Uncanny X-Men: The Complete Collection by Matt Fraction, Vol. 2

Uncanny X-Men by Matt Fraction

by Matt Fraction, Yanick Paquette (Illustrator), Marc Silvestri (Illustrator)

Matt Fraction’s blockbuster run continues! Norman Osborn is determined to deal with the “mutant problem” once and for all. He and the X-Men find themselves locked in a high-stakes chess match with the prize being their respective visions of utopia — but which side of the board is Emma Frost on? And who are the Dark X-Men? Then: Cyclops has created a mutant nation off the coast of California, and Magneto’s sudden return has stunned the X-Men — but the hits keep coming as a herd of Predator X’s show up, hungry for mutant flesh! Plus: Namor joins, Beast departs, and an X-Club member dies! Collecting UNCANNY X-MEN (1963) #512-519, DARK AVENGERS/UNCANNY X-MEN: UTOPIA & EXODUS, DARK AVENGERS (2009) #7-8, DARK REIGN: THE LIST — X-MEN and material from DARK REIGN: THE CABAL.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, X Men, Marvel, Superheroes, Comic Book, Graphic Novels Comics

368 pages, Paperback

First published December 23, 2009

About the author

"How he got started in comics: In 1983, when Fraction was 7 years old and growing up in Kansas City, Mo., he became fascinated by the U.S. invasion of Grenada and created his own newspaper to explain the event. "I've always been story-driven, telling stories with pictures and words," he said.

Education and first job: Fraction never graduated from college. He stopped half a semester short of an art degree at Kansas City Art Institute in Missouri in 1998 to take a job as a Web designer and managing editor of a magazine about Internet culture.

"My mother was not happy about that," he said.

But that gig led Fraction and his co-workers to split off and launch MK12, a boutique graphic design and production firm in Kansas City that created the opening credits for the James Bond film "Quantum of Solace."

Big break: While writing and directing live-action shoots at MK12, Fraction spent his spare time writing comics and pitching his books each year to publishers at Comic-Con. Two books sold: "The Last of the Independents," published in 2003 by AiT/Planet Lar, and "Casanova," published in 2006 by Image Comics.

Fraction traveled extensively on commercial shoots. Then his wife got pregnant. So Fraction did what any rational man in his position would do -- he quit his job at MK12 to pursue his dream of becoming a full-time comic book writer.

Say what? "It was terrifying," said Fraction, who now lives in Portland, Ore. "I was married. We had a house. We had a baby coming. And I just quit my job."

Marvel hired Fraction in June 2006, thanks largely to the success of his other two comics. "I got very lucky," he half-joked. "If it hadn't worked out, I would have had to move back in with my parents.

- 2009. Alex Pham. Los Angeles Times.

Reviews

[Baba · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a Norman Osborne Dark Reign ruled world. What does this mean for the mutants? And who are the Dark X-Men? Fraction does a pretty good job juggling almost the entire mutant cast in these arcs! This earns a 7 out of 12, Three Stars from me.

2018 read

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Mayor of San Fran has welcomed the mutants to her city. Of course Trask is not feeling this and begins preaching his propaganda how they need a team to handle mutants and laws that would dictate if and when mutants should reproduce. Of course lines are drawn between mutants and humans and riots break out in the city. In comes Norman Osborne and his “Avengers” to straighten everything out. Great first half of this book. It showcases Scott’s planning and tactician skills and Emma’s ability to be cunning. In the second half of the book, the X-men have raised what looks like Magnetos asteroid M out of the ocean and turned it into an island. Utopia is born. Of course Osborne is not feeling that. Another great entry from Fraction that has the X-men dealing with a lot as they are just trying to carve out a place for themselves. I enjoyed this one.

[Molly™☺ · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's more of the same. Bloated cast, overcomplicated plots, a lack of a clear direction, and yet I lapped it up like I always do when it comes to the X-Men. Perhaps I'm simply becoming numb to the repetitive and predictable nature of this world, but the epic fight scenes still feel rewarding even if the build up doesn't warrant hype. The characters carry this, however, there has to be investment in said people for it to work. With a high chance of new readers disliking everything due to the convoluted stories and cameos that tie into the larger (and extremely hard to follow and keep up with) world and lore, those who've stuck with the team through thick and thin will probably get a kick out of this.

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's really hard to review one of these big omnibus collections. There's a lot going on, because there are a lot of issues represented. As a whole, it's good work, and a good read that goes faster than the relatively large page (and issue) count lead me to expect. The Dark Reign related stuff actually isn't that bad, and there are some interesting threads to go forward on.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Collects the Uncanny X-Men run that was part of the Utopia mini-event (that I reviewed elsewhere) as well as the early days of Utopia, with the mutants doing their best to get settled and make peace with the mainland.

