Comics: Uncanny X-men #1

Carrying on from the main Cyclops’ story in All New X-men, Uncanny sees Cyclops carrying on his revolution while setting up a new school. He’s gaining a big following among mutants and humans alike, spouting the slogan ‘Cyclops Was Right’. Meanwhile one of his trusted lieutenants is conspiring with S.H.I.E.L.D. to take him down. 

There isn’t really much traction to the story however. Cyclops and his team find a new mutant, who seems to have the power to make balls out of nothing, with the story being retold by the traitor in Cyclops’ mist. Then an army of sentinels show up which is where the real action steps up. We only get to see Magik and Magneto kill one apiece before Cyclops takes the whole army out with a massive eye beam explosion. This gives the event an anti-climatic finish. 

An issue that arises (again) here is how poorly defined the effects of the Phoenix Force have been on the team. We know Emma has lost her telepathy and Magneto is significantly weakened. Cyclops’ powers however seems weak one minute and the next are able to take out a whole army in one blast. The traitor describes Cyclops’ powers as broken and out of his control, something which hasn’t been seen before. It might help if we had seen Cyclops’ unable to use his powers at some point. Furthermore his powers have never been in his control, the whole point of his visor being to provide him with a level of control. 

Chris Bachalo does a fantastic job on the artwork, bringing a magna style to the series’s action scenes; particularly in Magik’s massive sword. The new costumes (pictured) are a striking new look for the team. They do have the slightly unfortunate effect of making them look like super-villains, with their mostly black colour scheme. For a series that seems to be about establishing Cyclops’ isn’t the villain everyone else thinks he is, it’s a strange move to have now dress like one. His outfit is the best of team, being visually similar to his previous costume but with a red and black colour scheme. His classic visor is replaced with one shaped like an X, a look I despised in images I had seen but it works well as drawn by Bachalo. The female costumes a bit too skimpy for my liking, especially Emma Frost’s which doesn’t look remotely practical. It’s bizarre how she is wearing far more clothes than her usual bikini yet is showing more breast. I quite like Magneto’s outfit, even if the mostly white costume seems a bit strange. I believe it serves it’s purpose though, making him stand out while at the same representing that he doesn’t have much of a place in the X-men universe; with Cyclops basically having taken it.

The identity of the traitor is well handled. Bachalo frames the panels in just the right way to obscure his face, however the final reveal does still seem a bit obvious. To hinge the whole story on it is a risky gambit and due to this lame duck of a reveal the whole issue feels a little flat.