The new “From the Ashes” era is well under way as this week with the release of Uncanny X-Men #2. Gail Simone, David Marquez, Matthew Wilson, VC’s Clayton Cowles, and Tom Brevoort are the creative team behind this brief bayou brawl. Issue #1 tugged at our heartstrings, and now the table is set for the series at large.
Rogue remains at the center of this installment, but her role as narrator is now shared with Charles Xavier (in journal form, at least). A tight focus on Rogue’s character and the state of her emotional wellbeing were the hook behind Uncanny #1. This time around, our hero’s focus is less internal as the book’s cast nearly doubles across one issue. Not only have the highly anticipated Outliers arrived, but the mysterious Mommy and her connections to the X-Men are beginning to be revealed.
It quickly becomes clear that neither Rogue and co. nor the Outliers are operating very logically, and a misfire from Gambit sends both groups into a frenzy. Against the backdrop of a super-powered skirmish, Uncanny #2 is able to seed character and development across this newly expanded cast. Remy’s newly acquired Eye of Agamotto seems to be affecting both his mind and powers. Logan would rather fight these kids and scare them off than open himself up to be a mentor again. The Outliers (Ransom, Jitter, Deathdream, and Calico) each have distinct voices and a strong bond to one another, despite Calico’s loud anti-mutant bigotry. Rogue may be the leader of this new squad, but she is unable to deescalate the situation until Jubilee steps in.
Of course, I mentioned that Rogue isn’t the only storyteller in this issue. Both the cold open and an interstitial page at the center of book are flashbacks, narrated from Professor X’s journals about his time at university. Young, bookish, and isolated at Oxford, Charles Francis Xavier found himself in the midst of a meet-cute with a fellow American student abroad, Sarah. A beautiful, charismatic young woman definitely in Xavier’s age range yet wildly out of his league, Sarah manages to tease Charles into an impromptu tea date. It’s a lovely little moment, but it may have had lasting consequences.
Marvel Comics
In fact, we may be on the verge of another secret sin being retconned into the biography of Professor X. It turns out that we’ve already met Sarah in the present. Now, she calls herself Mommy, hunts young mutants on behalf of Graymalkin Warden Dr. Corina Ellis, and looks like the Beldam from Coraline if she had a greasy grunge phase. Speaking of Dr. Ellis, this issue also clarifies that the lovely warden not only seeks to imprison mutants at Xavier’s former Westchester estate, but also to recruit her inmates to serve as her Trustees under threat of torture.
The art of Uncanny X-Men #2 continues to be splendid. Marquez and Wilson might not get to play at the scale Sadurang called for in the last issue, but so much heart lies in the beautifully-rendered faces of the cast even as they leave one another bloodied. This alongside the more realistic style in the art heightens contrast between everyone else and what Sarah has become in all those years since she met Charles. We were warned that gothic horror would have a role to play in this book, and Sarah seems all too happy to deliver it.
There’s not much to criticize in Uncanny #2, but on the whole it is less impactful that the preceding issue. It makes sense, by leaning on the emotional investment from Rogue in issue one, Simone uses the attention she’s earned from us to push through an exposition-centric story. It accomplishes what it set out to do, but now we’re ready for the series proper to get in motion.
Uncanny X-Men #2 may not be as flashy as issue #1, but it proves to be essential for paving the way for the story Simone, Marquez, and Wilson have set out to tell. It seems that Rogue is not only set to inherit Xavier’s compulsion to care for mutant teens but also the consequences of his past mistakes. Thankfully, she’s not alone. All we’re really missing is Nightcrawler, and then the Uncanny X-Men will be back in action.
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