I really dug the post-event stuff, probably because it was able to settle into a gentler rhythm with more personality and less street battling. Yes, the X-Folks must fight off a team of Predator X's (didn't miss those), but they also need to account for the return of a powered Magneto (he's friendly now!) and the fact that a sliver of the Void is living in Emma Frost's diamond form. Plus, Beast is feeling a bit gloomy about that whole "I was tortured by Norman Osborn" thing.

Superb artwork too! These Complete Collections do a nice job of weaving in and out of the bigger events without losing too much coherency.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read most of this in the Planet X or Island X or whatever the name of the other volume is.... sorry, can't remember, LOL.

Anyway, this started off with a BANG and continued from there. Tons of stuff going on, riots, looting, Emma Frost going against the X-Men again? Nah. Probably not.

[Aildiin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story remains rather mature but there is some good stuff, especially the X-Men vs Dark Avengers story line.

[Adam Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another decent collection. Fraction's writing ranges from decent to actually pretty clever and fun, but this run really suffers a sense of ups and downs and struggles at times to find footing. There's less Greg Land here than in Vol. 1, thank god, because his characterization remains offensively bad and he has no gift for layouts or visual storytelling of any sort, but Terry Dodson's work here is enjoyable and I felt a sense of relief each time I landed on a Dodson issue.

The Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men crossover was ok, but across Fraction's run in general I'm having a hard time keeping track of Dark Avengers, Dark X-Men, Dark Reign, The Cabal, The List, and so on and so forth. There are a few random titles between Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 here that left me wondering if there are parts of this story that didn't make it into these collections. The Nation X story here is decent too, but for some reason it seems to be split between Vol. 2 and Vol. 3 of this particular collection of Matt Fraction's run, and I think there's a side Nation X series out there as well. I can't keep track.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that Matt Fraction's Uncanny X-Men run really isn't bad, and there are even some good things going on here, but it's not worth buying all of the individual TPBs, and with or without those it's also really hard to understand which miniseries or one-shots are actually necessary or worth reading -- if any.

Also, I really hate Greg Land.

[Ronan The Librarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Significantly better than the 1st collection. Still very much had ups and downs, I often thought “did the same writer really write this?” The good parts are pretty enjoyable though, and I do so love the X-men; lots of badass moments, some sentimental ones, and some drama. I actually like Cyclops’ characterization here, as a strong leader who openly admits he’s “winging it” (or so he feels like). He questions himself constantly, afraid he isn’t good enough, then puts on his leader face and locks in as the interim backbone of all mutant kind. Emma Frost too, cold because she has to be, someone who’s seen a lot and done a lot, but has felt pain so deeply she has to harden herself to the world in self-defense. Professor X is decidedly secondary and doesn’t feel like his usual headmaster role. The smaller, character-focused issues tend to be the best so far.

Oh! And less Greg Land! Though he does do a few issues, it’s a bit more varied, and the best issues still belong to the Dodsons.

By the end, I actually liked this better than I expected after the 1st collection, so I’d call that a win.

[Nate]

Most of this volume deals with the establishment of Utopia, an island for mutants off the coast of San Francisco that is a repurposed Asteroid M, and the aftermath. Very interesting stuff, lots of action but still character-focused. No small fest considering the size of the cast. Scott and Emma are fantastic here. Scott’s leadership in this book is probably one of the best examples of leadership in superhero comics. And Emma is as cool and complex as she’s ever been. I haven’t always been sold on her relationship with Scott, but Fraction makes me a believer. I should note however that this volume omits the Dark Reign “Confession” issue which is a great Scott/Emma character piece tying into the events of this volume.

Greg Land’s art is still a bother, and the multiple plot lines can get convoluted. But it’s really all about the characters, and Fraction writes these characters like a pro. I genuinely hope they fare well in their new home (though these are the mutants, and things usually don’t turn out well for them…)

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a tumultuous San Francisco, Norman Osborn commands his dark version of the Avengers, plunging the city into uncertainty over the establishment of a mutant sanctuary. Meanwhile, Beast spearheads the relentless pursuit of a cure for the dormant X-Gene, only to find himself entangled in a web of torture and shattered alliances, including a heartbreaking rift with Cyclops. Amidst the chaos, Cyclops grapples with the formidable task of exorcising the Void from his beloved, Emma Frost. And as tensions escalate, the enigmatic return of a “re-powered” Magneto, a raised Asteroid M, and a fallen Submariner add more intrigue to an already compelling Fraction narrative.

