The way this book is set up, with four chapters by different creative teams, each leading off into the book written by the respective writer, this isn’t the easiest book to review. For as much as everything links together, these aren’t four interconnected stories, so rather then go with the traditional review style, or even a ten thoughts, I’m going to do the brief thoughts that I did a few weeks ago for Death of Dracula, as that seemed to work pretty well for a book I was having a hard time writing a traditional review for.
Chapter One:
Written by Zeb Wells
Art by Ibraim Roberson
- Wells was the perfect choice to write the opening piece with Hope coming off of her power rush to mourn her father, she felt like a child in a way that hasn’t been captured too well from issue to issue, and the visual of her crying with his arm was powerful.
- Colossus getting his arm back in place? Ouch. The entire medical bay scene had the same basic oomph across the board with the visuals of Warren’s damaged wings, and Karma’s new leg. Not to mention Hellion’s new handless status quo.
- The art stands up pretty well, and if this is the guy who does New Mutants regularly, then I could definitely stick around for more.
- Can Hellion join the team please? I miss him!
Chapter Two:
Written by Mike Carey
Art by Esad Ribic
- Aside fro one moment of me groaning at the art, Esad Ribic does a great job with is pages here. He kind of resembles some of the Daredevil artists we’ve seen in the past, and I say that in the best way.
- Cable’s funeral is handled very well, though I would like to see some more of Scott’s reaction in the future, as he did lose his only son. Hope speaking of her father was touching and made this chapter.
- Great to see Prodigy get speaking lines that stay in character, it’s been ages since he did anything.
- The attempted explanation of Hope’s powers worked for me, as I’m really just glad that she’s not the standard TK/TP that everyone was expecting.
- If anybody can explain to me when Rogue pissed in Cyclops’s coffee, then please, tell me. Because the Scott and Rogue encounter was one of my favorite parts up until I couldn’t tell what his issue was.
Chapter Three:
Written by Craig Kyle and Chris Yost
Art by Greg Land
- Storm talking to a drunk and depressed Wolverine was a needed moment, as the mourning of Nightcrawler going forward should not be brushed over quickly. He was a cornerstone of the franchise, and more importantly going forward, he was Wolverine’s best friend. As important as his death is for the X-Men, it should be more important for Logan.
- I don’t care at all what Storm thinks about X-Force.
- Greg Land’s version of X-23 is identical in almost everyway to his version of Psylocke. I honestly could not tell X-23 was X-23 until her name was said.
- I approve of X-23’s new status quo going forward, especially since she’s getting her own book.
- X-Force going forward is going to be cool, but I’m more interested in what’s next for Kyle and Yost.
Chapter Four:
Written by Matt Fraction
Art by Terry Dodson
- It’s weird to see Beast and Namor arguing about their respective current positions with the X-Men, and it’s really weird that Namor is the one that’s still there at the end of it.
- The bonfire scene was beautifully drawn by Terry Dodson, and he remains one of the best things about Uncanny X-Men.
- The lead in to the next Uncanny arc was well done, and I’m interested to see what’s coming next.
- If anything, the worst part about this chapter was how unbelievably short it was.
As a hole, this book was like four stories leading in to four other books, which is hardly the worst way to end an event like Second Coming. The setup could easily have blown up in their faces by feeling horribly disjointed or even pointless, but the book does a good job at keeping things flowing and furthering all of the stories without feeling dull. Obviously not the kind of project that could be done too often, but in this instance it was effective. I want to know what happens next in every book in the X-Men line.
Overall?
8/10
