Uncanny X-Men, Vol. 1

Uncanny X-Men (2013) (Collected Editions) #1-3

by Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), Chris Bachalo (Illustrator), Frazer Irving (Illustrator)

The flagship X-Men series returns! In the wake of the Phoenix event and Professor X's death, what are Cyclops and his outlaw X-Men: visionary revolutionaries or dangerous terrorists? Whatever the truth, Cyclops, Emma Frost, Magneto and Magik are gathering new mutants and redefining the name "Uncanny X-Men." But they face harsh challenges: robotic Sentinels hunt mutants once again, there's a mole in Cyclops' squad, and a villain is secretly posing as their former ally! As a new team of students forms, a weakened Magneto must prove he's still the master of magnetism, and Magik faces the evil Dormammu!

COLLECTING: UNCANNY X-MEN #1-11, 14, 15. INH, 16-18

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

384 pages, Hardcover

First published February 16, 2016

About the author

A comic book writer and erstwhile artist. He has won critical acclaim (including five Eisner Awards) and is one of the most successful writers working in mainstream comics. For over eight years Bendis’s books have consistently sat in the top five best sellers on the nationwide comic and graphic novel sales charts.

Though he started as a writer and artist of independent noir fiction series, he shot to stardom as a writer of Marvel Comics' superhero books, particularly Ultimate Spider-Man.

Bendis first entered the comic world with the "Jinx" line of crime comics in 1995. This line has spawned the graphic novels Goldfish, Fire, Jinx, Torso (with Marc Andreyko), and Total Sell Out. Bendis is writing the film version of Jinx for Universal Pictures with Oscar-winner Charlize Theron attached to star and produce.

Bendis’s other projects include the Harvey, Eisner, and Eagle Award-nominated Powers (with Michael Avon Oeming) originally from Image Comics, now published by Marvel's new creator-owned imprint Icon Comics, and the Hollywood tell-all Fortune and Glory from Oni Press, both of which received an "A" from Entertainment Weekly.

Bendis is one of the premiere architects of Marvel's "Ultimate" line: comics specifically created for the new generation of comic readers. He has written every issue of Ultimate Spider-Man since its best-selling launch, and has also written for Ultimate Fantastic Four and Ultimate X-Men, as well as every issue of Ultimate Marvel Team-Up, Ultimate Origin and Ultimate Six.

Brian is currently helming a renaissance for Marvel’s AVENGERS franchise by writing both New Avengers and Mighty Avengers along with the successful ‘event’ projects House Of M, Secret War, and this summer’s Secret Invasion.

He has also previously done work on Daredevil, Alias, and The Pulse.

Reviews

[Molly™☺ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh no. Another unpopular opinion incoming. This one just doesn't click for me. The longer the run goes on, the less attention is placed on Scott and his growth, which, in my opinion, is the biggest hook of this series. X-Men has never been a stranger when it comes to adding new, younger mutants to their line ups to continue the shenanigans that the original team once did, but in this instance, it doesn't echo the gravitas of the situation. Perhaps more of an unfulfilled expectation than anything else, it doesn't hit the character work I had been expecting, and it left me feeling disappointed more than anything else.

[Relstuart · Rating 3 out of 5]

This can be read as a follow up to the X-Men vs Avengers event where Cyclops kills *spoiler* and several of the X-Men go power mad. This is the X-men after they lose trying to regroup and re-train, and regain control of their power and lives while hiding from a good chunk of the rest of the world. Cyclops leads this element and he needs a mission, so he sets out to protect mutants as new ones begin popping up around the world. Decent story.

Marko Rudy does the art in the final issue and it's great stuff. He needs to be full time at Marvel on at least one book (I vote Dr. Strange or Scarlett Witch).

[Highland G · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the spotlight on some new and lesser covered characters. The main story was ok and the art was the usual constantly changing inconsistent mess I’ve gotten used to from marvel.
Gold Balls was a stand out fun character!

[Mohamed Ahmed · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was Decent But not Very Good.

[Judah Radd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very awesome. Bendis strikes again!

This version of Cyclops has caught a lot of flack over the last few years, but frankly, this is as interesting as he’s ever been. He’s so conflicted and flawed.

If you read this, I recommend also reading Wolverine and the X-Men volume 8. There’s a critical scene where Wolvie and Cyke hang out and get drunk, and I think it compliments this book very well.

Mystique has some big shit going on, Emma frost is losing her edge and the entire cast is just... kinda awesome.

I really like this series and I’m very excited to see where it goes.

Also, the art in the last issue is TO DIE FOR!!

