• Written by: Gail Simone
• Art by: David Marquez
• Colors by: Matthew Wilson
• Letters by: VC’s Clayton Cowles
• Cover art by: David Marque
• Cover price: $5.99
• Release date: August 7, 2024

Uncanny X-Men #1, by Marvel Comics on 8/7/24, begins a new era for the team after the downfall of Krakoa when Rogue, Gambit, and Wolverine ponder their place in the world with mixed results.

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Is Uncanny X-Men #1 Good?

I’m a comic reader. That shouldn’t surprise anyone, but I read comics because I love the stories, the characters, and the worlds they inhabit. Also, I’m an X-Men fan. The only time I subscribed to get a comic delivered in the mail when I was a youngster was to get a copy of the X-Men in my hands every month. I don’t say this to tell you I have a better understanding of the X-Men or know the history better than anyone else.

I tell you this because I want to like the X-Men.

Now, we come to the latest debut from Tom Brevoort’s From The Ashes era – Uncanny X-Men #1, written by Gail Simone, with art by David Marquez.

I want to like this comic. I really do. But it’s off for a couple of reasons that I’ll get to in a minute.

What’s Uncanny X-Men #1 About?

Rogue, Gambit, and Wolverine are struggling to figure out who they are and what their purpose is in life after Krakoa. Wolverine is done picking fights. Gambit is just happy to be along for the ride, loving his wife. Rogue, however, is down in the dumps worse than anyone else. She had a family, and now it’s fractured, scattered… uncertain.

The trio meets outside Mexico City to fight a Quetzalcoatl-ish dragon named Sadurang, who recently appeared in Savage Avengers #14-16. With a brief bit of fighting (the only action in the comic), Gambit dislodges an Eye of Agamotto embedded in the dragon’s chest and threatens to destroy the Eye if the dragon doesn’t go to Antarctica for a year to cool off. Before the dragon leaves, it foretells a dark force on the move by using the name “Endling.”

What’s the point of this scene? I have no idea. Maybe the Eye will play a part in something coming up. Maybe the dragon will play some part in a story one year hence. It’s unclear because this little vignette has no bearing on the rest of the comic.

The issue switches to a scene in Oregon where a mutant, codenamed Fawn due to her physical appearance (hooves and horns), is pursued by men with cattle pods. Fawn is eventually downed and taken up by something with very long fingers and claws. This sequence presumably sets up a big bad with the faintest of hints.

The comic switches to Mississippi after Rogue gets a call from Nightcrawler to come to a hospital. The team visits a boy with low-level psychic powers who is also dying from cancer. The boy is a huge X-Men fan, so the visit puts a smile on his face. But the smile fades when he has a sudden seizure that will lead to his death. During the seizure, he has a precog vision and mentions a name – Endling. The death hits everyone hard, but Rogue falls just short of grief-stricken.

To regroup and heal from their grief (???), the trio heads to Gambit’s old stomping grounds in New Orleans, where they stay with one of Remy’s old friends. Again, the trio considers whether they should take a break from the hero business. Out of the blue, a group of mutants (new ones) emerges from the woods, asking for help.

As a bit of connective tissue to the trio’s travels, we’re introduced to Dr. Corina Ellis, who leads an effort to convert Xavier’s School into a mutant prison. “Warden” Ellis, as she now wants to be called, has no bearing on the rest of the issue.

And that’s it. That’s the end of the first issue in the new Uncanny X-Men era after Krakoa.

What’s great about Uncanny X-Men #1?

Starting with the art, because that’s an easier talking point, David Marquez’s artwork is fantastic. There’s a lot of talking and emotion in this issue, and Marquez carries it off beautifully.

In terms of storytelling, Simone nails intimate moments with personality and heart. There’s a lot of pain carried by every mutant in this book, and you can feel them wear their pain on their sleeves. Simone’s writing shines in the conveyance of bonding and sharing that you don’t see many writers these days handle nearly as well.

What’s not great about Uncanny X-Men #1?

If you take a holistic view of this comic and where it sits with the other titles, there are two internal and one external problems with this issue that absolutely get in the way of bringing on new readers or bringing back “old” readers.

Internally, the plot is scattered. The “team” is here, there, and everywhere without rhyme or reason. Some destinations make sense, such as the regrouping New Orleans. Some do not (why did they out of out-of-the-blue decide to confront a sleeping dragon outside Mexico City?). And why would you have two scenes in different locations with different characters where the name “Endling” is mentioned, and yet nobody bothers to discuss it after the fact? Each scene is relatively well done, but collectively, the issue is unfocused and disjointed.

The second internal problem is the lack of energy. Everyone is glum, depressed, or burned out. There’s no excitement or enthusiasm expressed by any character in this book except the hospital kid dying of cancer. The X-Men (they’re not sure if they should even be called that) act like they need a break from the world, and that attitude comes across on every page. If I were a new reader picking this up, there’s not one wow moment or exciting hook to entice me to come back for more. In short, this book is depressing.

The second internal problem noted above is symptomatic of the third and external problem. Tom Brevoort and the From The Ashes team of X-writers either can’t or won’t let go of Krakoa. Little references and bits of dialog keep referencing what was, what the mutants had, what it meant to their lives, and how their lives have lost meaning now that it’s over.

All the X-titles released so far, including this one, carry the stinking corpse of Krakoa like a stone around their collective necks, desperately wanting to move on but incapable of letting it go. It’s like a twisted version of Weekend At Bernie’s without the jokes or one of those senior citizens who have their favorite pet stuffed after it dies, so the pet and its owner will always be together. There’s a sadness to the X-titles because the editors and writers either can’t or won’t acknowledge that Krakoa ultimately failed, and they’re forced to start over while they keep a picture of the island in a tarnished rusty locket.

Is this a terrible comic? In general, no, it’s perfectly okay. The art is great, and Simone’s character moments flow with authentic emotion. However, the plot, and the X-office as a whole, feels lost. Until they find their way again… WITHOUT Krakoa… this title won’t win any new readers, won’t bring “old” readers back, and will continue to wallow in their grief for what could have been.

About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.

Follow @ComicalOpinions on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter

Final Thoughts

Uncanny X-Men #1 almost gets the band back together in the first issue with heartfelt character moments and a scattered, unfocused plot. Gail Simone nails the characters’ voices, and David Marquez’s art is outstanding, but the issue feels more like a collection of random scenes of sadness than an adventure comic with a renewed purpose, and the pervasive shadow of Krakoa’s passing lingers like the ghost of a deceased spouse who won’t let the living move on.

6/10

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