Uncanny X-Men #499 – Capsule Review

Ed Brubaker, (Writer) Mike Choi, Ben Oliver, (Artists) Sonia Oback, and Jason Keith (Colorists)

While this arc has felt like every bit of the filler that it is, I’ll be the first to admit that it has been enjoyable. This issue brings some closure to the San Francisco mystery (expect some aspects of it to pop up again later) and allows Wolverine, Colossus, and Nightcrawler to team-up against Omega Red for one last battle in Russia.

As a whole this issue is really nothing special, but it’s still a decent read. Brubaker fits in some genuinely funny character moments and the art teams, different for each storyline, make this a nice looking book. As a whole, this issue’s the same solid we come to expect from the X-Titles, but also completely forgettable. (Grade: C)

-Kyle Posluszny

Uncanny X-Men #497 – Review

By Ed Brubaker (writer), Michael Choi (art), Sonia Oback (colors)

Since the X-Men have been divided, this title has been on a slump. The whole time warping plot in San Francisco (where everyone’s reverted to hippies) has dragged its feet for two months now, and the boys in Russia have done nothing but get into mindless brawl after brawl.

In this issue, we get more of the same, but this time the dressing’s more refined. Logan, Colossus, and Nightcrawler get into yet another fight, but this time it’s more epic in scale. Mike Choi renders this scene beautifully; he pulls the camera back and lets the action play out from afar. The end result is a more cohesive, and better flowing fight. Ed Brubaker refrains from muddling up this scene with dialog. Instead he lets Choi’s pencils do the talking.

Eventually, we get back to Emma and Scott’s investigation in San Francisco. This time, the plot advances at a much quicker pace, with a “by the numbers” obstacle thrown into their path to slow them down. This “woman” who’s altering reality, if I didn’t know better, is just another take on Scarlet Witch and what she did with House of M. The thing here is it’s on a much smaller scale and she’s completely aware of what she’s doing (i.e. not as insane, well then again…). I’m not sure where this is going or why we’re being treated by a storyline that’s so similar in nature, but if there’s no connection to Scarlet Witch and this is all just “coincidence”, I’m going to be severely disappointed. (Grade: C+)

– J. Montes

A Second Opinion

Like last issue, this issue focuses on two main storylines, that of the “hippified” San Francisco and that of the “road trip” of Wolverine, Nightcrawler, and Colossus. And, like last issue, the latter story is definitely the more enjoyable of the two. Once again, these three get into a fight, but this time it is a much more desperate one (and therefore more fun to read). Of course, a large part of what makes this scene so entertaining is Choi’s beautiful pencils, which are not only pleasing to the eye, but also convey the action clearly.

The second thread is not nearly as interesting as the first. Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t really care all that much that San Francisco has become Hippyville. I mean seriously, when was the last time that you met a hippy that seemed threatening? Aren’t hippies all about being mellow? A “mellow threat” seems a bit contradictory to me. That said, when we do meet the “Goddess,” things finally turn interesting. Her ambiguous discussion with Eli, as well as his older reflection in the mirror and other mysterious elements present finally engaged my curiosity. So while I may not be a huge fan of the hippies, I definitely want to know more about this Goddess and the reasoning behind her actions. Knowing Brubaker, I’m sure he has some elaborate scheme cooked up, and I’m eager to see what it is.

So in conclusion, this issue wasn’t too bad, and the story finally did progress to something really interesting, but I would have enjoyed it more if the larger portion was devoted to the Russia storyline instead of the hippy storyline. Although, the hippy story does deserve this defense: call me crazy, but seems like something that would have happened in the 90s X-Men cartoon, so it does earn a few bonus points for nostalgia. (Grade: B)

– M. Staples

Uncanny X-Men #496 – Review

By Ed Brubaker (writer), Mike Choi (art), Sonia Oback (colors)

What is it with good writers failing on mutant books? Once again, Ed Brubaker delivers a below average story that’s nothing short of being a complete yawn fest. Picking up where last issue left off, we’re given a vague hint of what’s taking place in San Francisco – someone’s turning the city back in time. Emma and Cyclops arrive on the scene to investigate but we’re given nothing more than that. At least Hepzibah finally turns up.

Wolverine, Nightcrawler, and Colossus, now in Russia, go to visit the graves of Peter’s parents. Afterwards, they hit up a local bar and exchange useless dialog. The biggest offense to this conversation is that it gives a glaring spoiler as to what’s going to happen in the delayed Giant-Sized Astonishing X-Men #1 (who knows when that book’s due out). If you’re enjoying Joss Whedon’s run, you shouldn’t read this book until he wraps things up. I was already bored with this story as it was, but reading this spoiler completely ruined it for me. Throw in another obligatory and meaningless bar scene brawl and you can see that Brubaker is just going through the motions.

Mike Choi and Sonia Oback continue to dazzle my eyes with their art. But it’s not perfect: Logan looks too youthful and too much of a pretty boy, while the fight scene in the bar is completely uninspired from an action standpoint. The nod to Neil Gaiman’s Eternals mini-series was probably the only thing I really liked. (Grade: D)

– J. Montes