We’re still following through from the quasi-“original Sin’ crossover that was really just the ‘Last Will and Testament of Charles Xavier’ storyline as a team of X-Men many of us thought we would never see together again go to confront a mutant whose power is beyond that of any who had come before him. While I was originally thinking this event would be leading into the massive upcoming shake up in the X-Men status quo, now I’m not sure if it will be this or the current ‘AXIS’ story arc that is ongoing. Either way, it is still a read that is so much more fun than it has any right to be.
I’m not going to sugar coat it. Brian Michael Bendis didn’t do a good job with most of this issue. While he did have an excellent way for Scott Summers to relate to our new mutant, when they finally have a chance to speak it was far too rushed over the entirety of the issue.
Chris Bachalo’s art is the saving grace of this book. While I couldn’t get into the spirit of the writing on this one, I could at least visually enjoy the madness and mayhem that was flying off of each page. There wasn’t a lot of actual fighting going on here but that didn’t stop us from getting to see some catastrophes spread throughout the issue.
The high point of the issue is Scott leading this group of X-Men by the skin of his teeth throughout the entire series. Even when he’s been in command he hasn’t been in control because he’s lost his ability to truly use his powers. For once it is that loss of control that sets him free and apart from the other X-Men and enables him to be the Cyclops that we all remember. Both with how he was talking and how the art was framed, I felt that he was truly confident for the first time in quite awhile. I think this may mark the return of the Cyclops we once knew. While I didn’t enjoy the issue that got us there, I really have hope for what is to come moving forward.
Beyond that, a whole lot of not much happened. The X-Men from Wolverine’s school ignored Cyclops and tried to reason with the new mutant in their own way with a thought of how to take him out if worse came to worse. They were here on their last mission together from Charles Xavier and only Cyclops in his attempt to manipulate the situation for his own advantage came close to relating to the mutant as Xavier would have. Well, that is if Xavier followed his usual way of thinking and didn’t create this mess in the first place by acting so out of character.
Overall this isn’t one of the best ‘Uncanny X-Men’ books to date and while I can clearly see that Bendis is leading us somewhere with the plot, I don’t feel that he has delivered it this issue. If it wasn’t for Bachalo’s amazing art on each page, this may have been the first issue of ‘Uncanny X-Men’ since it’s launch to earn a score under 2.
UNCANNY X-MEN #27
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Chris Bachalo
