thing and I don't like that.

So...you wanted Madison Jeffries to explain how his mutant powers work? Because, essentially, machines do what he tells them to do. So, if he told satellites to ignore the bullet, they would do it. It wasn't necessary to go into how he convinced the satellites not to see the bullet.

The whole Cuckoos/Danger thing seemed a bit...forced. Like Fraction was trying to include everyone when it wasn't necessary.

It'd be like Scott explaining how he shot a fighter jet out of the skies with his eyes.

It DIDN'T make sense for Scott to ask how it was being done, as he'd be familiar with everyone's powers and would have known that Jeffries just told the satellites to ignore the bullet.

This and I kind of saw this as Scott wanting the job done and not wanting the details. On the flip side, if unusual for him, it would show how urgent the situation is and how much this is affecting Scott.

Agreed.

Oh Wade, you have outdone yourself with the SPR gif.

And the Alba one made my pants tight.

Uncanny X-Men #522

This story seemed like such a rush job. I wish that we could have been serviced better for the story that brought Kitty Pride back to us. The story was so rushed that we got lame filler in the back that we could have lived without. The idea behind Magneto seeking redemption by re-assembling the X-Men family a little bit was a good one, but totally executed in a piss poor way.

This story was supposed to some how make you care, but it didn’t really. Editorial mandate is probably responsible for this, because it definitely wasn’t Fraction’s best. This story seemed really quickly thrown together because the S.W.O.R.D. book was cancelled. S.W.O.R.D. would have been a much better platform for the return of Shadowcat, and it was probably the original intention of the X-writers and editors. We knew Kitty was coming back and back when we were supposed to care she was gone after Whedon’s epic run on Astonishing, I predicted that Kitty would come back but her powers would be affected in some way. My prediction is that she will soon have complete density control much like Vision.

There was some nice internal thoughts from Emma regarding the contrast of Scott and Magneto, that is worth mentioning and maybe will get picked up again later.

We get to see some of the stuff that went on in space, which I’m guessing is where Mags and High Evolutionary lobotomized a Celestial. That story would probably have been more interesting than what we got. I have a gripe about that as well, and so should Hank McCoy. In the drawn out Endangered Species story we saw Beast come up with no answers in multiple planes of reality to the “M-day” problem. Yes he did talk to high evolutionary. So did he lie? What would his motivations be for lying? Just more questions that need to be answered.

The art in the issue was good though. I am so glad that we don’t have Greg Land’s stink on these pages to go along with a hollow, slap-shod story. Disappointingly pretty….That would describe the issue best for me.

2.5 out of 5 Planets saved from Armageddon.

Uncanny X-Men 523
This is the second chapter in the current X-event, Second Coming. It picks up pretty much where the Second Coming one-shot left off. Which was with Nightcrawler and the other non X-Force members of Cyclops’ Alpha team realize that there has been something more sinister going on. Kurt has some questions that need to be answered after witnessing first-hand the dual-membership X-Men dispatch Cable and Hope’s assailants. With X-Men mission status quo telepathic links, Kurt demands answers and we watch as Cyclops faces what was inevitably going to happen. I was surprised in his response though. It was basically an order to soldier up and deal with this after the mission was over.

Scenes flash to Bastion and his human cabal and we find out not only that he is using the T/O virus to track Cable, but also has a contingency plan of some sort in place with the construction of some ominous tower. He orders the reverend to send in his purifiers to the target.

Cable and Hope just arriving in this time haven’t had much rest for quite some time. They raid a market for supplies (literally). Then find a nice hotel to stay in. I don’t think Hope has seen a bed in quite some time if ever. This is a nice scene where we see some of the good dad in cable come out when he surprises hope with a present. Then the power goes out and Purifiers attack.

Fortunately Scott Summer’s had the X-Men on the right track in their search for Cable. He did train him after all. We even get a comment from Wolverine about the success of Cyclops’ evasion skills. They track down Cable and Hope when there is a power blackout in a specific section detected by Cyclops’ other team the New Mutants.

Things lead up to the big battle and the X-Men and New Mutants joining the fray.

The story is interesting and this event is supposed to be the big pay-off from about 5 years of set up. It wasn’t the greatest X-book ever made or anything like that but it was definitely a good read.

3 out of 5 ….I can’t thing of anything witty to put here.

^Hey I think it would be better if we talk about Second Coming all in one thread, that way everything isn't all over the place. What do you think?

