UNCANNY X-MEN #426 REVIEW

[Lauren Dougherty]

<a href="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/covers/uxmen426.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/covers/uxmen426t.jpg" align=left alt="Uncanny X-Men #426"></a>Reviewer: Lauren Dougherty, laurendougherty@xfan.cjb.net
Quick Rating: Below Average
Story Title: Sacred Vows part 2 of 2

It’s the day of Alex and Lorna’s wedding, and what should be the happiest day of their lives, has turned into a full-sized disaster. Alex’s revelation devastates Lorna and she lashes out in a big way. Will Bridezilla get her man? Who does Alex end up with? Will any of it make sense? Most is answered in the conclusion of Sacred Vows.

Writer: Chuck Austen
Penciller: Phillip Tan
Colourist: Avalon Studios
Letters: Virtual Calligraphy's Russ Wooten
Cover Artist: Randy Green
Associate Editor: Mike Raicht
Editor: Mike Marts
Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada
President: Bill Jemas

WARNING: The following review contains some spoilers.

Longing stares, pregnant pauses, misleading dream sequences, love triangles, and interrupted weddings; no, this isn’t an episode of Days of Our Lives. This is Chuck Austen’s Uncanny X-Men, and in the latest issue, the cup of drama runneths over.

The current issue picks up where the last one left off, and if the cover is any indicator, Lorna is riding an emotional rollercoaster, ready to dispose of anything that comes in the way of what she wants. In this case, the person in her way is Annie, and the nurse best stay out of her way if she knows what’s good for her.

Lorna is left at the alter, reeling from Alex’s revelation that he no longer loves her. She proceeds to self-destruct with each passing page, without so much of a semblance of an explanation. Granted, if someone is stood up at their own wedding, they’re not usually too pleased about it, but it doesn’t usually trigger psychotic rage. Where was this stemming from and why wasn’t the reader informed?

Lorna’s escalation into insanity has been far from subtle and has yet to be fully explained. New X-Men obscurely referred to the tragedy in Genosha as having adverse affects on Lorna, but there’s been no solid clarification in Uncanny as of yet. Lorna’s been a regular in the title for eight issues and the subject of Genosha hasn’t been touched upon once. There have been sparse indications that Magneto is to blame, but that offers the reader no real enlightenment. Lorna’s progression into her outrageous behavior has been anything but natural, so hopefully it will be more thoroughly explained in future issues, because it’s desperately needed.

There’s also a major twist involving Alex and Annie, and it’s revealed that they have been dating for a year, via Annie’s son, Carter. It’s also discovered that the boy established a mental connection between to two while they slept, therefore making it possible for them to “dream” date. It’s baffling how Carter, a child with little experience using his own mutation, could accomplish such a feat.

These details were presented as justification for Alex’s feelings towards Annie, and vice versa, but it felt contrived and forced. At one point, Alex makes a saccharine-laden speech about Annie and how well he knows her, down to obscure nuances and behaviors. It’s an attempt to somehow endear the reader to their relationship, but it just doesn’t work.

The entire concept of the two having a courtship by means of mental manipulation is a fine one, and it actually had a lot of potential, but the reader never got a chance to witness any of these said dates. So once again we’re stuck playing catch-up and trying to make sense of it all. If the reader had been exposed to the concept beforehand, it would have made for a natural progression, thus making it easier to swallow. But rather, we’re supposed to receive Alex and Annie as a romantic couple over the course of a few pages, and all it does is leave one to scratch their head in confusion.

One element of the story that was refreshing was Austen’s choice to expand Havok’s power capabilities, giving him the ability to fly. It makes sense that Alex would be able to manipulate his powers giving him the power of flight, albeit amateurishly.

Another bright spot was Phillip Tan’s incredible artwork, which brought much needed emotion and fervor to the characters. His page layouts flow cohesively, even when the story itself does not, and his ability to render believable facial expressions is remarkable. He’s a definite asset to the title.

Overall, the issue is a mixed bag at best, providing beautiful art and a mediocre story. The dialogue is at times downright cheesy and some of Crazy Lorna’s diatribes are cringe-worthy. There even seemed to be editorial oversights, as in the recap portion of the issue, they referred to Polaris as “Lorna Drake”. All of that aside, the crux of the issue’s flaws is its choppy pacing and evident plot holes. Certain factors were explained while others were blatantly ignored. What ever became of Lorna? What happened to Bobby? How was it that Lorna was so easily defeated, when she had essentially overwhelmed some of the most powerful mutants on the planet?

Hopefully the next few issue will contain some much needed elaboration, but as for this issue, there were just too many questions, not enough answers, and no sense of a resolution.

