Opinion

Uncanny X-Men

Writer: Chuck Austen
Artists: Ron Garney/Sean Phillips
Published by Marvel

"Hated and feared by the world they are sworn to protect" is no longer the easy summing-up phrase for the X-Men. Operating more openly than ever before, and on a global scale, they have become a visible force for good, admired and even envied by many in the world around them. The fear and distrust is still there, but coming out of the shadows seems to have done a great deal of good for the cause that the X-Men have fought and died for for so long.

Uncanny is the original X-Title, forty years old next year and at more than one point in its recent history having shown distinct signs of fraying at the edges. A recent return run by Chris Claremont, the man widely regarded as having created the phenomenon that is the most successful franchise in comics was generally perceived as weak and unimpressive, and was followed by a decidedly lacklustre stint by the otherwise pretty dependable Joe Casey. Austen's run is five issues old at this writing, and while still lacking the energy and verve of past highpoints, it does show signs of promise.

The biggest stumbling block he faces, to be frank, is the team he has to work with. There's nothing wrong with them as individuals, but there's no real spark when you put them together. I can't help comparing Nightcrawler here with the character as he used to be in the days when he, Colossus and Wolverine were on the team together. There was a relationship that you could believe in - here there's no chemistry. Likewise all of the old-hand characters Casey selected for his team. New creation Stacy X has potential, but is too abrasive, and dropping Chamber from the line-up took away the only relatively young character for her to interact with.

Austen's fifth issue has taken things in a new direction, however, with the introduction to the team of Northstar, former Alpha Flight resident pain-in-the-arse and the first officially gay superhero at Marvel. A parallel between the situation of Marvel's mutants and lesbians and gay men has frequently been drawn, and this could have been a heavy-handed attempt to make it explicit. Fortunately, Austen just about manages to sidestep it, by acknowledging the point, but emphasising Northstar's other character traits and experiences instead. He does let himself down by an unfortunate remark that seems to emphasise the automatic 'gay=child molester' prejudice, however.

The addition of Northstar, an established character with a *very* strong personality, might just be what this particular team needs to make its dynamic work. Certainly Austen needs something that will give the team something to help it stand out, especially in light of the amazing work being done over in companion title New X-Men. It's interesting to note that as of his first issue, Uncanny has been the closest to 'traditional' X-Men that it's been for a long time - since the height of Claremont's first run, in fact. This is no bad thing - Grant Morrison's take over on New is too radical for some people, and Claremont's own current series X-Treme X-Men is rapidly becoming impenetrable even to those who've read the whole thing (guilty as charged).

On the artistic front, he's been dealing with a mixed bag since he came on board. His first arc was possibly Ron Garney's strongest work since he joined the title, and it will be good if he can keep that up when he's around. Sean Phillips, unfortunately, though a fine artist when his style meshes with the material, doesn't seem right here. The addition of Kia Asamiya to the art team for the next major arc is an interesting choice - the artist is regarded as a superstar in the world of manga, so let's see what that does for the series.

Austen has a lot of work to do to pull this series out of the slump his predecessors created. He's not helped by the fact that the most well-known team members have been bagged for Morrison and Claremont's series, but he's made a start, and he's taken a chance on Northstar, not because of the gay thing, but because the character has always been so one-note in the past. He's also been making promising noises about dealing properly with some of the characters who (like Iceman for instance) have long needed some kind of attention. I like that he's taking chances, and I like that the X-Family might have regained some traditional storytelling - it makes for a handy (and slightly nostalgic) change of pace. So I'll give him a go, but the days when I'd pick up the X-Men just because are long gone, and he'll have his work cut out keeping me coming back.