Uncanny X-Men #1

Serving as a counterbalance to Wolverine and the X-Men, Uncanny X-Men takes a more serious and intelligent approach to the fallout from Schism as Cyclops reorganizes what is left of his X-Men to drive forward his vision for the future of mutantkind. Kieron Gillen and Carlos Pacheco do well in quickly establishing this new status quo and bring about the return of one of the X-Men's better villains.

I said it in my other review. I can totally understand enjoying the loose and fun nature of Wolverine and the X-Men, but for me, it was a disappointment. That cartoonish tone was really not what I was looking for coming out of Schism and came across so heavily that it really drowned out what little there was that I was looking for. Thankfully, Uncanny X-Men falls much more in line with what I was looking forward to. It is strong in character and ideas without going off the deep end. It lays out the case for Cyclops' side of the argument. And hey, Mr. Sinister. Sweet.

The focus of this book is a group Cyclops has dubbed his Extinction team. It's a team of his heaviest hitters and meant to take on extinction level threats to Earth while serving the additional purpose of showing off just how powerful mutants can be. Basically, it gives the X-Men a good excuse to operate as superheroes, which is something I have felt the X-Men have typically lacked. It rarely ever made sense for the X-Men to be off fighting aliens or demons when there were so many mutant-related crises to deal with. Here, Gillen relates the typical superheroics to mutants. It is framed as something that is part P.R. campaign and part deterrent. The idea is a pretty intelligent one, and Gillen lays it out well in this issue.

Gillen has a take on Mr. Sinister here that is a bit different from the norm as Gillen really seems to be emphasizing Sinister's Victorian Era roots. His Sinister comes off a bit more like Jack the Ripper than Tim Curry in leather fetish gear. Judgment on Gillen's take will have to wait until we see where this is going, but it does show signs of being a strong take on the character. While it is not really explained how he is still alive, that hardly seems to matter since I doubt many Sinister fans ever had a doubt he would survive his supposed death.

This issue really sells me on the blue side/Cyclops faction of the X-Men as it presents us with little glimpses of what Cyclops is building on the west coast. Even though the Extinction team is the focus, we get glimpses of what else is being done on Utopia. Psylocke's espionage team is a really interesting concept, and I am still frustrated that we are not gettinga book featuring Dazzler and other senior X-Men taking the younger kids out onto the streets of San Francisco to fight crime. Really, Marvel? You couldn't squeeze that book into the lineup of X-titles?

All is not perfect with this issue, though. Personally, the actual lineup of Cyclops' Extinction team, which will presumably be the main team of this series, doesn't do much for me. First off, I continue to hate Namor's involvement with the X-Men. I know Marvel keeps saying he's a mutant, but I'm just not seeing it. The idea is so force and artificial. He really has no legitimate motivation to be throwing in with the X-Men, and his inappropriate thing he has going with Emma Frost is just a rehash of the thing he has going usually with Invisible Woman. Gillen does nothing to change my mind on any of this in this issue. Besides Namor, Danger is a character I have never liked all the way down to the very concept of her. To be fair, Gillen does at least make a good case for her presence on this team, but there are many other characters I would happily take in her place. I've never liked Magik either, but to be fair again, Gillen does seem to be setting up a new dynamic with her now having to be her brother's keeper. Bottom line, I think Gillen could have put together a better team lineup than this.

Uncanny X-Men is an excellent alternative to Wolverine and the X-Men. Where that book emphasized the more ridiculous aspects of Schism, Uncanny X-Men emphasizes the more intelligent politics of mutants as Cyclops leads his X-Men on a more pragmatic path toward coexistence. The cliffhanger ending of this issue does come off as a little over the top and ridiculous, but it is well balanced by the rest of the story. Gillen and Pacheco will hopefully not always focus on the Extinction team, though. Because the other teams Cyclops has organized seem as or even more interesting and worth exploring.