ART:
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STORY:
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OVERALL:
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Buy this issue online now from X-World Comics and save! (http://x-worldcomics.com/yourvirtualstore/shopexd.asp?id=7136)

[Wolverine]

I didn't like this issue either

[Roberto Polanco]

sounds bad:eek:

[UMichWolverine]

I didn't think this issue was that bad. Granted it left a few too many loop holes for my taste.

This was an interesting little turn and isn't the Draco arc supposed to be the big one?

As for Lorna, I think its quite obvious shes been going insane and the reader knew being dumped was only going to push her over the edge. I don't think any explanation was needed necessarily. Also, the fact that Juggernaut took her down seems plausible. Lastly, maybe the Lorna Drake bit was a mistake with a hint? Bobby did say he loves her still.

Havok flying was definitely cool and handled well, it wasn't made to seem as if Havok has been flying for years or knew how to do it.

Carter is the most intriguing young mutant this side of Franklin Richards. He is obviously quite powerful. His father is obviously someone quite powerful. The fact that he has such control over his powers is interesting.

I would give this a 3.5 for story and a 4.5 for the art.

[bugalugs1]

I'm looking at Uncanny as the Melrose Place of the X-Titles
In that a lot of threads will get started and run without the big tie up at the end of each arc, in fact there is no definite end to the arc.

What I think is the worst thing that's happening to Uncanny is the storylines have to be part X of y rather than an ongoing tale of plots, sub plots and developments over time.
Well, that and the recap page. Hell, if they need someone to read the issues and then do it- I'll do it for nothing!! ;-))

I like Uncanny again (gonna be great with Sals art!) and liked this issue, Lorna's nutty as a fruitcake and I LOVE it!
Hold on, if UXM is MP, then does that make Lorna.....Kimberly?????

[Vasiliki]

I fully agree with the review, apart from the point about Carter -although he's very young, who knows how powerful and experienced he actually is?

I played with the idea of buying the issue for the fantastic art (I LOVE Tan's art!), but the fact that I almost gagged while reading Alex's sugary speech made up my mind for me.

[Rogue1969]

It was very choppy I have to aree - I did like some of the humour though - Lorna singing/humming "The Wedding March" and becoming annoyed as it will be 'stuck in her head' was very high point in the loopiness that is Lorna.

I actually flipped back and forth a couple of times at the end regarding Bobby as I thought I had missed a page - but alas... and it really had me saying "uh......What the??" out loud.

My personal belief is that Chuck has too many things on his plate and he is being rushed and it is showing rather badly here.

Part of my disappointment in this issue was that I found it difficult to determine who was at the wedding. Since Scott was Alex's best man and had been standing next to him in the previous issue I was confused for a few seconds that the guy in the glasses was Bobby not Scott.

The other part that seemed - I dunno - I guess as you have mentioned 'forced', is how no one seemed to know Lorna was acting so bizarre. I mean when you go back to the issue when Lorna first arrived and was threatening Annie with scalples (sp?) - Not exactly rational behaviour when you have so many other ways to handle a situation at your disposal. - So let's just say the X-Men put this down to shock and whacked out emotions of the moment. Personally I think the rest of X-Men are just as whacked out as Lorna - especially when just as Xavier is bringing Alex back upto speed on everything that has been happening - Lorna's all over Alex and asking him to marry her (well more like announcing that they are getting married - Alex never did say yes did he?) There was a stunned silence - where I thought the rest of the X-Men (Scott at least) would have said they need to let Alex ease back into things and shouldn't overwhelm him. For goodness sake the Prof is supposed to have some medical degree but is about as useful as a bump on a log and Hank was half as useful as Xavier during the situation. Yet all of them jump on the 'congrats!' bandwagon and poor Alex had that stunned 'deer in the headlights' look as he tried to come to grips with everything but was clearly out of his depth and got swept up into the situation because (IMO) he was going with the flow based on how everyone around him was behaving or at least seemed to expect him to behave. Where was all the care and concern for everything Alex had been through? Where was Scott's brotherly love for his long thought dead brother? How could NO ONE sense anything 'off' with Lorna?

As for Annie and Alex's relationship - why Chuck resorted to the 'dream dates' is beyond me. Having Alex remembering the things Annie told him of her life, the stories she told etc. was much more intense - and in a way more romantic. Annie had reached him even though he couldn't respond to her. Now their relationship should have been allowed to grow just based on that. Let Annie learn about Alex and his life and his likes and dislikes - Let Alex stregthen that invisible bond he developed with Annie while in his coma. Alex stopping the wedding to Lorna, should have been like a man waking from a dream as he became more and more his own self as opposed to still being in a bit of a fog because of his coma - and realizing he was just following what others were telling him he should feel, do etc. because that was who he was before -regardless of how he felt NOW.

