Uncanny X-Men #2
Written by Ed Brisson, Matthew Rosenberg, Kelly Thompson
Art by R.B.Silva; Cover by Leinil Francis Yu
The Story So Far
The Uncanny X-Men #1 launched a heck of a story complete with some very intriguing side tales in What Tomorrow Brings. If you haven’t read the entire (and it was a thick book) issue then I strongly recommend you go back and read the whole thing. Pay close attention to the story that focused on Bishop as Uncanny X-Men #2 references it.
A quick recap of what happened in the last issue:
- Kitty Pryde phased through the control panel of the plane and vanished.
- Recruits on a training mission Crashed into a lab creating an anti-mutant vaccine and wound up in a fight with The Mutant Liberation Front
- Senator Allen, an anti-mutant politician, disappeared publicly in the midst of an attack by clones of Jamie Madrox, A.K.A Multiple Man,
- Warren, A.K.A Angel, talking to a mysterious entity then bailing on his team mid-battle
WARNING: From here down There May Be Spoilers for anyone who has not already read Uncanny X-Men #2 (2018).
Chaos Management
Chaos reigns in Uncanny X-Men #2. Somewhere in Kansas, the number of Jamie Madrox clones is large enough to be seen from space and they are literally falling all over themselves. Meanwhile, the bulk of the team has gathered in Beast’s lab to review footage of a world gone insane. From across the globe reports of the sudden appearances and attacks of animals & species that should be long dead have been pouring in and all within a six-hour time period. Uncanny X-Men #2 leaves little doubt that something huge is going on and it is going very wrong.
Every team from the Avengers, to the Champions, to the Winter Guard, work fervently to save lives and yet it still doesn’t seem to be enough. In the midst of this, the X-Men are still struggling with the loss of a beloved member, and the loss of public faith (which was always pretty fickle to be fair) after a time that felt like progress was being made.
Beast hypothesizes that there is a connection between the appearance of that which shouldn’t be here and the disappearance of those that should. No one has heard from Warren, Kitty is still missing, the world blames the X-Men (specifically Jean Grey) for the missing senator, and Jamie Madrox is equally difficult to find. The team is conflicted over priorities. Many want to be hunting for Kitty and Warren but duty and commitment call them to deal with the attacks because saving innocent lives is what they do.
Don’t Split The Party
Storm readies her team to head to Montana to deal with a dinosaur attack. Yes, I did say dinosaur. No, I didn’t see any velociraptors (so don’t blame Hammond just yet) but they might have been hiding behind that T-Rex. Just as Storm is suited up and her team is ready to take off, Jean finds Jamie (Or should we say Jamies). He’s apparently confused and at the same time planning some kind of attack. In her panic, Jean breaks the cardinal rule of D & D… She splits the party.
I’m internally screaming Nooooo! Okay, I know this is Uncanny X-Men #2 and not a dungeon but with all these prehistoric monster attacks, it might as well be one. Any decent gamer knows splitting up is a bad call but Jean is frantic.
She sends half of the team with Storm to stop Jamie Madrox and she takes the other half to stop the dinosaurs. It’s anybody’s guess if either team will be enough for their respective task? I mean, the mass of clones was visible from friggin’ space.
In the meantime, the recruits are left by Beast to watch over their recovering brethren. I doubt he’d have left them if he knew there was an anti-mutant demonstration planned in their front yard but who can say. He was pretty secretive about where he’s going.
The recruits are feeling pretty useless. It’s tough enough to sit with your injured teammates when you feel there is more you could be doing. It’s tougher still, to do so with an angry crowd of anti-mutant protesters on your front lawn yelling at you to “go home”. I’m with Hisako on this: Where exactly do these moronic protesters think is “home” for mutants? They are home. It’s not like they’re space aliens… well, not all of them.
Why exactly is Beast lurking around the wreckage of the plane and lab from Uncanny X-Men #1? What did Bishop discover in Uncanny X-Men #1 and how is it related to the chaos that Jamie is creating? Moreover, who is that way-too-confident guy in a suit wading serenely through the protesters to knock on the door to the Xavier Institute? Pick up your copy of Uncanny X-Men #2
Art and Writing
Brisson, Rosenberg, and Thompson did a great job with the writing on Uncanny X-Men #2. The story feels chaotic and crazy but still remains cohesive.
Uncanny X-Men #2 has a lot of moving pieces that are being set up to fall into place (or at least we hope so). You can’t help but feel as rushed and stressed as our heroes are feeling and yet, the dialogue is perfect, from the confusion, anger, and insecurity of the recruits, the petty misplaced hate of the humans, to the veterans’ humor in the face of the death against overwhelming odds. Yes, I loved the humor there’s just enough without it being over the top. There’s a fair amount of smart-aleck banter between teammates. What else can you do when the world is falling apart and you’re supposed to save it?
I love the art in this one. Silva does a great job. The T-Rex is scary. The expressions are so good. Hisako’s anger and frustration are rendered so well that you can feel it. I truly loved Jean’s bemused expression after X-23 bursts from the chest like an enraged alien from the Ridley Scott movie. Bishop’s calm when Jean starts to rush to “save” Laura speaks volumes about his faith in X-23’s ability. It’s a beautiful thing. The art, on the whole, is beautiful. Marvel’s got some incredibly talented artist working this series. I’m stoked to see that Cinar will be doing the next issue as well.
Best Line: “Everyone, X-23 just cut her way out from the inside of a Tyrannosaurus … so you’re going to have to up your game if you want to take the MVP title for today.”
Predictions: That guy standing at the door to the Xavier Institute… is responsible for the utter distress of all the Multiple Man clones. I don’t think he’s strong enough to have imprisoned Apocalypse but there is the possibility that this guy is behind the disappearances. Let me know what your thoughts are on this guy and what’s he’s up to.
Next Issue: Uncanny X-Men #3 will be available November 28, 2018
**Author’s Note: In an earlier version of this article Cinar was credited for the art rather than R.B. Silva. This article has been revised to reflect the correct artist.
