Broken Frontier

Kieron Gillen gives Uncanny X-Men a heartfelt sendoff and a sinister look towards the future.

Kieron Gillen brings Marvel’s Uncanny X-Men title to a fitting close after the ruinous events of Schism. It is not a true conclusion since the title will re-launch at #1 and will still be written by Gillen, so it acts as more of a tribute issue to the end of an era. He effectively gives a heartfelt goodbye to the way things used to be, while setting up a sinister conflict for the future – pun intended.

Gillen gets big points for borrowing some art from the original X-Men #1 by Jack Kirby and Paul Reinman. Its presence is not what is so great; it is how he alters the dialogue to reflect how drastically the team has changed since its inception. Jean is dead, Angel is fighting X-Force, Beast is estranged, Cyclops runs the show, and Iceman is splitting off with Wolverine. Yikes. More than anything, this hits home hard because it brings up painful memories from over the years that remind the reader that these may be the awesome optic-blast shooting, wing-flapping, snowball-throwing X-Men everyone loves, but ultimately they are a hated people constantly at war with society and with themselves, and there have been casualties.

Greg Land’s pencils are solid as usual, although there are a few awkward instances of his character work. Iceman sports an uncomfortably gratuitous smile in one panel, while Hope salutes Cyclops with an oddly bent wrist. Regardless of the tiny stuff, he scores big with the gorgeous splash page detailing the different villains and heroes that have been a part of this title over its 544 issues. It is highly detailed and involves every face imaginable, and like the Kirby and Reinman art, it sucker punches you in the heart. One note is that it heavily features Jean Grey. Seeing how she has been largely absent for about eight years, it seems strange to give her such prominence. Although, it is not so strange when considering Marvel’s recent teaser image.

Not every page harkens to the past. Mr. Sinister makes his reappearance and is looking rather dapper in his Victorian-era clothing. He has been watching the X-Men closely and seems to be up to his usual plans involving the Summers and Grey bloodlines, genetic tampering, and a lot of gross visuals. His presence is more of an expository device for now, but readers can rest assured that he will be mixing things up with Scott’s halved team in Uncanny X-Men #1.