The Curtain Falls
And there you have it, Uncanny X-men (Vol. 1) is officially history. Marvel has finally pulled the plug on its longest unbroken run. Yeah Avengers, Spider-man, and Fantastic Four have been around longer but they all at one time or another (if not several times) have been rebooted or renumbered since their inception, while Uncanny X-men has gone unscathed since the 60’s (except that one period where they were cancelled, but they came right back with the same numbering at issue #94). I have long gone on record as being VERY anti-reboot/renumbering since to me it just seems like a cheap marketing ploy and now, and now those of us who have been collecting for years will forever be missing issues #545 through #599 (since I suspect they will revert to the old numbering at #600). But enough griping about the cancellation of it all, let’s get on with the issue.
Now, looking past the whole “final issue” deal, this was an amazing issue. Right off the bat, we were treated to a retro page that gave me tingles when I read it. A flashback to the first page of X-men #1 from September 1963, with Professor X calling to his X-men from his wheelchair and asking for an update as to the status of his original X-men (minus Jean of course). And to be honest the best part of this issue was that this was the end of the nostalgic pandering. From there we moved right into the future as we see Bobby leaving (with Domino, Psylocke and Hope staying) and we witness him and Scott say their goodbyes. Then just before he leaves he asks Scott if he remembers when…BOOM! Splash page of the X-men’s finest and worst moments! Magneto, Juggernaut, Sauron, Blue-furred Beast, Dark Phoenix, Emma Frost as the White Queen, Storm’s Mohawk, Sinister, Apocalypse, the Brood, and Scott and Jean Grey kissing at the very center of it. Back to Bobby and Scott, Iceman leaves Utopia with a somber farewell to his best friend. A quick snippy word with his other “best friend” Beast and Wolverine’s plane of his own X-men leaves, and the splitting of the X-men is complete.
Framing this entire affair is a eulogy by none other than Mr. Sinister himself. As he disintegrated and reforms his own body over and over again, with different personality changes each time, he laborious writes in a text labeled the Uncanny X-men, as though trying to finish the volume with us. LOVED IT! Thank god hes, back, Miss Sinister was a joke, and I almost don’t care about whatever silly explanation they have for getting rid of her completely and bringing him back. Would it be nice to have seen his return before now? Maybe, but the important thing is that he’s back! Hearing him write out the final chapters of this title in his various personalities was hilarious, I can’t wait to see what he does in Uncanny X-men (Vol. 2) #1.
Watching Scott take down the old photos of past team lineups was sad, but it really showed that he was serious about moving forward into the future not backtracking into the past (which is how he sees Logan). As sad as I am to see this volume go, I am forgoing my annoyance about the reboot and I am eagerly anticipating the new series. I think they are making a good choice by opening it with a classic villain like Sinister, as opposed to some crappy vampire storyline like they did with X-men (Vol. 3). So far ReGenesis is off to an amazing start and it has barely even started yet!