Hope that made sense. Anyway, Chuck had some really good ideas here with the arc - and parts were highly enjoyable - but Chuck - you need to slow down and focus on the story you want to tell.

Cheers.

[Mr_Podo]

I loved this issue

[Gat0r-ManX]

It was rather "soap-opera"ish to me. But I enjoyed it, in a way.

I have to say: poor Iceman. I think he keeps losing all these girls cuz of the stupid glasses he wears.. (LOL, just my opinion)

[Silverwolf]

Story-wise, it'a an issue that my aunt would probably enjoy. I like the cover, although Polaris is looking a little too much like Morrigan from Darkstalkers.
Anyway, I'm seriously ****** at what Chuck Austin is doing with Lorna. She deserves much better than this.

[ugaryan526]

Why isn't it plausible that Carter used his powers that way? I doubt there was a solid conscious component to their use, just a child reaching out with all he could to help his mother find love, since she was the only one in his life. It was a simple connection to make, simply joining their dreams. He probably didn't know he was doing it all the time, much like Franklin Richards at the end of the Onslaught saga. What's wrong with Juggernaut taking out Polaris? She didn't know he was there, he wasn't affected by her attack on the wedding goers, he hit her with a wooden tree, and he snuck up on her. She has no more invulnerability than a normal person. And about everyone saying that Lorna's insanity isn't explained, I think it is beyond clear that it will be. Technically, this is an aspect set up by Morrison...Chuck is just incorporating it A.) for drama and B.) for continuity. If he had ignored her craziness in New X-Men, he would have been attacked for continuity issues. Plus it even says in a preview for one of the Draco issues that they will focus on Prof X's therapy for crazy Lorna. I think the running subplots that transcend story arcs are good. Many people have lately been saying that they aren't in favor of writers being forced to fit their stories into 6 issue runs which are conducive to trade paperbacks. I think this is reminiscent of older X-Men stories, and it seems more interesting that way. If every subplot begins and ends within a 6 issue span, it would feel like several limited series instead of one cohesive book. Plus it keeps people more interested in the story (like all good soap operas). Is Chuck's run full of drama? Yes. Is there less action than X-Treme and some other books? So far. But the development of these characters is more important than creating a generic villain for every few issues and having the X-Men just slug it out. But again, he'll never please everyone. Clearly though, I'm in favor of his stuff.

[Riliss]

i disagree with the review. i thought this arc was by far Austen's best work on Uncanny thus far, and if he keeps this up, i'd be quite happy.

[gambitX]

Completely disagree with the review... especially with the part about

Lorna is left at the alter, reeling from Alex’s revelation that he no longer loves her. She proceeds to self-destruct with each passing page, without so much of a semblance of an explanation. Granted, if someone is stood up at their own wedding, they’re not usually too pleased about it, but it doesn’t usually trigger psychotic rage. Where was this stemming from and why wasn’t the reader informed?

I thought ti would be obvious from New, then from even her first appearance in the books, threatening Annie with knives and then just being OK when Charles showed up... the volatitly is already there... then from loving Alex to Killing those priests (actually... both sets of priests... in different issues), to sleeping with the stripper (allegedly)... it is OBVIOUS that the girl has problems, and she even explained that she understands Magneto...
The girl is going on a downward spiral... and who knows if she will ever come back form it...
I personally hope she doesn't.

I thought this issue was above average...

[Dragon]

I though the issue was rather intresting, sure we learn Lorna's even looper then ever. She keeps humming the Here comes the Bride tune, and once again she seems to refer to Magneto as Her Father. We even learned about the true relationship of Annie and Alex. So over al it wasn't that bad of an issue

[Terry Bogard]

I didn't like the issue, but I didn't not like it either. It was one of those situations that I feel could have been avoided in numerous ways. It was simply allowed to happen for the sake of a story.

What I really hated was the whole Alex and Annie have been dating with the help of Carter. Really just angered me. I always thought the reason he was so attached to Annie was because of the events in Mutant X and that he wanted a family ASAP. Oh well.

One thing though...couldn't Lorna Drake just have made Alex, Annie, and Carter all pass out(the whole blood reversing thing) and kill them? I guess she really didn't want to kill anyone.

I would give the issue a 3. It was entertaining and to me thats its purpose.

[LoganBane]

I feel bad for Lorna. I was left at the alter a few years back and I'll tell you, if I had mutant powers I would've used 'em too. I also feel bad for Bobby, it's times like that I hope Chuck doesn't go through with the Bobby's gay thing. Can't he get a break?

