Uncanny X-Men #516 Review

Uncanny X-Men is another book that I have fond memories of. I began reading it when Marvel was reprinting old stories. Then came the bi-monthly revival that was written by Len Wein and drawn by Dave Cockrum. Chris Claremont began writing it and took the book to great heights. Some of the best team books were the Claremont/Byrne/Austin issues. In recent years, this has dropped in quality. Maybe with Magneto’s return, Fraction will become more focused.

Creative Team
Writer: Matt Fraction
Artist: Greg Land
Inker: Jay Leisten

Story Rating: 6 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 5 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 5.5 Night Girls out of 10

Synopsis: Scalphunter wakes up in a dark room. He is strapped to a bar suspended from the ceiling. A voice tells him not to move. It only excites “them”. He wants to know who they are. The lights come on and we see that he is hanging over a pit full of dinosaur style monsters. His captors remade the creatures in the pit. Lobe reveals himself as Scalphunter’s captor. He wants to hire Scalphunter for a mission. If he fails, the creatures will eat him.

Magneto has appeared over Utopia. Professor X asks him what he wants. Magneto does not want to speak to him, he is there to talk to Scott (Cyclops) Summers. As a sign that he is not looking for a fight, Magneto removes his helmet that protects him from psychic attacks. He gives his helmet to Scott. Professor X confronts him that it is a trap. Magneto refuses to fight. He says that Professor X and his time has passed. Professor launches a psychic attack. Magneto holds his ground but does not respond. The professor and Scott have an argument. Scott tells him to stand down.

Back at Lobe’s hideout…he wants Scalphunter to deliver the creatures for him.

Utopia…Magneto tells Scott that he does not blame the Professor for his reaction. He has come because he is in awe of Scott for bringing mutantkind together to form Utopia. Magneto gets down on his knees before Scott.

Back at the hideout…Lobe tells Scalphunter that he wants him to fly the creatures to Utopia. Because he is a mutant, Cyclops will allow him to land. Once the creatures are dropped off, Scalphunter is free.

Utopia…the Professor protests Magneto’s move. Scott tells him that he has said enough today. He instructs Psylocke to put a psychic knife through Magneto’s skull if she reads any wrong thought. He helps Magneto up and takes him for a walk.

Magneto explains how he teamed up with the High Evolutionary in an effort to restore mutant powers that were removed on M-Day. They took part of the Dreaming Celestial’s brain. It restored Magneto’s powers but it destroyed the machine in the process. It was not the answer they sought. He realizes that mutantkind is doomed to die out. Scott explains how they saved the first new mutant baby since M-Day. She is named Hope and will be back one day.

Scalphunter’s plane is headed towards Utopia. He asks for sanctuary. The sensors show that the plane is shielded. Scott asks Nightcrawler to teleport on and see what is on the plane. Nightcrawler teleports back, screaming that they need to shoot the plane down. Scott tells the X-Men to assume battle stations.

Commentary
The Good: Fraction does write a good Magneto. He is every bit the classic Magneto. His explanation of why he came to Utopia was believable. Magneto has always been an advocate of uniting mutantkind. Utopia would appeal to him. Scott has taken a proactive stand by establishing a mutant nation. This is more in line with Magneto’s thinking than Professor X’s.

It is very understandable that Professor X would not trust Magneto. They have known each other for years and it always seems like Magneto has opposed him at every turn. No matter how many times he has reached out to Magneto, they end up fighting.

I can see where Magneto’s gesture and comments would appeal to Scott. Professor X has been unsuccessful at uniting mutantkind. Now Scott has their arch enemy bowing to him and admitting that Scott has accomplished what his generation did not. Hopefully, this does not lead to Scott’s fall from grace. Scott does have Psylocke watching for any signs of betrayal by Magneto. The way this issue is going, he might have to start watching Professor X.

This issue was more focused than Fraction’s previous efforts.

Land’s art was a little more fluid than his past work. He did a good job with the special effects when powers are being used.

The Bad: Land’s art still needs a lot of work. Many times his faces look lumpy.

The pose of the female member of Lobe’s team looks like it was straight out of Playboy. If he wants to develope as a comic artist, he needs to create more natural poses when he draws the women.

This issue does seem like a retread of Mike Carey’s storyline about Professor X’s way not being the right way for this age. He started down a new path that Fraction completely ignores in this issue.

I find it hard to believe that Magneto would bow down to Scott. His ego would never allow him to bow down to anyone. Unless this turns out to be a ploy by Magneto, this move goes against his past characterization.

Overall: A better than average issue of the Matt Fraction era. While it was not a great story it was more focused and that really helped if you can ignore the characterization established in previous stories.

________________________________________________________________________
Jim