Uncanny X-Men #1 (2024) Review

Background – ANOTHER NEW TEAM? OK! AT LEAST THIS ONE MIGHT HAVE A PURPOSE!

Writing – A new number 1 means a new team.

Let’s break the team down:

Rogue: Rogue is depressed. She feels like the X-Men were SO close to achieving Xavier’s dream and then it was just ripped away. She has been looking for something to fight for and it comes in the form of a dying child. She refuses to go back to being alone again (she is married to Gambit, but you know what I mean), and while it’s not outright stated, she doesn’t want anybody else to feel alone either. She wants new mutants to have a place to go.

Nightcrawler: Kurt’s apparently going to be a major character in this book, but for right now he just accompanies the team to the hospital to see Henry and then leaves to go help his parents.

Gambit: Gambit is Gambit in this issue. He throws the cards, they go boom. Actually, for the first time in a LONG time, Gambit is the one who saves the day, using his skills to steal the Eye of Agamotto from Sadurang. While I’m sure this was written long before Channing Tatum showed up as Gambit in Deadpool & Wolverine, Gail seems to be making a concerted effort to push him into a more active role than just the card guy.

Wolverine: Logan is once again at a crossroads. He is just tired of fighting, but before too long he is drawn back into the game. Wolverine is more concerned with drinking some liquor, but at least his human side comes through, especially when he meets Henry (more on him in a bit).

The new kids: While only one of the new kids is named, these kids seem like an interesting bunch. Our named mutant is Fawn, who is a deer / human hybrid. The rest are:
o A blonde girl.
o A girl wearing a hi-tech suit who seems to be vibrating.
o A young Latin kid.
o An emo looking kid.
o Finally, there is a horse. I have no idea if this horse is actually a mutant who can turn into a horse or a horse than can turn into a kid (wouldn’t that be something).

Harvey: This poor kid. Blessed and cursed with a power that ultimately kills him. He is described as a 1 compared to Xavier’s 10 in terms of power, Henry is a precog. He is also the X-Men’s biggest fan. The dialogue for this kid is spot on perfect. He’s just a kid who is meeting some of his favorite superheroes. He tells Rogue how hot she is, is super excited to get a Grant Morrison era X-Jacket and REALLY wants Wolverine to pop a claw or two. Unfortunately, he has a vision, sees something called “The Endling” and then dies. With Krakoa a thing of the past, I’m pretty sure this is going to be Henry’s one and only appearance in the book. But he does become the driving force behind Rogue’s decision to form a new X-team, so something good came out of this.

The villain: The Dragon; Technically, he’s a God snake, not a dragon. Sadurang last appeared in Savage Avengers where he got beat by Conan The Barbarian of all people. He has also claimed the eye of Agamotto which allows him to become quite powerful. However, he loses the eye to Gambit and promises to not eat people for a year and go live in Antarctica. He mentions something called “The Endling” coming and departing. Why Gail Simone chose to use Sadurang, I have no clue, but it was nice to see some type of callback to a great Avengers series that can’t really be referenced anymore (considering Marvel no longer has the rights to Conan again). Do I think we’ll see Sadurang again? Yes, if only because he told Gambit he’d be back.

The other villain: I’m going out on a limb (ha!) and say that our scary unseen forest monster is “The Endling”. All we see is this thing’s hands, which give off some serious Slender Man vibes. We do see her henchmen though, who seem to be two guys walking around in rags that carry electro-batons. It’s a weird mishmash, but every good villain needs henchmen, so why not.

The other other villain who is technically the overarching villain: Well, we finally have an answer to what happened to the mansion. It’s being turned into a prison. Run by Warden Dr. Ellis, the mansion is going to be completely deconstructed, Cerebro included. She wants any remnants of X-Men’s past burnt to the ground. We don’t get a motivation behind her hatred just yet, but hopefully it’s more than the usual “they’re mutants” line. The prison’s first occupant: Charles Xavier. I guess he didn’t die at the end of 700 after all.

I have one question: Where is Danger? Ages ago during the initial Krakoa run, Nightcrawler and I think Magik went to the mansion and were attacked by an abandoned Danger. They settled their differences and she was never seen again, even during the A.I. portion of the Krakoa story. Shouldn’t she still be at the mansion?

Artwork – The artwork is great in some places and not so great in others. The villain scenes are all suitably dark, with dark hues showing the despair and evil that these people are doing. By contrast, the X-Men are presented in bright, colorful panels (this is helped by the fact that a large portion of their scenes take place in sunny Mexico.) The team are wearing variants on their 90’s costumes, which is never a bad thing, especially for Rogue and Wolverine. Rogue never looked better than when she was wearing her Jim Lee designed outfit. Gambit…looks like Gambit (I always find it weird when he’s not wearing his head sock.) Sadurang looks great, although his size does change a bit from panel to panel.

Where the art gets rough occurs in two places, the first being “The Endling” portion of the book. I think it’s supposed to bring out horror movie vibes, but it is SO different from the other portions of the book that it’s just jarring. The second part of rough art occurs in the rendering of Henry. I don’t know why, but this kid literally looks like a cartoon character compared to the more realistic looking X-Men. It’s just weird.

Final Thoughts – FINALLY! We finally have a book in the “From The Ashes” relaunch that has earned a 4. While the art does not do it in some bits, the book overall looks great, and unlike some of the other X-Books, this one seems to have a reason to exist. These are the mutants that are going to resurrect Xavier’s dream. I may be a big Cyclops fan, but he’s off fighting a war. These mutants are here to protect and nurture. I’m excited for what comes next.

Final score: 4 out of 5

Comic Details

Publisher: Marvel
Writer: Gail Simone
Artist: David Marquez
Colorist: Matthew Wilson
Letterer: VC’s Clayton Cowles
Cover Artist: David Marquez & Matthew Wilson
Genre: Superhero
Format: Monthly
Release Date: 8/7/2024