[spinarakboi]

well i pretty much disagree with the review I thought it was great and tied everything together. First of Lorna crazy behavior was explained about what she witnessed in Genosha so I dont see anything wrong with that. And how everything came together was interesting and creative especially the part about Carter. It's not that much of a soap opera only recently because well... that's the point of the arc but serveral of his stories were centered on action storylines and so on. So again I disagree. I'd give this issue a 4 outta 5. Good work!

[Terrax]

This issues was bad if not worse than the last issue. Please Marvel can we make Uncanny an enjoyable read once again. And what's with the grainy almost Magna style of art.....bleeeech...yukky.

What the hell happened to Nightcrawler he looks horrendous. I truly miss the way Uncanny Xmen used to be written and drawn. Uncanny needs a new team of writers and artists.

[Airhead]

This issue was ok!
I loved the art!
I love how he draws Polaris!;)

[Alex Groff]

First off, I think Tan's a brilliant artist, and like the other person, I thought about continuing with Uncanny because of the art.

However, this story seems par for course with Austen. Plot holes, over the top characterizations, a lack of explanation and explanations that, when they do exist, make little sense. The dream-dating is pretty bad, but not really any worse than the Holy War "let's make Kurt a pope and then show him to be the anti-Christ because I'm an abused nun" plot. The over the top characterization in this issue was bad, but it wasn't any worse than since she first reappeared. This book feels, to me at least, like "X-Men For Dummies," and the soap-box soap-opera feel is a bit much for me.

Chuck always has one or two witty lines that make you laugh. It's just a shame that I'm no longer willing to put up with all of the flaws for a quick chuckle and (beautiful) art. Hasta.

[Kevin Woodside]

This issue was so predictable. I really enjoyed last issue, but this one was so terrible. Lorna forze everyone in place? Just like that? Dude, Magneto couldn't even do it for that long in 304 and he's more powerful that she is.

The art was iffy, but like I said last month, it would have worked better in the "Holy War" arc better than this one. So many chances for cameos, and none of them taken advantage of. :no: Like when Juggs showed up - I couldn't even tell what was going on.

I really, really hate this whole Annie/Alex pair up. It just makes no sense. The Iceman thing from last issue was really good and so unpredictable - but that, of course, was ruined here. And just why did Alex wait until Lorna was walking down the aisle to call things off? Why? It's makes NO SENSE.

But, hey, at least we've got crazy Lorna. I love that woman. :lorna: :cuckoo:

~W~

[Zachary Palisoc]

Lorna did NOT "freeze everybody in place." She reserved their blood flows, thereby making them pass out.

[ArchAngelFan]

surprisingly I enjoyed this issue. I'm normally into just action and hate all the mushy garbage, but this issue was great. I do however have a problem with Havok. I don't like the fact that he revolves around all the plots somehow and his relationship with Annie sickens me. I mean we get barely any Northstar, Angel and Chamber anymore yet Havok is on every other panel. How could he do that to Bobby? Bobby should join Lorna or, even better, Weapon X and put an end to the annoyance in Uncanny known as Havok. :mad:

[xmanson2.0]

I think it's so weird that both Alex and Annie see no problem in what Carter did.how can they know they are not being "forced" to like each other? This issue deserves a C-.

[Steven Paul]

I don't know, I thought this was by far the best issue in Austen's run. I really liked the art and I thought Juggernaut was very cool this issue.

[Black mamba]

because all carter did was link there minds together its not like hes mind controlling them. i happened to love this issue my main problem is that shouldn't lorna have been crushed when she was hit by that tree? and isn't it a little odd that cyclops and emma had a psychic relationship at the same time alex and annie had theres is there some kind of relation?

[Terrax]

This last issue was AWFUL. Do the editors read this crap before they send it out? Do they think we are all stupid? The whole Havok Annie scene is ridiuclous. "Oh Annie, I know you because your mutant son didn't want us to be alone." What kind of garbage crap is that? I can just see the writer at his desk

- "How do I get out of this storyline? hmmm - we will make the boy have a power that can make people fall in love with each other while they are dreaming! Yeah thats the ticket. People will appreciate that creative thinking." -

If this next story arc is not any good I am dropping this POS!

I am ticked off. Uncanny X-men brought me back into collecting and is my favorite series of all time but this last year has been nothing but dog $hit pointy noses and bad writing.


Whew...

thanks for letting me rant.

[Alex Guillen]

I loved the issue, Lorna and Alex were really trying to be together but his connection to Annie and Lorna's mental state has pushed Alex to make the hard decision, sure he could have made it sometime back but maybe he just wanted to hang on to the last memory from the Lorna he fell in love with rather than realize how much they've both changed.
the art by Phillip Tan was awsome and Chuck's story was good but maybe too much "Days of our lives" for most readers, hopefully that would change with the coming arc, Draco.
And awsome :lorna: cover.

