Saturday, May 04, 2013

Uncanny X-Periment # 164: Nation X



Dark Reign – The List: X-Men, X-Men Legacy Annual 2009, X-Men Legacy # 228 – 230, Uncanny X-Men # 515 – 519

Norman Osborn has unleashed a mutated, animalistic, mindless version of Namor’s wife, Marrina upon the ocean as revenge.  It gobbles up some Atlanteans and Namor, without anyone else to turn to, goes to the X-Men for help.  They lure Marrina to Utopia, where Namor is forced to kill her.  Namor then shows just how far he’ll go to stop Norman should their paths cross again.

Afterwards, Emplate returns.  He attacks the X-Men, searching for Penance.  He doesn’t find her, but instead, finds Bling (aka Roxy) and determines that she similar enough to sup from.  He backs away, but then returns and captures her.   Trance figures out a way into Emplate’s realm, but Cyclops tells her ‘no’ and instead, Rogue takes her power and goes on a rescue mission.  Some madcap wild chases later and Rogue dumps Emplate off to some moon in his Nowhere dimension and then returns home with Bling.   She then accepts a job as mentor to the Young X-Men.

Cyclops then has to deal with the ramifications to having Utopia exist.  He approaches mayor, who explains that he has not yet committed any real crimes and he has her support.  About this same time, Doctor Takiguchi passes away and the X-Men cremate him.   Magneto, in his typical funeral-crashing manner, arrives and swears loyalty to Cyclops and praises him for uniting and saving Mutantkind.  Charles is skeptical and Beast doesn’t like it, but Scott agrees to let Magneto in.

A new group of weirdo’s calls up Scalphunter and has him deliver some five Predators to Utopia.  Namor, Magneto, and the X-Men manages to defeat all but one.  Scalphunter then turns himself and enters Danger’s new sim-prison.  As the X-Club tries to figure out how to keep Utopia from sinking, they discover that the Predators released nannites into the air.

Meanwhile, Professor X and Psylocke assist Cyclops in removing the Void from Emma.   However, by entering her mind, Scott accidently lets the Void into his mind.  Using techniques taught to him by Jean, he traps the Void in his own mind and walks away.  Emma and Scott are saved . . . just in time for Beast to tell them he’s quitting.

I enjoyed this batch more than others in recent memory and I’m glad it’s improved over time. I still don’t feel like Matt Fraction is the perfect match for the X-Men, but this is far and away, much better than “Sisterhood.”  Greg Land’s art is still pretty bad, Fraction has gotten better.   I like the arrival and inclusion of Magneto; he adds a lot to the team and brings along a great foil for Scott and the Professor.  But it bothered me that Professor X was so aggressive towards Magneto; it’s like Fraction never bothered to read “X-Men: Legacy.”

 I liked Beast’s giving up on Scott and the others.   It was kinda sad, but I remember reading this comic at that time and totally agreeing with Hank. 

The use of Marrina was actually fairly depressing.

I loved the return of Emplate.  He was one of those characters that has been on the sidelines for far too long.  We actually saw what happened to him at the end, too.   Nice to know he’s not just sleeping the Generation X basement anymore.

My biggest beef is actually the move itself.  We spent all that time moving the X-Men San Francisco and Graymalkin Industries . . . and then, “well, let’s just move them onto an island.”  Really.

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