Love In All The Wrong Places: Reviewing ‘Uncanny Spider-Man’ #3

X-Men and horniness are very old friends, skipping through time hand-in-hand. Sometimes though, it sure feels out of place.

One of those times would be Uncanny Spider-Man #3, and really the series as a whole so far. It’s a tale crafted by Si Spurrier, Javier Pina, Matt Milla, and Joe Caramagna. 

Look, I don’t have an issue with things getting all sexy and steamy for characters. In fact, I welcome it, and like the intro stated it’s a pretty core thing with the X-Men. Also seeing the return of the swashbuckling heroic Nightcrawler is a fantastic thing as a big fan of the blue fuzzy one. Were this story divorced from the overall Fall Of X banner, this wouldn’t even be something to bring up. Unfortunately, it’s very much a part of that event and everything that comes with it.

This chapter, and the series as a whole, speaks to an issue I’ve noted with various books in this event right now. Mutants are in dire straits, facing extinction by genocide once again, but a good portion of the books right now would not let you fully feel that. While some are taking it seriously (while still having typical super book levity), there are others whose tone and feelings are just all over the map. They are attached to the event, and have Orchis stuff in them, but really don’t feel like the overall danger is all that dire.

Nightcrawler is out having fun as Spidey, trying to distance himself from his own issues sure, is getting his sexy on, while as far as he knows most of his people were wiped out. Mention of a popular supporting not often-seen pop-star character being potentially snapped in half is glossed over fast, for example. It’s the same sort of thing that I poke at over in the reviews for Astonishing Iceman which sort of does the same thing for Bobby.

Overall, the beats for Kurt are solid, and like I said it’s good to see him back to the lighter ways and not so wrapped in religious tonal stories. Just feels like the wrong time to finally see the freewheeling sexy time stuff back. Read the room a bit, Kurt.

Much like quite a few fellow fallen X-books, this one has changed artists partially through its run. It begs the question of time crunches when it comes to this event, since numerous books in the line have these switches. At least in this case, the change keeps the art similar to what has come before.

Pina and regular artist Lee Garbett‘s have shared DNA. Plenty of details and depth, with an overall sort of smooth appeal. Plenty of dynamic action energy is woven in, as things feel like they are moving. Some of the quieter panels can feel a tiny bit more static at times but that’s because of the overall moment. Examples of this are found in the moments between Kurt and Sable. That being said, the expressions and facial work are very solid which helps greatly.

We continue to see a good mix of lighter and heavier color palette choices from Milla, fitting whatever the moment needs. Many of the darker scenes feel very authentic to what a dimly lit space would be like, as much of this story takes place at night. There are a couple of shots where we get some wide glimpses of the city at night and the colors and details are pretty awesome.

Plenty of very emotional, even musical, moments are found in these pages. All of them come with the right voices for the characters, as Caramagna infuses the words with such feelings. Amplified by the choices for fonts, bubbles, colors, and other elements coming into play. Throwing a few musical notes and shrinking the bubbles does wonders to actually make it feel like the characters are singing. Letting those perceived voices play out in the head.

Uncanny Spider-Man #3 is now available from Marvel Comics.