[Rob Marney · Rating 5 out of 5]

This well-drawn, snappy, chaotic book is some of the best X-Men has to offer. Bendis somehow avoids all the bad ideas he put into his other titles, instead taking all of Claremont's old tricks and combining them with his trademark quip-laden, repetitious dialogue. He's focusing on new characters with fun new powers and not too much baggage, plus a smartly depowered set of old heavy hitters. Anything could happen, which is why it's so exciting, but we're sure that Cyclops will deliver the exact same two-page speech about mutant rights in every issue. When the plot is murky, Irving, Bachalo and Anka make it look pretty enough that it doesn't matter. When the stakes get too high, it's time for a Claremont-style digression like going shopping, or quitting the team, or training the new guys. Basically, this is like 1993 or 1987: early enough in a plot line that it all feels like it's going somewhere exciting, and the new class is so precious. When it all comes crashing down, we'll still have this volume.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

everyone acting like scott wanted to kill charles when 1) he was clearly possessed and 2) there’s nobody in the world he respects more than he does charles. it’s so clear that he’d be willing to die for what he did; he blamed himself for not being able to resist the phoenix force from controlling him. the only thing stopping him from off-ing himself is that he’s not done realizing charles’ dream. he’s carrying all that burden and guilt by himself and he’s not even asking for anyone’s forgiveness, just for their help. anyways i love my mentally ill, broken man.

[Ashe Catlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The X-Men are back and ready to start a revolution, after being puppeteered by the Phoenix force. Cyclops has had enough and wants equality for Mutants and humans and won’t let anyone stand in his way. Whilst trying to get the revolution in motion there are new mutants popping up all around the world that are being targeted by sentinels.

Bendis knocks it out of the park, everyone has a chance to shine, yes even Goldballs. The X-Men are finally progressing away from the waaah I’m a mutant people hate me, heck even Magneto has turned over a new leaf. I loved Magik in this she gets so many good moments, even a whole dedicated to her which is well worth it. On top of that I loved her demonic side and the limbo bit, I haven’t read anything with her in before but she is definitely the most interesting to me. The Cyclops and Emma dynamic is good as well, they aren’t quite the love birds they were because of AVX but you can still tell there is affection for each other. I had no problems with this what so ever which is weird because I love to pick things apart but yeah I thoroughly enjoyed this.

[Vladimír · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tak si to teda zhrňme. Máme tu skvelé postavy, úžasnú kresbu, dobrý scenár, interakciu s druhým X-men tímom, zároveň aj celospoločenskú kritiku a niekoľko malých/veľkých problémov, s ktorými sa musia naši hrdinovia vysporiadať, či už súkromne, alebo v rámci tímu. Ak máte teda chuť na kvalitných X-Menov, táto séria, respektíve prvé OHC z nej vychádzajúce, je skvelá voľba.

[Tara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story but the artwork took away from it at times. The artist and styles keep changing. Plus some of the layouts are hard to follow. Sometimes I would have to read then re-read a page to figure out the order of the speech bubbles.

[Ben Mariner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the X-Men as much as I love Wonder Woman, but if you don't follow along with every single issue of every single arc, you are going to be lost af. Great start to a new story line, but there's so many references to things that a lot of it was lost on me.

[Matti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mooie collectie en een goed contrast met het gelijklopende All-New X-Men. Magik is fantastisch, net zoals de bittere Cyclops en die tonen dat er best nog meer gefocust mocht worden op de oudere personages.

[Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story is great. Characters are interesting. Scott and Emma are amazing, Magik is really, really interesting and I'd love to read more about her.

But the art is just not my style. It's interesting and unusual, but I just can't feel it.

But I love Scott. I really, really do.

[Ming · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's some stuff which is really confusing (a missing crossover that happens in the middle of the book does not help), but on the whole, this is pretty damn enjoyable, even though I'm typically not an X-reader at all.

[Terra B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story but the artwork took away from it at times. The artist and styles keep changing. Plus some of the layouts are hard to follow. Sometimes I would have to read then re-read a page to figure out the order of the speech bubbles.

[Alexandria H · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Revolutionary Scott.
Hijack deserves better though.
The art style really grows on you.

[Isaiyan Morrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

After the events of Avengers vs X-Men and the death of Professor X, there's a huge resurgence of mutants once again. Cyclops and Emma see themselves as their savior and they need to reach these mutants in time before those who hate them do.


What I liked about the story is how the story shows these new mutants, who have no fighting experience, fail at half the tasks brought to them. They are new after all and they can't replace the X-Men from years before, but they do try.

What I didn't like was the lack of fight scenes. There were a few but I really wanted to see these "new mutants" in action. Cyclops and Emma not being the powerful mutants that they were because of the phoenix force...yeah, I understand that. But it felt like it was a permanent thing, not temporary.

Also, the fight...well the "close encounter" with the Avengers was a tease. C'mon, I would've liked to see how long these new X-men would last before being clobbered but of course, a new mutant who can stop time, literally freezes all the Avengers in a bubble and the X-Men just leave.

All in all it was an interesting read. Again, I would've loved to see more action but I do like the story, especially how mutants were accepted then literally not accepted in the frame of a few pages. lol. This new Cyclops is really not that different from the Cyclops from the mid 90s. He's still a know it all but now, he's a know it all with the added "I'll do what's necessary for the future of mutants" idea in mind.