[SuperWee]

Garbage. The entire Havok/Annie subplot is garbage. Look I have NO problem with Havok and Annie developing a relationship. What I DO have a problem with, is the writer not letting the readers be a part of that. How are we supposed to emotionally connect with the pairing if all that we know is what we're told. Why couldn't Chuck have showed these dream dates in short sequences while they were taking place. Show Alex in the coma, have Annie shown sleeping, show Carter sleeping with maybe some kind of glow around his head. Show Alex and Annie dream dating and developing a relationship and let us become emotionally involved. Just dropping it into our laps seems lacking and uncreative. I don't care about the two of them at all and I don't understand how anybody eles can enjoy them being together.

Oh and Carter is a psy? We just CAN'T have enough of them at Xaviers right? :rolleyes:

I agreed with the review and thought is was well thought out and written with intelligence. :cool:

[n8grey]

hmmm i liked it alot...i like crazy lorna only thing i wanted was i wished there would have been some Polaris/Quicksilver/Scarlet Witch interactions (they were both at the wedding and i would have thought that the bond there would have grown after all the Genosha stuff) I loved the last page with Jubes and husk

[NicholasRogue]

I agree with the romance being forced. I mean I thought it was way too far -fetched for Carter to be having them "dream dating" I mean I think Lorna acted in a way I expected her to react although I don't know why Juggernaut was able to take her down. Havok being able to fly didn't impress me, he looks more like Cannonball than his usual self. I understand Alex having falling out feelings for Lorna, we definitely understand Annie's love for Alex, and Lorna's rage, but the whole "we're in love now" didn't work for me. I wanted them to be together but not this soon. I would have liked if Alex had broken up with Lorna and Annie and him went out for awhile before they're all lovey dovey. I don't know. I liked the previous issue immensly more, I guess it was too good to top. Oh well, I'm kinda a little disapointed with Austen's direction on Uncanny truthfully. I mean I just hope he limits the # of characters he uses. The next Draco arc seemed a little far -fetched for me too "Nighty's dad being this terrible powerful ruler who was there when Atlantis fell" oh well this is comics so I guess I'll have to live with it. You know in all reality, I'm sorry Lorna fans, but I think it would have been good writing if Lorna died in this issue. If say I don't know her and Alex fought to the death and he beat her because he truthfully loved Annie more, that would have worked for me. Oh well, such is life.

[gambitX]

Originally posted by SuperWee
Oh and Carter is a psy? We just CAN'T have enough of them at Xaviers right? :rolleyes:


I dont know wha thte problem is why Psi's. I mena, with having more. to me it seems like a much more plausible mutation than say, diamond skin. It should be more prevalent.

[n8grey]

I just feel the need to add a side note and yes it is off topic...who are you guys to call something crap? I sometimes post the I dont like something that does not make it crap. If it saw print them someone liked it. Editors approved the story and chuck liked it. Just becuase you dont like something does not make it crap one of the problems with our world is that people tend to label things as crap or sh*t or horrible when actually all that is needed is too say they didnt like it. Regardlessly I like having one book that plays out like days of our lives (ever since the last relaunch this book have played out like that, its the closest in story form to the 90s x-books) it helps set the different x-books apart, gives each one there own identity. Anyways...dont label soemthing as crap you might convince someone who would have realy liked the issue to not buy it. If you hated it so much why bother wasting your time writing a reply teling how bad it was.

[Patch]

my $0.02:
I liked the issue I'd give its an 8 out of 10. I got some answers to some of my questions. I got to see Juggy b*tchslap Lorna.
I have a tonne of questions though... like who is Carter's dad? Hopefully, Chuck will address some of them.

[I-Ching]

The review of this issue was pinpoint accurate. Far too often I read reviews here and wonder if I read the same issue as the reviewer or if they recieved a payoff to lie.

Austen is just NOT the writer for this title. He can't handle the plot development and the characterization of such a large and diverse cast. He likes to make things easy for himself and thus the reader misses out. HE wants Alex and Annie together so he plods the story along not even remotely connecting with the reader's who are left scratching their head and once he finally gets around to explaining the reason they have feelings for each other we're left underwhelmed. You don't fall in love with someone because you know their favorite kind of ice cream.

I can guy Lorna being crazy but these are the X-Men they watched Jean go all Dark Phoenix and I find it hard to believe that they ALL just would sit by while Polaris gets nuttier every issue. CONTINUITY!!! We know these characters aren't that lazy and careless when it comes to their own.

I didn't hate this issue as much as usually due. Tan's artwork while still in need of development shows TREMENDOUS potential. It's clear that Whilce Portacio is an influence on him and that is a good thing. I still prefer Sal on this title but in a few years Tan is welcome to return.

