Uncanny X-Men #3
Story By: Kieron Gillen
Art By: Carlos Pacheco , Paco Diaz , and Rodney Buchemi
Review Score: 7.5 / 10
Cyclops and his new X-Men start this issue off fighting Sinster’s clones while Sinister proceeds to monologue away high a top his chair . I never really thought Sinister was a good villain to begin with , and while Kieron Gillen’s take on the character is creepy and self-indulgent he still remains a boring foil to Cyclops and his group. During the fight there are a ton of great character moments showing us that Gillen easily has a great handle on what makes this team work so well . Almost everyone gets a moment to shine , Hope using multiple powers to battle Sinister , Emma showing just how strong of a telepath she is in her own right, Namor using his palm as a makeshift tourniquet and finally Danger showing shes’s more than just a data entry Robot . These little moments are why this book works.
The art in this issue is by Carlos Pacheco with Diaz and Buchemi handling the breakdowns . Unfortunately there is a noticeable dip in the art when Pacheco leaves the page. Facial features are a bit off in several pages later in the issue and this issue of 3 different colorist really hurts the book. Again the level of inconsistency is jarring enough to take you out of the book.
Sinister manages to get into Hopes mind and says just one word to her that resonates “Phoenix” . After that Sinister tells Cyclops that things are going to get far worse in his life and that he will be there to see him when he’s at his lowest point. Sinister manages to disappear and leave The X-Men to deal with the Celestials who have made their way to Earth . Cyclops and Hope manage to get through to the Celestials and it seems that his plan on becoming the world best Team of Superheroes is starting to work.So the first Arc in the series wraps and I have to say again while Gillen nails each characters voice and makes this team look very formidable , the story was definitely hurt by his choice of villain as well as the pacing . If this story was collected I believe it would have been easier to read. Uncanny X-Men is off to a slow start but it does show a lot of promise with its cast of mutants . I get a clearer sense of what Cyclops ‘s purpose is for this team , but not a clear sense of whats in his way .
Mike DeVivo
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