Review: ‘Uncanny X-Men’ #1 Feels Like Coming Home For Better Or Worse
by Tony Thornley
After five years, the flagship X-Men title returns to publication. In the midst of X-Men From The Ashes, it’s a whole new game for the Uncanny X-Men.
Gail SImone, David Marquez, Matthew Wilson, and Clayton Cowles bring a familiar team a new mission.
The X-Men are no more. Yet, Rogue, Gambit and Wolverine find themselves drawn together to stop a monster. It seems that their reunion isn’t a coincidence though. Fate is gathering them back together as dark forces gather against them. They may be the only hope the world has against the Endling.
I like a lot of what’s here. The opening, reintroducing a new antagonist, is eerie. The characters are written well, and the action is good. Simone has a lot of the right pieces of the puzzle here. It’s not bad, but I don’t know if I actually like what this sets up. It boils down to two problems so far.
The first is smaller than the second. There’s lots of weird little quirks in the dialogue. Gambit is all over the place, with a patter that’s overly verbose and has an odd pattern that doesn’t quite work. Rogue peppers her dialogue with sayings and idioms that I’ve never heard before. Logan and Nightcrawler work for me, but in both cases it’s likely because they talk less.
The second problem: I’m not sure that I’ve seen a hook to return in this issue. After the opening, we don’t quite get an ongoing threat — is it Doctor Ellis, the new owner of the X-Mansion? Is it the supernatural force we see hunting mutants? Is it the prophesied Endling itself? I want to know why I should come back, and I’m not quite sure that I have the answer here. Going back to the puzzle metaphor, while Simone has the puzzle here, the pieces have not been fit into place enough to draw me into solving it.
A big reason why I’ll definitely be back though is Marquez and Wilson’s work on this debut. This is a stellar looking book, cover to cover. The action is easy to follow, but is also exciting and dynamic with blows actually having weight and substance on the page. The characters have personality, whether they’re brawling with an Asgardian(?) dragon or sitting around a campfire drinking beers. I’ve missed Marquez’s art lately, and he doesn’t miss a beat in his big return to mainstream comics.
Wilson’s color art is fantastic too. The fight with Sadurang pops off the page, shifting from bright primary colors in a beige desert, to an ethereal supernatural glow and back. The drive to New Orleans is filled with shadows, but Wilson adds just enough light to the darkness to make it feel like a comforting blanket instead of a looming specter.
Cowles does his always fantastic job of bringing the script to life on page. This is a dialogue heavy issue, and it never feels cluttered or confusing. The flow of back and forth on the page feels natural thanks to how he places balloons and makes sure it flows.
Uncanny X-Men #1 is available now from Marvel Comics.
Overview
Really though, I liked this issue. It’s a strong return for the longest standing X-Men title. For its faults, Simone, Marquez and team have the makings of something that can really stand out. I just hope that it fulfills that potential sooner rather than later.
