With the release of Uncanny X-Men #2 this week, the new “From the Ashes” era is well underway. Behind this short bayou brawl are the creative team of Gail Simone, David Marquez, Matthew Wilson, VC’s Clayton Cowles, and Tom Brevoort. Issue #1 blew our minds, and now we’re primed for an entire series.
Rogue remains at the center of this volume, but narrator duties are now shared with Charles Xavier (at least in diary form). The tight focus on Rogue’s character and her mental health was a major part of Uncanny #1’s appeal; this time around, there’s less of a focus on the protagonist’s inner life, and the book’s characters have nearly doubled in one volume. Not only are the long-awaited Outliers making their appearance, but the mysterious Mummy’s connection to the X-Men is beginning to become clear.
It soon becomes clear that neither Rogue and company nor the Outliers operate logically, and Gambit’s missteps send both groups into a frenzy. With the psychic skirmishes as a backdrop, Uncanny #2 is able to sow the seeds of character and development for the newly expanded cast. Remy’s newly acquired Eye of Agamotto seems to affect both his mind and his abilities. Logan would rather fight and scare children than lead again. The Outliers (Ransom, Jitter, Deathdream, and Calico) each have their own unique opinions and share a strong bond with each other, despite Calico’s fierce anti-mutant views. Rogue may be the leader of this new team, but she can’t calm the situation until Jubilee steps in.
Of course, I said, Rogue isn’t the only storyteller in this issue. The opening and middle interstitial pages are both flashbacks, told from Professor X’s college diary. Charles Francis Xavier, young, bookish and isolated at Oxford, meets Sarah, an American student studying abroad. A beautiful and charismatic young woman the same age as Xavier but out of his reach, Sarah seduces Charles and invites him to an impromptu tea party. It’s a sweet moment, but one that may have lasting consequences.
Marvel Comics
In fact, we may be on the verge of a new secret crime being retroactively added to Professor X’s biography. Currently, we’ve already met Sarah. Now she calls herself Mama, hunts young mutants on behalf of Greymalkin prison warden Dr. Corina Ellis, and looks like the Beldam from Coraline if she had her greasy grunge days. Speaking of Dr. Ellis, the issue also reveals that not only is the lovable warden trying to imprison mutants in Xavier’s former Westchester mansion, but she’s also trying to recruit an inmate as a trustee under threat of torture.
The art in Uncanny X-Men #2 is as stunning as ever. Marquez and Wilson may not be able to play to the same scale that Sadulan demanded in the previous issue, but the cast’s faces as they leave covered in blood are beautifully drawn and there’s a lot of heart in it. Combined with the more realistic style of the art, it really highlights what’s become of Sarah in the years since she met Charles, and the contrast with the other characters. We were warned that gothic horror would play a major role in this book, and Sarah seems happy to deliver on that.
There’s not much to criticize about Uncanny #2, but overall it’s not as impactful as the previous issue. By relying on the emotional investment we got from Rogue in issue #1, Simone is using the attention he’s gained from readers to push an exposition-heavy story. It accomplishes what it set out to do, but I’m ready to wait for the series to really hit its stride.
Uncanny X-Men #2 may not be as flashy as #1, but it proves to be essential in paving the way for the story Simone, Marquez and Wilson are trying to tell. It looks like Rogue will inherit not only Xavier’s obsession with caring for mutant youth, but also the consequences of his past mistakes. Thankfully, she’s not the only one. The only thing really missing is Nightcrawler, and we’ll have Uncanny X-Men back in action.
Uncanny X-Men Part 2 Review
Uncanny X-Men #2
Uncanny X-Men #2 may not be as flashy as #1, but it proves to be essential in paving the way for the story Simone, Marquez and Wilson are trying to tell. It looks like Rogue will inherit not only Xavier’s obsession with caring for mutant youth, but also the consequences of his past mistakes. Thankfully, she’s not the only one. The only thing really missing is Nightcrawler, and we’ll have Uncanny X-Men back in action.
An interesting new twist for Gambit
A solid introduction to the Outliers and Sarah
Jubilee is back!
It’s unseemly that Logan antagonizes the only black teen here for no apparent reason.
