Saturday, September 3, 2011

Uncanny X-Men #542

I've been avoiding this comic for at least a week now, but with my new comic pile empty, now is the perfect opportunity for me to finally read this issue... It should go without saying that I expect nothing from this comic and that I'm dreading opening it. With that cheerful introduction out of the way, let's crack this one open!

Uncanny X-Men #542(Fear Itself tie-in):

Summary: Lord Summers sends out waves of mutants to try to stop the Serpent possessed Juggernaut from marching through San Fransisco, but plan after plan after plan(at least 42 by my count) fail. Getting desperate, Lord Summers heads to the most knowledgeable mutant in the area of magic, Magik(makes sense, no?). Lord Summers allows Magik out of the cell she was locked in on Crazy Mutie Island(Utopia) and tells her to do whatever she could to deal with Juggy. Along with Shadowcat(BOOO!!!) and Colossus(Meh...), Magik teleports to the realm of Juggy's original master, Cyttorak. Cyttorak seems pleased that Juggy was FINALLY acting the way he was supposed to be(destroying stuff), but Magik reveals that Juggy wasn't serving Cyttorak anymore, but the Serpent. This news enrages Cyttorak, and he abandons Juggy and offers the power of the Juggernaut to Magik instead. Before Magik can accept, Colossus steps in front of her, grabs the Ruby of Cyttorak and becomes a human Juggernaut!

Thoughts: This comic was SO much better than the last... um, like 40 issues or so of Uncanny X-Men that it was almost unbelievable! First off, every single character who had a major role in this comic? I hate. I hate Shadowcat. I hate this version of Cyclops(the annoying dictatorial one). I hate that both Colossus and Magik are alive because their deaths were EXTREMELY well-written. In short, I should have HATED this issue! And yet I didn't... I know Kieron Gillen can write good comic books, because I've enjoyed his Journey Into Mystery run, but I've hated every single X-comic he's ever written, with the exception of this one. I'm still not planning on picking up Uncanny X-Men after it resets back to #1, but for the first time in years, I actually enjoyed an issue of this series. Awesome.

Score: 9 out of 10.Cyttorak is one handsome devil!

8 comments:

  1. TOLD YA! (lol)

    the stories u mentioned with well written deaths for collosus and madjik
    what book and saga was it?

    one thing about characters u hate
    back to that last avengers issue review
    i agree 100% on hating maria hill
    i used to like vitoria hand not no more......... but whats your problem with daisy johnson?
    ivs aways really liked her

    ReplyDelete
  2. You were SO right! When I put that comic down, you were literally the first thing I thought of! I seriously thought I'd hate this one, but damn did I enjoy it!

    Magik died from the Legacy Virus in Uncanny X-Men #303(I think...) and her death was extremely sad, about as sad as Captain Marvel's death. Def one of the top 5 saddest comic deaths I'd ever read. Colossus died curing the Legacy Virus(somewhere in the Uncanny 390's I think), which made such perfect sense since he had lost a sister to the Virus. It was one of those things that worked out perfectly. The Virus killed Magik, Colossus "killed" the Virus. And now they're both back...

    I probably shouldn't have used "hate" with Daisy Johnson... I don't know her character well enough to "hate" her... The only thing I ever read where she was prominently featured was Secret War, and her inclusion in that mini just seemed forced or something. But then again, I haven't read Secret War in YEARS, so maybe if I re-read it I'd like her now... Who knows!

    ReplyDelete
  3. oh man secret war is one of my all time fav series both story wise and art wise
    if u ever read the secret warriors books her character really comes alive better in that

    ReplyDelete
  4. You've just about sold me on pulling Secret War out of the box, Movieartman. It's been a LOOONG time since I read that comic... I barely remember what it was even about! And Secret Warriors? I've never read a single issue of that series... I didn't even know Daisy was in it! That was one of the Marvel series I didn't pay that much attention to since I was angry at Marvel for the whole Civil War mess and was reading WAY more DC stuff back then. I'd be willing to try to snag some Secret Warriors trades/back issues though. What was Secret Warriors all about exactly? Was it Fury leading some secret agents after he left SHIELD or something? I literally have NO clue what that series was about.

    ReplyDelete
  5. yes fury gathers a group of young heroes daisy johnson being the leader after fury himself
    and go's about taking on hydra and other terriorist
    at the same time as the american governemt (and maria fucking hill) are trying to hunt him down after the events in secret war
    there arent any other members u would reconize cept Alexander/phobos the son of ares
    but its a damn good book
    but be sure to read the novels in order the build up to how evrey thing plays out is some of the best parts of the series
    i think the secret wariors first appearence was in the issues of Mighty Avengers that tied in to Secret Invasion but im not positive

    ReplyDelete
  6. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  7. hey check this montage page out from the book
    http://www.wallpaperist.com/wallpapers/Comics/Secret-Warriors/Secret-Warriors-Nick-Fury-1600-1200.jpg

    ReplyDelete
  8. As always, thanks a ton for the info, Movieartman. I've always been a fan of Fury, he's a total badass, so if I start reading it only for him, hopefully I'll become a fan of a few of the other characters. When I hit the comic shop on Wednesday, I'll see if there are any early back issues or the first trade around. If not, I'll put the first trade into one of my online shopping carts and will order it when I have enough books in there for free shipping! :P

    ReplyDelete