Still unwelcome in my book is Austen. Some readers may not mind his work but I have yet to hear a solid argument as why he is the best writer for this title. He's not. It's a bad fit and that results in bad stories.

The Draco storyline sounds promising but I hope he doesn't backtrack and remove the Nightcrawler/Mystique relationship.

Am I the only one that thinks Austen REALLY could benefit from a co-plotter?

[Arachne]

Why is everyone so surprised that Carter's a psy? I mean, hello, he did pull Alex back into his body when Xavier couldn't. I admit as much as I hate Uncanny, so much as I hate how Annie takes up too much room, I liked how these feelings were explained. Sure they could have shown some scenes from the dates- but compared to how much has gone wrong in this title, I have a much lower standred for this book. In the end, it's cute and works for Alex's character. He never wanted to be a mutant or a superhero. He wanted to be normal. So now he can have a normal life with Annie and maybe we can now move on to stories, about -gasp- the X-men. As for Bobby loving Lorna- WHAT THE ____!?! Where did that come from. They dated when they were like 16. This better be just a attemp at Bobby denying the fact he's gay and should be with Northstar.

[Arachne]

Originally posted by I-Ching


The Draco storyline sounds promising but I hope he doesn't backtrack and remove the Nightcrawler/Mystique relationship.

[/B]

Mystique's still his mom, but Austen said (I think it was in Wizard) that his father is now going to be some big bad alien guy instead of a German baron. blah. I think Marvel should be brave enough to go with Claremont's original story- Mystique's his father and Destiny was his mother. Now THAT would be a interesting story...

[Stormy]

By the standard set by Austen in the last 16-some issues, I thought this was above average (compared to say, Dominant Species or Holy War). I absolutely hated Tan's art in his first issue, but I thought it was really good here. I still think Sal's work will put his to shame though. As for the whole cop-out with Carter, well, what can you do? At least it's better than Annie's random necrophilia.

[SmashedPumpkin]

I really really really love tan's work. The story was so-so, but I'm glad juggy got some panel time.

[timtastic]

Congratulations for writing a review as a critique. Don't worry about other people getting their panties in a wad. You're not saying that they've got bad taste for enjoying this work, and if they can't tell that, pity for them.

And yes, I think that Austen needs to GO. Bye bye, Chuck. So long.

[gideonpryde]

I thought the issue was fantastic.

Tan is becoming one of my favorites.

[Zachary J. Morrison]

I enjoyed reading this issue with all the action that came around. I can't wait to pick the next issue.

[Chris Wilson]

Wow.

So I don't think I've ever been so perplexed as by the comments posted in this thread.

First, I think the intial review was off. For as many things that Lauren didn't understand or found out of place/out of character , I understood them all perfectly. Many of the plot points that Austen is exploring here have been set up previously. I believe that he's brought them all together very competently this issue, although, while doing so, he borders on the mushy.

Lorna's psychopathy was introduced long ago in a New X-Men issue. Similarly, you don't need other characters in Uncanny to spell out for you that Lorna is crazy, when it's been very obvious. Why ruin the subtlety of a plot simply to clue in readers who don't get it the first time around? The Professor, Alex, Kurt and Scott have all on panel shown surprise and discomfort to Lorna's actions. Yet, we, the readers, know what she did to Annie, what she did to the CoH guys, etc. We are witness to that evolution of Lorna's character. And finally, when that development comes to a climax in this issue, some readers still don't get it. She's been going loony, everyone, including her teammates have at least taken notice, but she hasn't done anything so horribly bad for someone to suggest an intervention of sorts. That is, until now. This issue is where the proverbial :bleep: hits the fan. Now, everyone is finally concerned (as evidenced by Paige and Jubilee's conversation at the end). Everyone knows that Lorna really isn't okay from what happened to her in Genosha. In terms of Lorna's psychopathy, this issue is not a conclusion; it is simply the climax (hopefully one of many!). I have no doubt that Austen will show Lorna and others dealing with her problem and somehow resolving it.

Now, onto the soap opera. Is it really necessary for us to have seen every date that Havok and Annie went on? You say we should have been a witness to at least one of those dates? Well, lest you forget, we were--just last issue...