And don't get me started on the female members encountering an Inhuman and terregenesis for the first time. This new Inhuman literally knocks them all out without trying, which make the X-Men look severally weak.

Well, that is the route that Marvel is going though. Placing the X-men on the back burner because of the "lack of movie rights" they have of these characters in general.

[Elia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cyclops prepares for a mutant revolution. Cyclops as a character has evolved into a war worn bastard and I'm all for it. Cyclops, Emma Frost, Magick and Magneto, in hiding, ducking SHIELD and saving mutant lives one at a time from oppressive Humans is a hell of a concept. There are several great character moments in this book, the new mutants are all good fun, but so many plot elements fail to have a complete pay off, the SHIELD chase with Dazzler as lead mutant liaison, the Mystique as ruler of Madripoor, the Mutant Revolution as a whole, and Magneto's whole piece (more on that later). I enjoyed most of it, even the art had me second guessing if I was looking at Frost, Magick, or a cuckoo.

[Adam Spanos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bendis's X-men are moody, dark, and Cyclops becoming increasingly morally ambiguous after killing Professor X. Magneto's loyalties are unclear and the avengers are involved. This definitely feels of the post-film era of X-men, and Cyclops morality tale occupies the book. The new mutants introduced into the mix are interesting, but not a lot happens. Magik's reintroduction to the modern X-men in the Phoenix Five continues here with call-backs to late 80s Claremont plots. This is good but you definitely get a feeling that this incarnation of the X-men post-Bendis and Wheedon runs is running on low steam.

[Jase · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best stories I've read in some time. As this is a collection from previous years, it has new beginnings for a lot of new characters. I personally love Chris Bachalo's art and the Magik story art is pretty good also.

[Derek Newman-Stille · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have never really liked Cyclops. I've always found him to be someone who sticks a little too closely to the party line, but I figured I would give this trade a chance. This is a much more conflicted group of mutants with an uncertain leader. Even the powers of some of the mutants are uncertain, making everything about this comic an exploration in uncertainty. This uncertainty adds to the power of this collection as a revolutionary narrative. Not only does Cyclops want a revolution, his feelings about this revolution are conflicting with each other. The mutant revolution is not just one of liberation from humanity's discrimination, it is also a revolution of ideals within the mutant community as mutants seek to find out who they are and what they mean to the world.

[Marsha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I became a reader of X-Men comics years ago, starting in my teens. Since mutant powers usually manifest about that time in the Marvel canon, I found myself relating to the idea that troubling adolescence can reveal unexpected talents. The idea that an ability to write a novel in 11 days or run much faster than your peers might be superpowers was enticing.

However, I wasn’t a comic book geek. So I would lose interest. The X-Men stories would catch my attention on and off throughout the following years. Then I’d stumble upon a comic and read them again. They were like old friends that I would catch up with after they’d been away on long trips.

But many of the storylines were lost to me in the interim. When I would take them up again I’d be baffled by the changes. (Scott Summers is screwing Emma Frost? Why is Jean Grey dead? Magneto is helping the X-Men instead of fighting them? What’s an Inhuman? Who the heck are the Evolutionaries?!)

But great writers helped keep me up to speed—or presented such brilliant and awe-inspiring plots that I didn’t really care if I’d lost the thread. This collection is just such a wonder. While I don’t care for all of the different illustrations, the plot is truly riveting.

The mutants are under attack by S.H.I.E.L.D., the Avengers, the cops, aliens, rogue mutants and mutant-hating humans. You know, the usual gang of suspects. There are moments of pathos here as Scott Summers deals with his guilt over Charles Xavier’s fate and the new crop of mutants that are sprouting all over the world. Some of these powers are terrifying; a few are funny (really, gold balls?). But all of them are intriguing. I particularly liked Morph’s powers as they are the sort that instantly connects and endears him to ordinary human beings. (You can’t help but shake your head in bemusement in a “world” where being gay is so ordinary it’s beside the point and coming out as a mutant is treated with horror, disdain and loathing.)

However, it’s characterization not skillset that captures reader attention and these folks have them in spades. I found Scott Summers frequently grabbing my attention. He’s grown into his role as a leader of the X-Men and I was alternately agreeing and disagreeing with his actions. That’s all to the good. If he aroused only one feeling in me, he’d be boring. This book is anything but boring.

I have some objection to the clothing the females are wearing. Illyana and Emma Frost are sporting costumes with boob windows and exposed midriffs. The Stepford Sisters are evidently going with the slutty schoolgirl look, judging by the shortness of their skirts. Eva also has really short skirts. It makes you wonder why more people don’t like mutants. Why would anybody complain when they have girls who must flash underwear every time they leap into battle?

It takes a little time to sort out who some of the newer people are or what the action is. The way the pages are set up is wholly different from what I knew as a teenager and I find my eyes skipping over the page in order to figure out the narrative. But I made myself try. It’s the only thing you can do with old comrades who show up with fascinating tales to tell.

[Sarah]

Dnf. Alright just not that interested. Can be read at famine