Uncanny X-Men #2
Written by Kieron Gillen
Pencils by Carlos Pacheco, Jorge Molina, and Rodney Buchemi
Inks by Cam Smith, Roger Bonet, Walden Wong, and Jorge Molina
Colors by Frank D’Armata, Rachelle Rosenberg, Jim Charalampidis, and Jorge Molina
The short of it:
The X-Men fight an army of Mr. Sinister clones dressed fresh from, what I assume, is Victorian England. The numbers game leads them to call a ceasefire, which last long enough for Sinister to discuss his origins and how they led to this moment. The Celestials are on their way to burn the Earth and wipe it clean as punishment for what Sinister did with the Dreaming Celestial, and he can’t wait. Really, he’s prepared for everything they can come up with, and despite his motivations having twisted from creating the perfect mutant (Cable or X-Man), to creating the perfect version of himself, it’s one of the more engaging takes on Sinister in a while.
What I liked:
- Motivations aside, Gillen writes a fantastic Sinister. He’s quirky, intelligent, and with the perfect level of arrogance. Really, aside from what his goals wind up being, this is one of my favorite takes on one of my favorite villains.
- The Extinction Team is supposed to be there to stop world threatening threats, well, the Celestials are pretty big. I have no idea what the X-Men could do to stop them, but it’s a big threat. On top of that, it’s relatively original. I can’t think of the last time I saw one of them, and that’s including cosmic stuff. Our heroes will be woefully underpowered, but it should require some smart writing to get around. Something I believe Gillen capable of pulling off.
- Sinister’s take on Scott, and his moving from Jean to Emma, is freaking hilarious.
- So is the Colossus head crunch.
- Characterization is the real highlight of this issue, as even with my Sinister issues being what they are, Gillen does a great job with everyone.
What I didn’t like:
- When Carlos Pacheco only drew the first issue of Schism I figured it was so that he could get some more lead time on his Uncanny work so that we could maybe get an arc out of him on time without any fills. This issue features three guys pencilling it, four people inking it, and then there’s four coloring it. Jorge Molina probably inks and colors his own pencils (and I imagine he handles the flashback pages), but really, having to cobble together the master list of people handling art for a book is a pet peeve for me because it creates a feeling going in that I can expect inconsistent art from start to finish. Even if it doesn’t happen, the mindset is established.
- Cyclops can destroy the Juggernaut’s helmet with a single optic blast? Really? Then how the hell did it provide so much of a pain in the ass over the years?
- Sinister’s motivations all this time have been to make a perfect society of him? Somehow I feel really cheated. That’s just too arrogant.
- A city of Sinister’s has so much potential, but really, the entire thing just looks silly. An army of Mr. Sinister’s attacking should be a surreal thing that strikes fear in the hearts of the characters. As a reader I should not be chuckling that the redcoats are coming.
Final thoughts:
I have to say I’m a little disappointed. I mean, this issue isn’t bad, but the drop off from first to second issues with this and Wolverine and the X-Men have both been noticable. I understand and respect the mantra of go big or go home, and both books have done it, but I don’t think either is truly succeeding. An army of Mr. Sinister clones threatening to take over the world and make everyone into a Sinister is something that should excite me, but I dunno. The change in his motivations to seeing himself as the perfect being, despite his arrogance, doesn’t work for me. Dude was, quite literally, just a lady. Last year. Not five years ago he was content to take over the body of Xavier or Sebastian Shaw. These aren’t the things a ‘perfect’ man does. I liked his pursuit to create perfection, so him perfecting himself just seems odd to me. Like if the High Evolutionary did all of his experiments on himself. There’s some great character work otherwise; I love Hope and Emma in here. Emma and Danger play great off of each other, but really, despite my problems, Sinister steals the show. A completely hilarious old school racist jab at Storm, a complete and utter verbal bitch slapping of Emma’s importance, and not even the slightest attempt at being sneaky. I love his attitude, I just hate the end game.
Overall: 6.5/10
