So here we are yet again. Another X-Men relaunch, another revamp of the book’s core concept of mutants at large with superpowers that has become increasingly ropy down through the years since Stan Lee and Jack Kirby originally dreamt up the team book.
“Meet the new boss/Same as the old boss.”
Given the number of times readers have been through a changing of the guard with X-Men, it is surprising to note that this is only the second volume of Uncanny, which 
aside from an extended hiatus before the ‘all-new, all-different’ relaunch in the 70s, has been running consistently since 1963. Over the years there have been constant line-up changes, with each new creative team trying to put their own spin on our Merry Muties, Chris Claremont’s legendary run for the most part unchallenged by his successors.
Of course Kieron Gillen (Phonogram, SWORD) is now the man with the plan. Could he be the one to not only ‘relaunch’ the book yet again, but give the title some desperately needed forward momentum to break this constant cycle of repeated new starts?
On the basis of this first issue, I would have to say yes, unreservedly. Not only does Gillen throw some unique touches of his own into the mix, but he does a smashing job of integrating plot-threads from previous runs back into the book. Unlike Jason Aaron, who has been given the opportunity to start afresh with yet another ‘school for mutants’ (following on from New Mutants, Generation X, New X-Men and Academy X), Gillen has been given the harder task of trying to shuffle all the players left on Utopia into a coherent organisation. Cleverly he makes this one of the focuses of the opening storyline, with Scott Summers arranging for different teams to patrol the island and maintain security. Above them all, however, is his so-called ‘Extinction Team’, led by himself and set to include Emma Frost, Namor, Magneto, Storm, Hope, Magik, Danger and the newly demonically possessed Colossus. Their function is to not only combat the threats facing mutantkind, but to ensure the sovereignty of Utopia. Before they hid from a world that feared and hated them. Summers now wants them to – but on his terms.
It is a great inversion of the book’s core message since Claremont first introduced the metaphor of mutantcy equalling any number of discriminated against groups. It also brings to full fruition an idea that has dogged the X-Men since the 80s, namely their status as terrorists/freedom fighters. Claremont first had the team become wanted criminals on the run, a theme that was passed on to X-Force. In recent years Scott Summers had begun to run black-ops teams out of Utopia following on from this trend. Now Gillen has made the character ‘come out’ fully in favour of might makes right.
This is a welcome progression of the X-Men narrative. For years the discrimination angle has become increasingly discomforting within the book’s pages. These metaphors for victims of bigotry have superpowers after all. As much as writers have attempted to play up the social exclusion of mutants, they can make objects explode at will, take flight, read minds and change shape. Belonging to a species of superhumans is hardly the punishment they would have readers believe.
Fans have criticised the evolution of Scott Summers into a pragmatist as a perversion of the character, claiming for example that he has become a fascist. It’s important to remember that when Magneto and Xavier debated the relationship between humans and ‘homo superior’, even back in the Stan Lee era, Professor X never actually corrected his rival on the point that they are a separate species. It has always been tacitly accepted that they are in fact superior.
Gillen’s villain of choice for this issue is Mister Sinister, who also benefits from the writer’s holistic approach. His new dandified appearance is in keeping with Peter Milligan’s little-known The Further Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix and the villain’s attraction to the sleeping Celestial in San Francisco can be seen as a reference to the character’s familiarity with the technology Apocalypse used. Furthermore Sinister’s latest plan gives rise to an excellent spectacle in the final pages. As a villain, the man once known as Nathaniel Essex has had a tendency to stick to the shadows. In Uncanny X-Men #1 he is much more overt, making a grand sweeping gesture indicating a severe personality shift from the manipulative figure he was before.
Overall this is an excellent first issue for the series. Gillen is unafraid to embrace some of the subversive aspects of the X-Men mythology and the current set-up promises some very interesting developments in the near future.
….and god bless him for that Spinal Tap reference.
Tags: Chris Claremont, Comic, comic booked, Comics, Cyclops, Emmet OCuana, Fascism, jack kirby, Jason Aaron, kieron gillen, Marvel, Marvel Comics, Mister Sinister, Schism, Stan Lee, Uncanny X-Men, Wolverine And The X-Men, X-Men
About the Author
Written by Emmet OCuana
It’s always a pleasure to read your reviews, Emmet. You have an ability to dive so far beneath the surface of almost any book and thoroughly explain each nuance. In fact, some may say that the way you do that is “uncanny”.
Anyway, that terrible pun aside, you’ve managed to get me even more excited for this book. Can’t wait until payday and my trip to the LCS.
Cheers Michael, that’s very kind of you.
X-Men has always been known as the series that was about something. It’s great to read an issue by a writer who is looking to live up to that.