The end of ‘Uncanny X-Men’ #10 ended up showing us a new styled Sentinel (apparently not being sold by The Hellfire Club) and teased us a bit on what Dazzler/Mystique has been up to. This issue? We’re continuing on right where we left off and for the first time since the series started I felt some of the story line fell flat.
Thankfully what made up for the story was some fantastic art filled fight sequences!
My first complaint is that the entire story is told through Cyclops point of view. That’d be pretty great but the inner voice we’re reading didn’t sound like Cyclops to me. He seems too out of sorts on a leadership level to be the Cyclops actually in charge of the mutant revolution that he’s preaching.
Sure, with Emma not being able to read his mind, no one aside from the Cuckoos would know what he’s thinking but they don’t strike me as the type who would fully ignore what’s going on up there.
The new Sentinel is very Nimrod-esque in how it is adapting to their fighting styles and as much as the fight looked great, it still felt off. The students for the most part were far more comfortable in their own skins compared to the last fight they were in. While it’s expected they will adapt to this kind of a lifestyle it truly felt a little too quick for most of them. I do have to say though I liked the added touch of Gold Balls actually finding an offensive use for his powers that seemed effective, if a little too corny, on how he knocks himself out of the fight temporarily with them.
The best part? We see a little more of Mystique sneaking around as Dazzler. This time she was hanging out and continuing her failed plans from ‘All-New X-Men’ #13 where she was unable to buy Majipoor from Hydra. Now she’s trying to take it by force using The Hand. I’m actually really happy about this as they’ve been parading Mystique through the ‘Uncanny’, ‘All-New’, ‘Wolverine and the ‘Astonishing X-Men’ titles and none of it has been overlapping. It feels like they are finally bringing her story line together in at least 2 of the books and I’d love to see it span across all 4 (well 3 since Astonishing is about to come to a close.)
The big reveal at the end shows that the person behind it all is – I’m not sure! It kind of looks like a cross between Mysterio and the look of the Evolutionaries who I don’t believe have shown up in a couple of years. Honestly they were all de-powered, so unless this is someone trying to use Sentinel styled tech to get revenge, I think it’s a stretch to say it’s them.
I guess only time and a few more issues will tell. By a few more I mean I don’t expect to see this addressed again until the Battle of the Atom is over with. The annoying part about that? I’m really curious as to what Mystique’s true end game is as I doubt it’ll be told in the Battle of the Atom. It’s a mystery that is going to continue sitting unanswered on the backburner.
UNCANNY X-MEN #11
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Chris Bachalo
