The X-Men have long since stood as one of Marvel’s most popular teams, and that is, of course, due to a near-endless stream of incredible runs from a whole host of creators. Chris Claremont famously raised them from an all-but-canceled reprint series to comics’ number one juggernaut. Grant Morrison pushed them farther than ever and reinvented the team for a brand new millennium. Jonathan Hickman grabbed the scattered pieces of the X-franchise and stitched them into one of the most inventive and thrilling new takes of all time. These runs are, for the most part, regarded as classics that have defined the X-Men’s most important eras. Of course, not every run is so beloved.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Today celebrates the thirteenth anniversary of Uncanny X-Men (2013) #1’s release. Written by the storied Brian Michael Bendis, this run kick-started the most controversial era the X-Men have ever had. It came spiraling out of the tail end of what could easily be called the worst X-Men disaster of all, Avengers vs. X-Men. This run had to do a whole lot to pull the X-franchise from the gutter that it was dropped into, and it both did and didn’t. This run is just as controversial today as it was back then, and it can only be said that it has aged strangely. There are some brilliant parts, some atrocious parts, and some parts that left a bleak scar on the X-Men. But, through it all, it’s important.
All the Potential in the World
Bendis took the X-reins at a pivotal point in their timeline. Charles Xavier had just been killed by Cyclops, and all of mutantkind was split on whether to continue Xavier’s dream or declare humanity a hostile force. Cyclops chose the latter. With Magneto and Emma Frost at his side, he gathered a team to prepare for what he saw as the inevitable human-mutant war. He promoted Magik to a full-time X-Man and recruited new students like Eva Bell, Triage, Morph, and Goldballs. With this team as his starting point, the new X-Men expanded into a new, far more militaristic school.
This is a goldmine of characterization for Cyclops. It completed his transformation into the unwilling warrior mutantkind needed. He hates the idea of killing and turning Xavier’s dream into a military campaign, but views it as necessary and knows that only he can do it. He’s willing to hold a big stick, but desperately hopes he won’t have to use it. It’s also the series that put Magik into the spotlight as she deserves, turning her into a mainstay. It brought the X-Men from their earliest years to the present, building an incredible amount of tension as more and more of the world turned against the X-Men. This series had infinite potential, but, unfortunately, it didn’t quite reach the peaks it could have.
A Mixed Bag of Brilliant Misses
This book, to its core, is a Brian Michael Bendis comic. If you’re a fan of his work, then you’ll likely enjoy this series through and through, although it’s generally accepted that he was a tad past his prime at this point. It bears a few of his hallmark weaknesses, unfortunately, including stagnant characterization for many and voices that feel wrong for the characters he can’t connect with. The starting point is fantastic, but after the first few issues, the plot starts to drag. It loops back on itself and, in the end, sort of fizzles out. Of course, unsatisfying endings were a hallmark of this era of Marvel, given that Secret Wars (2015) put a hard stop on everything.
Also, as much as revolutionary Cyclops gave the character a much-needed new direction, it definitely went too far. At a certain point, Cyclops was almost indistinguishable from a villain. The interesting plot points also seemed to fight against the story told. The scattered X-Men fighting over Xavier’s will is a very intriguing story, but the resolution to it was confusing and convoluted in the worst ways. This comic’s worst crime, however, was cementing the idea that mutants had to stand against humanity to survive. Mutants being treated like they’re not human and brink of extinction storylines had been popular for years at this point, but this comic made it clear that mutants and humans could not coexist, which still rings true in their stories to this day.
At the end of the day, this is one of the darkest eras of the X-Men, and this run started it off. It has some genius ideas and brilliant moments, but they’re surrounded by flat characterization and a slow plot. Overall, it’s alright. It’s far from the worst the X-Men have had, especially considering what came immediately before and after this run. It started the X-Men’s new era, which, frankly, I am beyond glad we have moved past.
What do you think of this Uncanny X-Men volume? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!
Most Viewed
-
Image Courtesy of Prime Video -
Image Courtesy of Marvel Comics -
Image courtesy of Disney -
Image via Penguin Random House
