- Written by: Gail Simone
- Art by: David Marquez
- Colors by: Matthew Wilson
- Letters by: VC’s Clayton Cowles
- Cover art by: David Marquez, Matthew Wilson
- Cover price: $4.99
- Release date: August 6, 2025
Uncanny X-Men #19, by Marvel on 8/6/25, finds the X-Men receiving a bizarre proposal from the mayor, Deadpool and Outlaw showing up with a warning, and Jubilee going solo.
First Impressions
If a comic is supposed to make you feel something, this one left me with a yawn. It’s a slow burn that never really catches fire, giving you a whole lot of talking without any real payoff.
Recap
In the last issue, Uncanny X-Men #18, the team found themselves at a mutant Friendship Festival in New Orleans. While there was a lot of talk about mutant acceptance, the plot felt like a checklist of events that never actually led to anything exciting. The story involved a hospital fire supposedly started by bigots, but even with falling rubble and a team of mutants, the stakes never felt high. In the end, a saboteur was still out there, and the entire plot was left dangling for this issue to pick up.
Plot Analysis
In Uncanny X-Men #19, the story opens at a rural diner near the now-abandoned Xavier School, where a nervous waitress and zebra-skinned mutant named Uva serves coffee and poppy seed muffins to Dr. Ellis and her stern bodyguard, Captain Ezra. While Uva tries to keep calm, it’s clear something’s wrong. She’s terrified of her own customers, hinting that other, more dangerous people are the real threat. Sure enough, Uva is being bullied by a gang of armed thugs who have taken over the diner, but Dr. Ellis refuses to intervene at first, summing up her indifference with a cold “not our problem.” The tension boils over as the crooks grow more agitated, barking orders for pie and threatening violence if things don’t go their way.
Meanwhile, in New Orleans, the main X-Men team—Rogue, Gambit, Wolverine, Nightcrawler, and Jubilee—attend a formal meeting at City Hall with Mayor Mikki Sappora, who recently declared New Orleans a sanctuary city for mutants. The mayor unveils an ambitious plan to build “The Uncanny Village,” a mutant-friendly district filled with shops, entertainment, and restaurants, all themed after individual team members. The X-Men react with some skepticism, especially when they discover their likenesses will be splashed across buildings and tourist traps. Still, the pitch puts them at the center of a public effort to improve mutant-human relations in the city.
Back at “Haven House,” home to the next generation of mutants called the Outliers, chaos erupts when Deadpool and Outlaw show up unannounced, instigating a fight with the Outliers. After some over-the-top brawling in true Deadpool style, things settle down, but not before Outlaw and Deadpool warn the X-Men that they were hired by armed men to keep them occupied as a message to Jubilee. This warning is delivered with a side of sarcastic humor and the usual ultraviolent hijinks. As the dust settles, the X-Men discover that these mercenaries are targeting them because of past grudges between a group of elite humans and Jubilee in a diner several months back, specifically warning that Uva and Jubilee are in immediate danger.
The issue’s final act shifts back to the diner for a tense face-off. Jubilee arrives alone to confront Todd, the entitled ringleader behind Uva’s torment. Todd takes Jubilee hostage, even threatening to harm Uva, but Jubilee remains cool. She uses her mutant powers to outsmart Todd and his men, blinding them and regaining control. As the villains retreat, shaken and humiliated, Jubilee gives Uva support and a ride back to safety, while Rogue and Gambit make plans to deal with anyone else who threatens mutants under their protection.
Detailed Review
Story
This issue is mostly a series of long, drawn out conversations. The story has a chance to be tense in the diner but immediately gives up on it when Deadpool and Outlaw show up to do a goofy, pointless fight scene. The entire plot of the issue is basically a setup for the next arc, leaving the main characters stuck in a conference room for what feels like forever.
Art and Visuals
The art is often very clear, especially during the emotional close-ups in the diner. The colors are bright and keep the tone from getting too gloomy. However, during the Deadpool fight, the action feels messy and confusing, with a lack of flow between panels. It’s hard to tell what’s going on at times, which ruins any sense of excitement or danger.
Characters
The young mutants, the Outliers, are still props in their own story. We get a glimpse of them near the beginning, but they are just making breakfast and playing with cats, and again during the fight with Deadpool, but they’re little more than action props. The main team of X-Men feels passive in this issue, just reacting to things instead of driving the plot themselves. The dialogue often feels like it’s trying too hard to be clever but falls flat.
Positives
The visual style is generally pleasing, with vibrant colors and clear character designs that make everyone easy to recognize. The concept of a mutant sanctuary city is an interesting idea for a storyline. The attempt to create a quiet, tense opening scene is a creative choice, even though it is not completely successful.
Negatives
This issue is really dull and lacks any sense of urgency. The fight with Deadpool and Outlaw is a huge waste of time, serving no purpose other than to break the tension of the scene. The plot is all setup with no payoff. The pacing is extremely sedate, making the entire issue feel like a long, boring meeting.
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
Uncanny X-Men #19 is a lot of talk and very little meaningful action. The plot moves at a snail’s pace, and the few moments of action that happen feel pointless. The writing quality is shaky, and the art is inconsistent, especially in the action scenes.
4/10
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