Sunday, May 27, 2007

Uncanny X-Periment # 106: "Rescue Me"

New X-Men # 118-121; X-Treme X-Men # 5-9

With a mob outside their gates, the X-Men are also facing a problem in the form of the cult-like U-Men, who are out to make themselves into the Third Species by taking parts for Mutants and graphing them to their own bodies. They also seal themselves in suits so as to not be soiled the air and whatnot. Cyclops and Emma head to NYC to confront Sublime, but are then taken down by him. The U-Men then make for the mansion, but encounter resistance from Jean and the students. At the same time, Logan is bringing a fly-girl named Angel to the school after rescuing her from the U-Men.

Meanwhile, the X-Treme X-Men track down Gambit after he becomes the chief suspect in an assassination of a mobster. Three mobs go to war with a man named Father Gow running things. The X-Men secure the mobster’s children – Heather and Davis Cameron – and then have to deal with the mob war, Sebastian Shaw, and all sorts of complicated nuttiness. In the end, the X-Men have two new members, an ally in the warrior Red Lotus, and Gambit’s back!

One of the things I really enjoy about this era of the X-Men’s history is the desire to inject something new into the mythos. Whether it’s new concepts, villains, or new characters, we’re guaranteed at least something new to the world of the X. That being said, none of this new stuff is exactly perfect.

In New X-Men, the gang goes up against the John Sublime and the U-Men, and we get an introduction to the foul-mouthed, trailer trash Angel. Plus, the actual origin of Cassandra Nova is exposed. I applaud Morrison on the introduction of such a radical new villain in the U-Men. The cult-like U-Men make for a interesting foe . . . even though John Sublime is a little lame. I have to hand it to him by bringing in Angel, who Wolverine tries to take in like he did Kitty and Jubilee – only to find her to be a pain in the ass.

There’s also a good amount of explanation here and plenty of plot nuggets to go around. While we learn what and who exactly Cassandra Nova is, we also get more of the Phoenix raptor and the growing amount of distrust between Scott and Jean. Plus, the students are in action. Add to that the art of VanSciver and Igor Kordey, and this book is pretty good.

Over on the X-Treme side of things, we also get some new characters – Lifeguard and her brother Davis. Though both are a little flat, Lifeguard’s “whateverIneed” powers make for a cool concept. Plus, it’s great to see Gambit back and the chemistry with him and Rogue bubbling again. But the problem is that this story is about two issues two long. The silent issue and the “telepathic battle” issue are all just too much. Larocca’s art is beautiful and Claremont does a good job of bringing Jean into the picture to talk to Storm about current events.

The two silent issues are the perfect examples of the good and the bad of Marvel’s little experiment. Morrison’s “Telepathic rescue” is brilliant. Claremont’s is just confusing.

~W~

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