[Judah Radd · Rating 5 out of 5]

This run is really coming into it’s own. This volume is consistently badass. In addition to the awesome Utopia crossover, there are also awesome stories involving Beast and his weird gang of geniuses traveling through time, as well as an epic showdown between Emma Frost, Cyke and the goddam Void!

The art rules. It’s bright, detailed and beautiful.

I love how Fraction writes Emma and Scott. He really expands on their characters in a way that is consistent with their past, but still fresh.

Can’t wait to see the rest of this run. I’ll miss it when it’s over.

[Garrett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Features the Dark Avengers/Dark X-Men/Utopia crossover, and the aftermath of that with Emma trying to restrain the Void (which was interesting, I wonder if that corruption is supposed to be what leads to Scott's ultimate downfall?) and Beast coming to terms with what Cyke is doing as a planner and a reluctant statesman. Moves them out of San Fran - which I thought was fine - but there's a little too much Osborn and Dr. Nemesis for my liking.

[Jesse · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is mostly Utopia, leading into Nation X. Overall good stuff, still some bad art from Greg Land, but mostly good art. I especially love the Scott/Emma stories Fraction wrote. Magneto makes his intense "pulling Kitty back to earth" move here, and while I certainly wish Mags wasn't drawn by Greg Land during his best moments in this book, they're still really good Magneto moments. Kitty coming back really sets the stage for Gillen's run as well.

[Patrick Moran · Rating 1 out of 5]

If Vol. 1 felt self contained, despite hinting at other ongoing series, this is the opposite. And was the crossover event forced by the publishers? Fraction moves them to the West Coast, the cross-over tells them they're not welcome, Fraction moves them not even a mile off the west coast... which is now fine again? Seems like he just wanted to get back to his own status quo. Psylocke delivers most one-liners from the back, below the waist...

[Jimbo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Matt Fraction is one of my favorite writers and although I have been made crazy by Marvel's lack of consistency with characters and storyline and world-building (like it changes each week), I thought the plot for his Uncanny X-Men was a step into a direction that was a little clearer than stuff that is happening now.

Thanks Matt, for doing it right.

[Emmett Spain · Rating 2 out of 5]

A plot-heavy mess that buckles under the weight of its many, many characters. There are some interesting developments here, like the formation of Utopia, and some time travelling hijinks, but in the end this felt to me like something both overstuffed and undercooked. Fraction has done some great work in his career, but this doesn’t rate amongst it for me.

[TV’s Kevin Lanigan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Matt Fraction run on X-Men is not acclaimed, and generally for good reason. But this middle chunk? It soars! Cyclops uniting mutantkind, taking them to their new island home (built out of a former lair of an archnemesis), and stopping an encroaching fascist government from wiping them out.

[Christian Lipski]

Much better, less Land, more Dodsons.

Good “mutants are persecuted” stuff, in the Bay Area (my old hometown).

[Renata · Rating 3 out of 5]

These collections are SO huge that it's hard to have a cohesive opinion about it. Some of them are parts of some crossover events that I didn't read the other half of, ughh but overall, you know, solid X-Men fun.

I love Emma Frost and I'm annoyed by Namor--they kind of have the same personality type but I'm just a bigger fan of haughty perfect women than I am of men, to be honest. #misandry #ichtyophobia

[Laurel · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Utopia crossover with the Dark Avengers is included in this volume. There are roughly 3 issues collected in this volume that I wanted to avidly re-read. The rest I would consider average work appropriate for an ongoing comic book title.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is where this Dark Reign storyline finally comes to fruition and starts to make sense. The character arcs are fun but I can't find Fraction's voice to be anything but adequate compared to the great X-Men writers. But it's a good ride and the arc makes sense.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some day I will forget the Dark Reign cross-over non-event and all of its squandered promise ever existed.

[Amélie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually had already read most of the material in this volume, but I still enjoyed the adventures of the X-Club, and it was nice to have it all solely from the X-Men's point of view.

[Paul Allard · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection which includes the Dark X-Men, the X-Men's struggle against H.A.M.M.E.R. and the Dark Avengers and the beginning of the Utopia era.
Great writing and illustrations.
Well worth a read.

[Kris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Got this through interlibrary loan, thinking it was just the Dark X-Men storyline, but it also includes the early Utopia story, a cool Science Bros tale, and some other stuff. Some of it was really good, some just ok, none of it bad.