Five Reasons To Read UNCANNY X-MEN #2 [Spoilers]
Five Reasons To Read UNCANNY X-MEN #2
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Chris Bachalo
The superstar team of Bendis and Bachalo definitely knocked the ball out of the park with the first issue of the latest volume of Marvel’s flagship X-title, UNCANNY X-MEN. The high level of quality continues in issue #2, and here are five reasons why you should pick it up.
5. Magneto’s treachery continues…and gets worse.
It seems as if there’s nothing like a combination of killing his best friend and compromising his powers (and subsequently, his ego) to completely piss off the Master of Magnetism. Over the years, we’ve seen Scott Summers develop into a leader whose methods and way of thinking are closer to Magneto’s than to Xavier. It stings to see that because of the whole Phoenix Five debacle, Scott lost not only one, but two father figures… and if the fallout from Magneto’s betrayal is greater than what the last page of this comic book implies, well, color me impressed. Very impressed.
4. We get to see where Emma Frost and Scott Summers stand, definitively.
A lot of people were curious about the status of the Scott-Emma romance after AvX. After all, the two mutant lovebirds did try to kill each other while they were under the corrupting influence of the power they acquired from the Phoenix Force (which is pretty much Tony Stark’s fault for causing it to split up in the first place). It has also been established that the Phoenix Force totally screwed up their powers (except for Magik’s, that is), and that now, more than ever, they need one another to survive. It’s nice to see that the cold telepath with a diamond-hard exterior actually has genuine affection for the X-Men’s self-proclaimed mutant revolutionary leader. It’s an even bigger treat to see at least ONE character under Bendis’s pen who isn’t crapping on Cyclops. Sheesh.
Besides, Emma’s malfunctioning powers are kinda cute. Kinda.
3. The new mutants are more than just cannon fodder and story devices.
The tricky thing about introducing new X-Men is that, well, there are just too damn many of them.
Seriously.
Even after the whole House of M debacle, wherein only 2% (read: only the mutants who can carry their own books) made it out of the reality-warping event with their powers still intact, the roster of characters affiliated with the X-Men was still sizable. Nevertheless, to make the entire AvX thing actually have a point, the upwards spike in the number of new mutants HAS to be illustrated somehow. Thus, we have Cyclops and a handful of other like-minded individuals proactively tracking down new mutants, making this team the spiritual descendants of the very first incarnation of X-Factor. Thankfully, the new mutants introduced in this book look promising – I’m especially warming up to Eva.
2. We get to see the new Charles Xavier’s School for Mutants.
Thanks to the gorgeous pencils by Chris Bachalo, we get what is essentially a detailed blueprint of the new Xavier’s Institute for New Mutants Who Don’t Want to Bow to Hairy Little Clawed Canadians. Click the picture to enlarge!
This new base of operations ought to be enough to prepare this new wave of gifted youngsters and superheroes-in-training for whatever challenges await them on their journey towards proving that the Avengers side acted like complete jerks in AvX.
Which leads us to the last item on the list…
1. The last page.
Next issue is going to be a blast, that’s for sure. ‘Nuff said.
Verdict: 5/5
Get your copy now at Comicx Hub!