I prefer having the books segregated, because I would like to talk about one without seeing spoilers for another one that I haven't read through yet. I always saw the event threads as general discussion for the event itself as well as a place to discuss mini's and one shot books. Also the stories divert sometimes in the other book and don't have much to do with what the main point is...much like the Proteus part of Necrosha. It didn't have to have the Necrosha banner on it to tell that part of the story, and didn't really have much to do with the event at all.

hrdwrkngXsoldier wrote:I prefer having the books segregated, because I would like to talk about one without seeing spoilers for another one that I haven't read through yet. I always saw the event threads as general discussion for the event itself as well as a place to discuss mini's and one shot books. Also the stories divert sometimes in the other book and don't have much to do with what the main point is...much like the Proteus part of Necrosha. It didn't have to have the Necrosha banner on it to tell that part of the story, and didn't really have much to do with the event at all.

Second Coming and Necrosha are very different kinds of events though. The actual story of Necrosha took place exclusively in X-Force. It had a couple of loose tie-ins with New Mutants and X-Men Legacy following side plot threads, but the actual story happened only in X-Force.

Second Coming on the other hand is a classic inter-title X-crossover like Messiah CompleX, where there is one story taking place in order through all the X-books. They're not tie-ins but continuations of the story, that's why each issue is listed in chapters. Its all one weekly story.

So that's why I think it would be better to talk about it in one thread, but I guess its all good if you'd rather do it this way.

Bigtymin504 wrote:^Hey I think it would be better if we talk about Second Coming all in one thread, that way everything isn't all over the place. What do you think?

I have to agree with this. It's one singular event so one singular thread makes sense to me. I hate the idea of hopping from one thread to another. In any case, I'll just do what I always do and post where I feel like.

Uncanny X-Men #526

I really liked this. Its the beginning of the "5 Lights" arc and Fraction doesn't waste any time getting things rolling. Hope goes to Alaska and finds some answers about her biological family. We also see the first of the 5 new mutants. She has a really cool look, it'll be interesting to learn more about her background. Plus, it was nice to see classic X-artist Whilce Portacio on this arc.

The backup story by Heinberg and Coipel was sweet too. Heinberg did a great job writing Magneto and Logan, can't wait to see what they do in Children's Crusade.

the backup story was better than the main one IMO
im tempted to pick up the Children's Crusade now...maybe

Uncanny X-Men #526

I liked this issue fine. It wasn't fantastic, and it had some of the stupid dialogue that Fraction often does, but it wasn't awful. I liked Whilce Portacio's art for the most part. I like the stuff he did for the book in the 90s, and he brought a classic feel to the book here.



The backup story was good. It definitely made me even more interested in Children's Crusade.

Uncanny X-Men #527

I really liked Emma in this. Should be interesting to see what happens with the Sebastian Shaw predicament. Great characterization and interesting questions about where her and Scott go from here now that the "war is over". Scott has become so dedicated to the cause of mutantkind, that even Logan can see that he's become out of touch in day to day life.

Also some interesting stuff with Hope and these new mutants she's finding. I really liked the short bits with Tony and Emma talking about their last meeting in Civil War and the scene with Kitty and Pete. Overall very solid stuff.

Uncanny X-Men #527

Meh. It wasn't horrible, but I didn't really like anything about it. Well, the Scott/Logan thing wasn't bad.

I think that Emma was a bit harsh this issue. She's not as bitchy as she used to be, but here she was.

I think Fraction has a hard time with characterization. His characterizations fluctuate depending on what he need to happen in the story.

starting to get Uncanny X-Men fatigue as this new arc slowly rolls out...this is sad cuz i've been buying this comic since I was ten. Twenty years ago.

Its almost like stopping is a betrayal of my life. HA!

I must say, I do like that Kitty returned, by way of Magneto, which was a character's return that actually made sense for once (as opposed to Colossus and Psylocke's resurrection...did they ever explain that in Astonishing???)

And also, that she is trapped in her ghost state, which also makes sense and makes for great drama. She's back, but can't be held, can't be comforted. It also takes me back to when this happened to her after the Mutant Massacre, which is one of the best X-Men storylines ever...

I wish the New X-Men were featured more. I enjoyed that genesis of characters and now I feel like aside from Exilir's appearance in X-Force, they aren't being used and now there's these new Generation Hope characters that I could care less about.

We'll see if they have some merit, but I'm not so sure. I'm still trying to figure out when the hizzy Hope is going to turn into the Phoenix. Because they've been throwing that out there for a loooooong time now

Kieron Gillen new Uncanny co-writer with Matt Fraction!

http://comics.ign.com/articles/111/1119858p1.html

Great move.