Uncanny X-Men #515 Review: A New Kingdom Shall Be Born

Hey, everyone, jrpbsp here… Next up on the list is Uncanny X-Men the beginning of ‘Nation X’.  Hope you enjoy it.

Uncanny X-Men #515 cover Uncanny X-Men #515
(preview | thread)
Writer: Matt Fraction
Penciler: Greg Land
Inker: Jay Leisten

NOTE: Wolverine only cameos in this issue.

SPOILERS BELOW…

RECAP: The issue opens with Scalphunter in his diner being attacked by a super-powered team. Though he fights back well, he is severely outnumbered and outgunned, and he is taken down. Their leader plans to take him back to New York and feed him to their predators.

Jumping to Utopia, we see Betsy bringing Dr Yuriko Takiguchi his breakfast. The old man only says a few words before he passes away peacefully.

Scott is meeting with Emma, Namor, Hank, Bobby, Xavier and Storm to go over their plans now that the island nation is formed. Things like water and food are priority but so is defining their role to come. Scott admits to not really knowing what their purpose is besides peace and safety.

Emma is critical of gathering everyone up together, and she and Storm exchange harsh words before Psylocke brings the group news of the death. The Science Team meets to pay their respects but Scott is being practical about what to do with the body.

Cyclops decides he needs to go to the mainland and meet with the Mayor to see where they stand. Xavier tries to come with him but Scott forbids it. Meanwhile Nightcrawler, Emma and Danger break into their old base and go down to the prison level. Emma convinces Danger to be the new warden and use her abilities to create a prison of the mind and help them rehabilitate.

The Science team decides that Dr. Takiguchi’s body should be disposed of on the island and work to make a furnace usable for that purpose. Scott meets with the mayor to try and get supply shipments and see what his legal standing is. He is reassured that she does not know of anyone looking to arrest them.

The funeral is held but Scott keeps himself distant from it. He returns to Emma and gets no sympathy from her. He starts to yell at Frost but she explains she is incapable of feelings in diamond form especially with a part of the Void in her head. Their discussion is interrupted by the arrival of Magneto to his old base.

MY TAKE: This issue begins the new Nation X storyline so it was all about setting up a new status quo. Some of the roles are defined and a number of practical issues get worked out. Still it seemed to lack any real spark to draw me into the issue or larger story. Parts of it seemed more like a business meeting then a super hero comic book. Plus many of the plots did not really seem to fit together. I am sure some of this will be addressed in the future but it makes for a less then compelling start to a new arc.

The issue is most definitively not bad however and it has some good parts. I am interested in this new team that took down Scalphunter, and I think making Danger into a jailer is a nice twist and a good way to remove her gracefully from the spotlight in ‘X-Men Legacy’. I am also a fan of Magneto and his return is definitely the most exciting part of the issue to me. It will be exciting to see how he is going to react to the new mutant ‘Utopia’.

I did not see the point of killing off Dr. Yuriko. He is a background character so his death really affects nothing. It seems to be thrown it to make an emotional statement but we do not know the character enough to really care that he has died.

Scott is being thrust more and more into the spotlight and although he is a good character, he was never made to carry a title on his shoulders. Watching him meltdown will only be interesting for so long. While is it nice to have the realism of his dealing with water, food and their legal status, it is not exactly page turning especially when focused on a character that has traditionally not had a outgoing personality.

It seems like the purpose of infecting Emma was to return her to her bitchier ways. Since I am not a fan of the character, I do not much care but I would like to see it being consistent. She goes from picking fights with friends and loved ones to being the person to convince Danger to take a new role. It just seems like they are trying to please both her old fans and the new ones and it does not work to me.

In the end this is an alright start to the new story but I am really more interested in the side plots than the main thrust with Scott and Emma. With Magneto jumping in for the next issue I am worried that I will actually like the villain more then some of the primary characters fighting him. Hopefully, once everything is established the stories will be less about running the nation and more about the characters living on it.

Thanks for reading my review for Wolverine Files. I will be keeping to this format for the most part but please keep the comments coming and I will see everyone again next time.

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