...now that I've killed that... :cool:

Granted it may seem a bit far-fetched that Carter was sending his mom on dates literally with the man of her dreams, but then again so is a guy who can shoot force beams out of his eyes. [SIDE NOTE: Personally, I am plain tired of people who berate Austen's work because they are incredulous to some of the things that have occurred. I'll assume that these people have forgotten that they're reading comics, which depict realities and universes in which characters like the Beyonder and Stacy X are allowed to exist ;) ] The child, Carter, did not conciously manipulate his mother or Havok. He simply wanted his mother to be happy, and seeing that his mother was happy when she interacted with coma-man, he wished in his heart that his mother could realize her dreams of being with this guy. His subconsious mind, already surrounded by some powerful latent mutation, expressed itself in his sleep, very much akin to the precocious abilities of Franklin Richards. This ultimately turns out to be a very sweet mother's day gift from a child with "untapped mental ability." By the way, Carter was not used as a deus ex machina; it's very, very obvious that Austen had purposefully intended for the child to be very much involved in his mother's relationship from the inception of the character.

But yes, we could all do with out the extra cavities. Yet honestly, have you never been in love that you can't understand the strange forms in which love will present itself? Havok and Annie are in love not because they know each other's shoe size or some other personal minutiae, but because they've been dating each other for a year, and were apparently enjoying it (It's because they're in love that they know such things of each other). Of course, as we've seen, they were both initially disbelieving that their dreams could trancsend their individual psyches and exist in the real world. That's why neither of them consumated or even accepted their feelings until now (again, another climax in the plot). The plot here is totally acceptable, and honestly is much less weird than some love stories I've seen in movies where there aren't superpowers involved.

I also wanted to touch on the Annie hating. I think it's a good thing that Austen has gotten people to hate Annie. I personally believe that was one of his goals. Everyone is saying that he's writing Annie to be almost immaculate in character, and that her love is pure as the driven snow. Obviously it's not; as the reader we know that's not the case. The girl was having a thing for coma-man before her son started hooking them up (it wasn't until after Carter noticed his mom had an attracted to the vegitative Alex that he started setting them up). Annie simply isn't playing with a full deck. But, alas, neither is her rival (which you can attribute to Morrison, not Austen). So the least crazy of the two gets Alex. Does that mean were supposed to sympathize with Annie? Hecks no! So let's see: Lorna's believed that Alex is alive all this time, while everyone else had given up hope; Lorna's just be inculcated with every dying memory of every citizen of a recently murder population of 16 million; Lorna comes home to find that the man she fought to believe was not dead was actually alive, being, in her eyes, attacked by some other woman; Lorna is jilted at the alter by a very in-character Summers brother. Through all of this I feel sorry for Lorna! Yes, I noticed her crying, didn't you? Then the poor girl gets bashed over the head by Juggernaut. Even though Lorna dons a villian's costume, I think we're still supposed to feel sorry for her... she's just crazy, that's all. But it's your decision whom you side with in this love triangle. Either way, Alex is a dog to me, lol.

Just remember people, before you get your nerves all bunched in a knot, this is not the end. I don't think we've seen the end of the Annie/Havok relationship. I don't think we've seen the end of crazy Lorna. Patience my friends, patience.

-Chris

BTW, I give the issue 4.5 stars out of five, if only for seeing Juggs beat the snot outta Lorna, lol.

[Queen Artemisn]

Originally posted by I-Ching
The review of this issue was pinpoint accurate. Far too often I read reviews here and wonder if I read the same issue as the reviewer or if they recieved a payoff to lie.

Austen is just NOT the writer for this title. He can't handle the plot development and the characterization of such a large and diverse cast. He likes to make things easy for himself and thus the reader misses out. HE wants Alex and Annie together so he plods the story along not even remotely connecting with the reader's who are left scratching their head and once he finally gets around to explaining the reason they have feelings for each other we're left underwhelmed. You don't fall in love with someone because you know their favorite kind of ice cream.

I can guy Lorna being crazy but these are the X-Men they watched Jean go all Dark Phoenix and I find it hard to believe that they ALL just would sit by while Polaris gets nuttier every issue. CONTINUITY!!! We know these characters aren't that lazy and careless when it comes to their own.

I didn't hate this issue as much as usually due. Tan's artwork while still in need of development shows TREMENDOUS potential. It's clear that Whilce Portacio is an influence on him and that is a good thing. I still prefer Sal on this title but in a few years Tan is welcome to return.

Still unwelcome in my book is Austen. Some readers may not mind his work but I have yet to hear a solid argument as why he is the best writer for this title. He's not. It's a bad fit and that results in bad stories.

The Draco storyline sounds promising but I hope he doesn't backtrack and remove the Nightcrawler/Mystique relationship.

Am I the only one that thinks Austen REALLY could benefit from a co-plotter?


I couldn't agree more with you. Austen and Uncanny is a bad mix. I'm not saying Austen is a bad writer, but clearly this book just isn't the book for him to write at this point.

