Written by: Gail Simone
Art by: David Marquez
Colors by: Matthew Wilson
Letters by: VC’s Clayton Cowles
Cover art by: David Marquez, Matthew Wilson
Cover price: $4.99
Release date: September 25, 2024
Uncanny X-Men #3, by Marvel Comics on 9/25/24, finds Rogue putting the refugee mutants through training to see what they’re made of while Logan goes off to tame the beast within.
Is Uncanny X-Men #3 Good?
Uncanny X-Men #3 is an oddly disjointed comic. Writer Gail Simone gives readers a better but brief look at the backstory of the new group of mutants, which is a positive, but the flow and direction toward wherever this story is headed haven’t come together. Simone’s script starts to move but then pulls back in favor of a new direction, which makes for a jittery reading experience, clunky and disjointed.
When last we left the loosely defined team in Uncanny X-Men #3, Rogue, Wolverine, and Gambit fought a group of teenage mutants on the run from “The Hag,” a witchy character sent to capture mutants for transport to Graymalkin. The run-in between mutant teams turned into a brief skirmish, with the seasoned pros coming out on top. However, Rogue decided it was time to plan an attack on Graymalkin. Also, the Hag has a connection to Charles Xavier’s past.
In Uncanny X-Men #4, Rogue wakes to a new day in Haven, New Orleans. She greets Logan downstairs, where he enjoys a bottle of Tequila, much to Rogue’s judging concern. Logan explains he sniffed around the newcomers while they were sleeping to get an instinctive read on their personalities, giving Rogue a quick report. Rogue, however, is surprised to see Logan is packed and ready to leave. Rogue insists she needs him to stay to train the newcomers, but Logan feels the need to leave because of something “wild” in him that he needs to reconcile or expel, and he can’t do that around others. Logan leaves, but before he goes, he tells her there’s a present outside – a homegrown Danger Room/Obstacle Course.
As with issues #1 and #2, Simone does a great job with the small, personal moments. Rogue and Logan have a tender, familial chemistry that sells you on the depth of their relationship, like an older brother and a younger sister or an uncle and a niece. That said, the details outside of their interaction are where trouble starts. Logan can’t get drunk, so why is Rogue nagging him about the Tequila? When did Logan agree to train the newcomers? He didn’t. Where did this concept of something “wild” within Logan come up? So far, Wolverine is in three or four X-Titles, so it’s hard to keep track, but this concept seems to come up out of the blue. Last, when did Wolverine have time to build a gym-sized obstacle course without anyone hearing or seeing him do it in just a few hours? Last I checked, Wolverine doesn’t have super strength or speed. Oy!
Shortly after Logan departs, Marcus, the owner of the estate, rings the breakfast bell to lay down the rules of the house for the newcomers and get the day started. During the speech, Rogue notices something different about Marcus’s daughter, Chelsea. That afternoon, Rogue lets the newcomers loose on the homegrown obstacle course to see what they can do, starting with a game of Keep Away with Nightcrawler holding the prize. Through the action, we get a better look (almost) at the powers of the newbies, and we hear snips of their respective stories growing up. The game ends when Deathdream goes overboard on Kurt, and Calico gets the prize… somehow.
Simone uses the Obstacle Course as an excuse for exposition through the action to help readers get to know the new mutants. Some flashbacks are effective. Others are not. Jitter is easy enough to figure out. Deathdream is a little clearer, but not all the way there. The rest are still a bit confusing. Is Calico a mutant or not? Is she the mutant, or is her horse the mutant? What is Ransom’s power exactly? What do you do with a Black Hole Heart? I can’t tell if Simone is saving these answers for a bigger fight or if she doesn’t know and is biding time until she can figure it out. Either way, the wait is less intriguing and more frustrating.
Elsewhere, Wolverine hitches a ride to the woods from a truck driver because his bike caught fire (off-panel). When Wolverine enters the woods, he comes face to face with The Hag, who is apparently powerful enough to kill an unkillable mutant.
The issue concludes with steel nails, confirmation about the bald Graymalin prisoner’s identity (he’s exactly who you think he is), and Rogue tapping into her psychic powers(?).
What’s great about Uncanny X-Men #3? Pieces. Gail Simone’s pieces have merit. Viewed individually, they’re enjoyable. I like the feeling expressed in the talk between Logan and Rogue. I like the idea of using the “Danger Room” as a mechanism to learn about the new mutants. I like the pieces.
What’s not great about Uncanny X-Men #3? The pieces have to come together into a smooth narrative, and that’s not happening here.
In addition to the needless vagueness about the new mutants, you have too many bits that happen off-panel. How did Wolverine have time to build a “Danger Room?” When did Wolverine’s bike catch fire? When did Calico capture the prize during the Keep Away game? These little shortcuts are symptomatic of a comic with too much story and not enough page space. We saw that in the last issue with Wolverine’s “defeat” of Deathdream.
Looking at the story at a macro scale, the story gets its jittery status from the odd fits and starts. In previous issues, we learned Rogue is determined to raid Graymalkin, but she does nothing to plan or prepare here. The newcomers show up because they’re being chased by The Hag, but no move is made in this issue to set up a defense, learn more about The Hag, or get proactive. Worse, we’ve had two independent beings mention the existence of an Endling, yet Rogue finally brings it up here only to dismiss it as nothing. In effect, we have major story drivers that start and then immediately stop. If you’re following the majority of X-Titles, you’ll feel like you’re getting whiplash.
How’s the Art? All things considered, the art from David Marquez looks great. Those small pieces, like the talk between Rogue and Logan, work because David Marquez pushes the emotion through the characters’ facial expressions. Plus, the fight scene gives readers a better look at what Deathdream is capable of, which could be terrifying in a longer sequence.
About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.
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Final Thoughts
Uncanny X-Men #3 is an oddly disjointed comic with strong emotional beats and interesting action. However, the pieces are clumsily assembled, presenting too many shortcuts and a schizophrenic sense of urgency. David Marquez’s art pushes the emotional heart of the story, but Simone’s plot structure and flow are rickety.
6/10
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