Uncanny X-men #502 Review

Uncanny X-men #502
Uncanny X-men is yet another series, which has had awesome highs and dismal lows.

After the incredible X crossover “Messiah Complex,” Uncanny went through a few rough transitional issues depicting the various adventures of different groups of X-men.

Wolverine, Colossus and Nightcrawler visit Colossus’ native land of Russia while Cyclops and Emma Frost have some trippy adventures in San Francisco, the area the group now calls home.

Now we are finally back to the various X members being together under the new direction of writers Matt Fraction and Ed Brubaker.

Their story features a lot of the X-men facing off against the Hellfire Cult after the Cult beats the hell outta Pixie, the fairy-winged Welshwoman.

The Hellfire Cult is led by a dominatrix looking lady called “Red Queen,” who sends her men out all over the greater California area in search of beating up any and all mutants that cross their path.

In a surprising twist, the identity of the Red Queen is revealed to be a very familiar face for X readers.

There have been many reviews that bash the artwork of Greg Land, I find there to be nothing wrong with the art. The characters look real and are very expressive, the colors are bright and the action looks really cool (namely the scene where the bullets go through Nightcrawler’s bamf smoke).

The only panel that didn’t look very good, was the flashback scene with Emma Frost in front of the classroom full of Hellfire students. It’s illustrated as if it were drawn in 5 minutes on a bar napkin after a raunchy nightcap.

Many critics aren’t happy with the direction Fraction and Brubaker are taking the series but for the casual reader who like to see the various escapades of the X-men, the book is a fun read.

3/5 stars