Gail Simone and David Marquez got off to a solid start to their Uncanny X-Men run. They quickly established the team dynamic of this series with Rogue as the team leader. The strength of the debut was all of the character development. Simone and Marquez showed they have a strong understanding of each member of the team, especially coming off the fallout of Fall of the House of X and Rise of the Powers of X. Now it looks like a new team of mutants has shown up with unknown motives. Let’s find out how things go next with Uncanny X-Men #2.
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Gail Simone
Artist: David Marquez
Colorist: Matthew Wilson
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Uncanny X-Men #2 SOLICITATION
“WHO ARE THE OUTLIERS? FROM THE ASHES continues as ROGUE, GAMBIT and WOLVERINE welcome a friend back, just in time to face four UNCONTROLLABLE and WILD mutants in the swamps of Louisiana! But with the mutant community disheartened and fractured, will even the UNCANNY X-MEN be enough to stop them? Something HUGE is starting, and it begins RIGHT HERE!” – Marvel Comics
REVIEW
Gail Simone and David Marquez took the foundation from the first issue and took things to the next level with Uncanny X-Men #2. By doing so they made the immediate statement that this is a series to pay attention to. They accomplish that through the multi-layered storytelling done through the dialogue and action between so many different characters.
The majority of Uncanny X-Men #2 was the focus between the Rogue’s team and the new crop of mutants collectively known as the Outliers. There was no time wasted in thing breaking down between the two mutant groups and a fight to break out. What took this fight to another level was the various interactions that were had. Simone and Marquez took great care in showing how both groups were confused as they were complete strangers.
Through the fight Simone and Marquez did a great job at developing the personalities of each member of the Outliers. Jitter, Ransom, Deathdream, and Calico each came across having unique personalities. Developing their personalities helped amplify what their powers are. Simone went with an old school approach of having the characters personalities be an extension of their powers. It was a good way to establish them all.
At the same time, Rogue, Gambit, and Wolverine were shown to be holding back. They knew they were fighting confused kids. The difference in experience quickly showed as once they realized things would only continue to escalate the longer the fight went on Rogue, Gambit, and Wolverine showed more of their skill by dropping them.
Jubilee coming in to stop things was a good way to end the fight and get everyone to settle down. Getting into the character introductions for the kids further established their individual characters. The one that stood out most was Calico. Her mentioning that she isn’t a mutant but a super that had nowhere else to go creates a lot of questions for the Outliers as a group and her individually. It provides greater interest to find out about all their backgrounds and what they’ll bring to the table from here.
On the villain side of things, Simone and Marquez do a good job at maximizing Doctor Corina Ellis screen time. Every time we go to what she is doing at the former Xavier Mansion the more you hate her because she is a villain. Her calm demeanor of how she approaches talking about capturing mutants is refreshing way to characterize this type of villain. Simone chooses Doctor Ellis’ words carefully to make her tone of voice only slightly change depending on if she is talking to an ally or captured mutant like Siryn.
The one aspect of Uncanny X-Men #2 that did not completely work was the introduction of the mysterious Sarah person who has ties to Charles Xavier before founding the X-Men. This introduction is one of those wait and see things of how to really feel about. Especially given that Sarah’s present day form creates so many questions as to exactly what is going on. The answers to that will impact not just how we view Sarah but also how Doctor Ellis continues to establish herself as an X-Men antagonist.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Uncanny X-Men #2 is strong follow-up that showed Gail Simone and David Marquez great understanding of the franchise. They progress Rogue, Gambit, Wolverine, and Jubilee in a logical way in this post-Krakoa era. The new kids introduce add a lot to the mix as their personalities are all given time to shine so you get interested in what they bring to the table. Add all that with solid progress on the villain side of the plot we have an issue in Uncanny X-Men #2 that solidifies this as one of Marvel’s premiere titles.
Story Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
For more opinions on anime, comic book, movies, and sports you can follow Kevin on Bluesky, Instagram, Threads, and Twitter/X.