Review – Uncanny X-Men 544
How do you end a series that started in 1963; that for a generation or more defined the American superhero genre like no other, and that is the only one of the Silver Age Marvel series still being published in its original volume and numbering?
And do you do it differently if you know that you're relaunching it the following month?
I'm not sure what writer Kieron Gillen would have done with the version of Uncanny X-Men #544 in the first situation, because he finds himself squarely in the second, and the 'final' issue of Uncanny he's opted for probably wisely sets the stage for what's to come as much as it reflects on what came before. After all, doing a big elegiac wrap-up of an era that you just know is going to have a "See you next month!" promo stuck at the end is a fairly self-defeating exercise.
The set-up is that coming out of recent X-Men event series Schism, the X-Men are splitting along ideological lines. One side, the side coming back in Uncanny #1 next month, is the team led by Cyclops who believe that the survival of the species requires that every mutant be potentially regarded as a combatant, even the kids. So the kids who are staying, including most notably the new team led by Hope, are aware that they're putting themselves in the firing line along with the adults who are happy to put them there. The central role of youth-as-warrior in the entire history of the team is highlighted extremely well (and extremely subtly) by a reuse of the art from the very first page of issue #1 with new dialogue reflecting the changed situation since. That first issue went on to have Professor X send his teenage students into combat against Magneto. Cyclops is maybe not so far away from Professor X's example as is usually suggested.
This issue goes on to counterpoint the final departures from current headquarters Utopia with the scheming of one of the more interesting 'later generation' X-villains, Mr Sinister, whose long term manipulation of the team, and the Summers family in particular, is revisited, showing by his accurate predictions of their various behaviours exactly how big a threat he can (and inevitably will) be to the entire X-family.
In the course of twelve or so issues, Gillen has rapidly established himself as one of the better X-Men writers of recent years, and this issue, serving as the epilogue not only to almost fifty years of the series, but also to Schism, does the closure thing without making it maudlin, but also opens up storylines for the new start.
I'm not a huge fan of artist Greg Land's current porno-tracing style, though he's toned things down of late, and this final outing actually has some nice moments in it - the best I'll say for it is that it doesn't detract from Gillen's story.
The X-Men have had their ups and downs creatively over the decades, but they've been, and remain, one of the strongest concepts in superheroics, and an important part of my cultural landscape for most of my life. Though I've drifted from comics a couple of times, it's always the X-Men that have initially drawn me back. If they were ending 'properly' I'd obviously be sadder than I am - as it is I'll give Gillen and Land (but mostly Gillen) credit for a well-crafted, dignified close with a hint of the promise of the new beginning.