Uncanny X-Men # 475 - 486
Vulcan has decided to kick some Shi'ar ass and the Professor, unable to reach his ex-wife, decides to head on out and stop him. He recruits Rachel, Polaris, Darwin, Nightcrawler, Warpath, and Havok takes off. Eventually, they come across an outpost and rescue two Shi'ar's that have been attacked by stranded Warskrulls (who were themselves stranded by the Annhilliation wave). The Shi'ar catchs wind of Vulcan's attack and his subsequent taking of a warship and they launch the Imperial Guard at him. He gets taken captive. Meanwhile, a Shi'ar named Korvus (who has a sword with a piece of the Phoenix in it) goes off to take down the X-Men. After a brief battle, the piece of the Phoenix and Rachel bonds her with Korvus and the two fall in love.
The exiled Shi'ar take Professor X away, but luckily, Darwin stashes himself in their ship and follows. The X-Men join up with the Starjammers and rescue Lilandria, then some General that was like an uncle to her.
Vulcan is rescued by a cult that follows D'Ken and Deathbird. Vulcan and Deathbird team up and the two fall in love. Sooner or later, they end up waking up D'Ken and in an attempt to draw out Lilandria and the X-Men, Deathbird and Vulcan decide to get married in front of the M'Kraan Crystal and execute Professor X there too (probably after the toast, but before the cutting of the cake).
Of course, everyone shows up and the party gets started. Vulcan marries Deathbird, kills D'Ken, and declares himself Emperor. He then goes to kill Lilandria, but she is rescued by Corsair - who is killed in her place. Professor X is tossed into the M'Kraan Crystal and returns with his powers thanks to Darwin.
In an effort to save Xavier, Lilandria teleports him, Warpath, Nightcrawler, Darwin, and Hepzibah up to their ship and has it launched back to Earth. The rest of the X-Men, Starjammers, and rebellion then withdraw.
One of the advantages of the Uncanny X-Periment is the gift of hindsight. Seeing this story in the context of history (even recent history) allows me to understand that this is simply the second part of a trilogy. It began in "Deadly Genesis" and continues into "Emperor Vulcan."
I'll be honest when I say that this continuation hurts the story. It lacks a solid conclusion. We spend basically ten issues of build-up for very little pay-off. It's a non-ending.
For the most part, it's a rapid paced story with enough twists and turns to keep it interesting. But there's something lacking and I'm not sure what it is.
There's not a ton of originality here. It's a lot like many other Shi'ar space operas that we've seen. The idea of a Shi'ar civil war was explored years ago. This is pretty much the same, just with Vulcan added
While the story itself is a little more than dull, the characterization is on high. Vulcan is nicely shaped as the "punk teen in a super-powerful adult body." Professor X's angst rings quite true here. Kurt, Alex, Lorna, and Rachel all get some much needed development. Warpath enters into the spotlight and is probably among the highlights of this story. The Nermani's are about as driven as ever, but nothing really incredible.
Corsair's death was not unexpected and was heroic, if not quick. The lack of mourning on the part of Scott really bothers me.
The show-stealer for me is Darwin. He's brillant. Both power and personality-wise, he's an interesting and dynamic character.
As for the art . . . eh, I've got issues with Billy Tan. His action sequences are almost always great, but every other scene seems . . . off. People's heads and shoulders look out of proportion. Everyone's body looks generall the same with just small changes. Clayton Henry's work is good, but it doesn't mesh well with Tan's.
As an overall whole, it's not that great. The characterization is good, but in it of itself, the story just doesn't live up.
~W~
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