Writer Kieron Gillen
Penciler Greg Land
Inker Jay Leisten
Colorists Guru Efx
Letterer VC’s Joe Caramagna
Cover Dated April 2012
How great must it be for Gillen, that he can point to this second volume of Uncanny X-Men, and say that this was completely his.
Issue opens inside Tabula Rasa, which was a small fictional town in Montana. This all happened during Rick Remender’s Uncanny X-Force. Cyclops’ Extinction Team is here to investigate.
The roster is – Cyclops, Colossus (now with Juggernaut powers), Hope Summers, Namor, Magneto, Danger, Magik, Storm and Psylocke (filling in for Emma).
Psylocke actually knows about this place, as she was there when it happened. She is keeping that a serect as this version of X-Force is a secret.
Issue opens with the team broken into smaller groups. Cyclops is taken prisoner. Magik has been poisoned, and Colossus is watching over her. Hope and Namor are investigating the under water life. Magneto and Psylocke are a team. Danger and Storm are both solo at the moment.
Tabula Rasa is a city under a dome. One day passed for us, but inside the dome, a million years has passed. Now the dome has come down.
Magneto and Psylocke find some cave drawings of Archangel and Fantomex. Then the Immortal Man appears, from the cover. He kills a green creature and leaves the two X-Men alone. The man’s armor is not made out of metal so Magneto can’t stop him from leaving. Psylocke calls for reinforcements.
Colossus is losing a fight as some creatures are making off with Magik. Hope and Namor are shooting undersea creatures. Only Danger and Storm can come.
We see Cyclops is a prisoner with three humans. I like how one of them asks if he is Cyclops, the blasting guy. That is how I bet most citizens of the Marvel Universe see the heroes. They are being watched by a humanoid creature, who wants to keep them talking.
There is a special page remembering Joe Simon’s passing, December 14, 2011. Instead of a picture of him, we get Captain America and Bucky.
The humanoid creature wants them to keep speaking, as that is how he learns English. I really like the learning curve he displays.
Psylocke and Magneto are trying to fight the Immortal Man. In a panel where we are ‘treated’ to Psylocke’s left breast, Magneto confeses he is powerless to stop the threat. There is no metal around for him to manipulate.
In an awesome page turn, Magneto was only jesting. He uses the metal in his helmet to create shards and attacks the Immortal Man. Magneto then goes on to describe all the ways he could have obtained metal.
There is a two page spread celebrating that Mark Waid’s Daredevil has won Best New Series of 2011.
Immortal Man can teleport. Psylocke starts shouting for assistance. Danger states she will be there shortly. Betsy asks how shortly. Danger states now, and stomps on the foe from above. It is a very well paced sequence.
Storm arrives, blasts lightning. Immortal Man sinks into the ground. The four members regroup and we get a to see Psylocke from behind. It is amazing how long she stayed in that bathing suit costume. Now that she has a far superior new outfit, the old one is so silly.
There is an ad for AvX, Storm versus Thor. Which is an actual matchup that one would want to see.
Now that he is Juggerolossus, he goes down the hole after his sister. He doesn’t need backup.
Hope and Namor are making their way to the underwater base. She asks him why the water creatures are so upset. He explains that when time stood still, the river was a lake – the water had no current. Now that the dome is down, the river is moving, destroying their homes. She compliments him on not being a pretty face. I really like how this new character brings out a new side of a character who has been around since the 1940s. She asks if one of his powers is speaking tapeworm. He doesn’t, but does know one universal tongue. That pays off big time next issue.
Cyclops and the creature meet up with the X-Men. The creature explains their history. Their race was on the brink of destruction. He wanted to enter stasis but the Immortal Man wanted to escape. His people exiled him. Next, the Immortal Man’s attempt fails. Then the people tried the stasis idea but it was too late. Now the two are the last of their kind. Sort of like Superman, but with an extra one.
Issue ends with the threat of the Immortal Man going to try to restore their people, at all cost. The final panel is of a mushroom cloud, so that isn’t good.
There is an ad for the Avengers with Norman Osborn about to make his big move. So grand how he became a major threat and not just a girlfriend knocking up and then throwing off a bridge type of villain.
. . .
Big Brother 16 – Donnie took himself the block, and Caleb put Joey up as a replacement nominee. Hopefully Joey goes home, but I am okay if Pao Pao goes as well.
The Have Nots are – Hayden, Brittany, Joey and Cory. Poor Cory, I can’t seem to remember him. Also, poor Joey, not having a good week.
The Have Nots are in a room full of ice and they only have emergency ration blankets to keep them warm. Also, they all volunteered for it. I don’t care for when the HoH has to choose the Have Nots. Not this early, anyway. Later, it can be mean spirited, which makes for better television.
I also want to remember James Rebhorn, who played the Secretary of Defense in this movie. He passed away this pass year, such a great actor.
. . .
It was nice to watch the first third of Independence Day with my parents last night. Tonight is the fastest segment.
Shadow and Flame with Magik 