Uncanny X-Men #2 continues the story of the bold new X-Men team lead by Magneto. At the conclusion of the last issue it appears as though the Dark Riders have made a return and are apparently targeting mutants with healing abilities. This issue focuses a bit on the individual team members carrying out respective missions for their investigation of the Someday organization.  With various team rosters, and their frequent change ups , I find it very effective for writers to zero in on select characters with smaller vignette style issues like this one. It helps the reader get acquainted with them. This worked very well on Ed Brubaker’s run on Secret Avengers (Volume 1) and I am quite happy to have seen that type of story telling in this issue.

I am not too familiar with the Dark Riders, my working knowledge on the group is that they had some affiliation with Apocalypse. By the end of this issue we learn that whatever the Dark Riders plans are in killing mutant healers they ultimately aim at attracting the attention of Apocalypse’s faithful cult the Akkaba clan. From what I’ve gathered from solicits this story element will dovetail into the Apocalypse event that is on the horizon. In a recent Sunday round-table I was a bit critical of the apparent cross media marketing ploy of featuring a new crossover with apocalypse while the next X-Men film features the titular villain. I am a bit reassured by this plot development because it serves as organic justification for Apocalypse presence within the comic canon. The whole ethos with Apocalypse and his Akkaba cult has always been culling the weak and revealing the strong. Looking at the current state of mutant affairs and the Terrigen mist crisis this would be an appropriately percieved period of testing that would warrant Apocalypse/Akkaba’s Darwinian guidance.

I was really thrilled to see Elixir again. Admittedly I missed the Utopians story arc so the last time I’ve seen him on panel was during the X-Force Necrosha arc. I am a bit out the loop as to whats going on with him lately, but a dangling plot element regarding him is his untapped omega mutant potential. A bit of that is explored in this issue is explored as he exhibits some power use that are apparently unprecedented (to my limited knowledge at least). I really loved this as it’s been long overdue. Given what Sinister is attempting in extraordinary X-Men it would be nice to see secondary mutations and omega mutations explored in this new uncertain landscape. The last time mutants were on the fast track to extinction it was met with a cosmic intervention by Phoenix force. Now that mutantkind is back in the same predicament surely there must be natural or cosmic response, continuity  sets a precedent and somewhat dictates this. Perhaps we’ll find our answer in the “Apocalypse Wars” event. Plus I find it very hard to believe that Mr Foley is permanently down for the count.

Now for the art……I have struggled with Greg Land, but I will try to be as balanced and fair as I can. My introduction to Land’s art was with the Phoenix Endsong miniseries, I was initially awestruck with the realism and beauty of his work at the time. In recent years sadly I have noticed a steady decline in quality. Land’s work has been plagued with rumors of photo-referencing and the more of his work I come across I can’t help but suspect them to be true. There have been multiple instances where I have gotten a déjà vu flash with some of his “drawn” characters, only to find identical posing by characters in other titles and work. (stay tuned to a follow up post on this). This comes across as very lazy, and I keep finding more and more evidence of this.

Another problem I find with his work is his egregiously exploitative portrayal of the female form. Now I am a guy who appreciates the female form, but even for me this comes across as sleazy and hypersexualized. We’re only two issues in and I’m already tired of seeing M’s mouth dramatically open all the time, the ridiculous perma-plump of her lips and her sudden penchant for always either sticking her tongue out or licking her lips (Between her and Mystique). This is one of those unfortunate instances where artistic interpretation(if we can be kind enough to call it that) eclipses the established character. M (and any female character really) is more dignified than this.

This isn’t a new gripe and I’m sure Land has caught wind of it, so I ‘m a bit disappointed that it continues. Now to the positive, The colors were very vivid and I really loved how they brought the panels alive. Kudos to colorist Nolan Woodard. The artistic take of Mystique’s shapeshifting was new and fun to see. I hope this continues. Lastly I loved seeing old school Cerebro design make a comeback.

In my opinion Uncanny X-Men is still finding its legs and I am still waiting to see what qualifies this take on the team as a “flagship” X-Title. Nevertheless the story is intriguing enough to keep me curious. To be 100% honest however I would be happier if the artistic direction changed for the better.

Final Thoughts:

I laughed for about 5 minutes when Sabretooth confessed that Cable Smelled like Gunpowder and Old Spice and that it was nice.

Story: Cullen Bunn Art: Greg Land
Story: 8 Art: 6 Overall: 7 Recommendation: Read