Uncanny X-Men #508

I've got three issues of Uncanny I'd like to get out of the way tonight, so even if it kills me(and it just might)I'll be reading and reviewing Uncanny #508, 509 & 510. They're written by Matt Fraction, who I think is a pretty good writer. Unfortunately, I don't think Geoff Johns and Ed Brubaker combined could make the X-world interesting right now.

-This is going to be a very quick review, so hold on tight! Madelyne Prior has her group of evil women steal the body of Kwannon from a Japanese graveyard owned by Wolverine.

-Beast and his genius buddies get started on figuring out how to fix the mess the Scarlet Witch wreaked on the mutant population at the end of the House of M.

-Wolverine invites Northstar to join the team as the token speedster/homosexual(hey, Wolverine said it, I'm just recapping!), and after some thought, Northstar accepts.

-Finally, Maddie manages to resurrect Kwannon by somehow using the lifeforce of Psylocke. Kwannon's resurrection sends a telepathic shockwave through the astral plane that is felt by telepaths the world over.

Kwannon..... I never thought ANYBODY would bring her back! I grew up reading, studying and loving the X-titles written by Scott Lobdell and Fabian Nicieza. In my pubescent mind those two could do no wrong. I'd plunk down my entire allowance at the local comic shop in order to get my monthly issue of X-Men, Uncanny, or X-Force, and for the most part I had absolutely no complaints... That is until Kwannon came along. I'm pretty sure it was Fabian in "X-Men" who introduced her, and no matter how hard I tried to force myself to, I just couldn't like her or her unbelievably complex backstory.

In simplest terms, Kwannon was an Asian assassin who had taken possession of Betsy Braddock's body, while Psylocke was Betsy's mind in the body of the Asian assassin. To complicate matters even further, Betsy's body had contracted the Legacy Virus(remember that?)and for some reason Spiral and a few of Wolverine's Japanese enemies were thrown into the mix as well. Needless to say it was a relief when Kwannon finally kicked the bucket, mainly because her backstory was so damn confusing! After reading that, it should come as no surprise that I'm not exactly happy that Kwannon is back on the scene.

Besides the return of Kwannon, this comic was pretty decent. I know I'm usually pretty hard on the X-titles, but Matt did a good job with this issue. For a score, I'll give this issue a 7 1/2 out of 10. With this issue, Matt has brought back Maddie and Kwannon, which makes me ask, why hasn't anybody brought Nate Grey back yet??? Nate is a WAY more compelling character than Maddie or Kwannon(and I like Maddie), plus he's a younger male character, which is something the X-Men seem to be sorely lacking right now. Now is as good a time as any to finally bring Nate back from the "dead".