Uncanny X-Men‘s triumphant return to Marvel Comics is a fast-paced, weekly thrill ride. Strap yourself in and try to keep up because missing a week could be costly.
***SPOILERS LIE AHEAD***
All of our favorite mutants are spread across a number of teams, handling a number of incidents. From fighting an outbreak of dinosaurs to stopping a seemingly never-ending assault of Multiple Men, the X-Men have their hands full. Also, Legion is here to make things even more complicated.
Uncanny X-Men #3 fires the reader out of a cannon right away, the pace of the story is breakneck. There’s so much action on every page and each page turn takes us to another explosive display. It’s great to see all of our favorite mutant heroes in some wonderful looking action again–but something is missing.
It’s one thing to have this book come back on a weekly basis, it’s another thing for it to also be so fast-paced that it could give readers whiplash. Everything happening in the story thus far has been great, it could just use a moment or two to catch it’s breathe.
The story feels like it’s in fast-forward, like every issue is in a rush to get to the next. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still been every bit of exciting that fans wanted it to be. I just want to slow down for a few pages and spend some quality time with my mutants.
It’s impressive how this power trio of writers (Kelly Thompson, Matthew Rosenberg, and Ed Brisson) have been able to shell out so much exposition throughout the action without losing anybody. These three have a great voice for this gigantic cast of characters, but without any intimate moments between any of them, it keeps anybody from really standing out.
It’s almost as if you could have any of these characters deliver any of the dialogue and nothing would change. Which doesn’t take away from the story or craft, it just keeps it from reaching that next level of greatness.
The most memorable and compelling moment in Uncanny X-Men #3 is when things slow down for a page and Jamie Madrox reveals what Legion has been up to with his dupes. There’s major chemistry in this scene, these characters feel like they’ve been through some sh*t together and have to do it all over again.
All that being said, this issue is another thrill ride that’s well worth picking up. The cliffhanger reveal is the best so far, and one that feels like the best 90’s X-Men comics. The Horseman of Life, Wellness, and Bounty look as insane as they do fun.
Artist Yildiray Cinar and colorist Rachelle Rosenberg are absolute rock stars throughout Uncanny X-Men #3. Every bit of action is so crisp and clean. For a comic with so much going on with every turn of the page, it never gets overwhelming or hard to follow. Every character looks fantastic, including the new looks for a number of all-time X-Men greats.
There’s plenty to love about this series three issues in, but not without room for improvement. If we could just get a few quiet moments to fall back in love with these characters, it would be the perfect X-Men comic. With all the supreme talent on this series, I have no doubt they’ll be able to figure that out if they haven’t already. This is a series well worth your time.