#1- This book needs to settle on a team and focus on those members. Instead, this book's cast gets bigger with every issue. Who are the members of this team and what is their purpose? In other words, this book lacks direction and thus you don't have a set team. I may sometimes disagree with New and X-treme, but at least both books have direction. Uncanny (which used to be the X-men flagship title) does not.

#2- Bad plotting. Show don't tell. This is the first rule of writing. Instead of showing us why Alex and Annie should be together, Uncanny tells us. We have to sit and read some of the worst "I'm in love with you" lines I have ever read. Even their dates were told to us versus being shown to us. As readers, we want to fall in love with the characters. Instead, this relationship was explained to us and thus we were cheated. Remember when Warren and Betsy fell in love. Remember when Scott and Jean fell in love. Remember when Rogue and Remy fell in love. We were allowed to fall in love with them. But Alex's and Annie's relationship didn't receive the time that any relationship development deserves.

#3- More bad plotting. No one noticed Lorna needed some serious help. No one notice Kurt thought he was a priest. Once agains these stories are being rushed with little or no explanation. This only adds to reader confusion and bad stories.

[ArchangelX]

I too thought the explanation about Alex's ahd Annie's 1 year relationship via "dream date" was forced, rushed and a little out of place.

I was also disappointed to see Lorna's psychotic rage come to an end before ever explaining why she's so mental.

One thing I did like was seeing good 'ol Juggy (wow... Juggy, good?) come to Alex's rescue and squash Lorna like a bug! His new outfit was a tragedy!!!!! C'Mon! Can they create a little something more original yet keep some similarities?

All in all this issue was a big let down for me.... more cons than pros.

[SuperWee]

I just feel the need to add a side note and yes it is off topic...who are you guys to call something crap? I sometimes post the I dont like something that does not make it crap. If it saw print them someone liked it. Editors approved the story and chuck liked it. Just becuase you dont like something does not make it crap one of the problems with our world is that people tend to label things as crap or sh*t or horrible when actually all that is needed is too say they didnt like it. Regardlessly I like having one book that plays out like days of our lives (ever since the last relaunch this book have played out like that, its the closest in story form to the 90s x-books) it helps set the different x-books apart, gives each one there own identity. Anyways...dont label soemthing as crap you might convince someone who would have realy liked the issue to not buy it. If you hated it so much why bother wasting your time writing a reply teling how bad it was.

Umm...that's why we have forums, to express our opinions. If you read all of these replies you see that there are pretty much an even number of pro and con posts. Nobody here is saying that their opinions hold more value then others and it's been great reading this thread. Just because people use words like "crap" or "garbage" in describing their thoughts on something doesn't mean that their opinions are less valid then say another person who chooses to use words like "groovy" or "underpar". Me personally, I have to edit myself to using words like "crap" because the words that I would like to use just aren't allowed here.

And if somebody is the type of person who bases what comics they buy or what movies they see, on the opinions of other people then they're really missing out on living for themselves. And that's just crap.

[NicholasRogue]

Originally posted by Queen Artemisn

#2- Bad plotting. Show don't tell. This is the first rule of writing. Instead of showing us why Alex and Annie should be together, Uncanny tells us. We have to sit and read some of the worst &quot;I'm in love with you&quot; lines I have ever read. Even their dates were told to us versus being shown to us. As readers, we want to fall in love with the characters. Instead, this relationship was explained to us and thus we were cheated. Remember when Warren and Betsy fell in love. Remember when Scott and Jean fell in love. Remember when Rogue and Remy fell in love. We were allowed to fall in love with them. But Alex's and Annie's relationship didn't receive the time that any relationship development deserves.
\

I agree completely.

[Suzene]

What I liked about this issue:
- The art was decent enough. The general lack of detail still bugs me, but it's not horrid.

What I disliked about this issue:
- Every other bloody thing. A few choice bits were...

1) Iceman wearing the mood-shades with his tux. A minor thing, but it just...*bugged* me. And his confession of love to Lorna after he'd been snogging, nuzzling, and hand-holding with Annie only hours before? FEH! Women don't brush you off 'cuz you're made of ice, Bobby, they brush you off because you're a self-absorbed tweak! Please, please, please let this guy just be a jerk and not in denial about his sexuality because, and I repeat, NORTHSTAR DESERVES BETTER!

2) Well, I see Lorna's leveled up without telling anyone. Admittedly, I've been out of the loop, so maybe it's just my ignorance of recent events speaking, but when did Polaris become the most powerful mutant on the planet? I mean, honestly, Magneto has had more trouble subduing the X-Men than she seemed to!

3) Havok figures out he can fly, so he grabs Annie and Carter and gets the hell out of Dodge. Fine. But instead of getting even further away, he decides that the best thing to do is hold up in the woods, wax poetic about his love for Annie, and prepare to hold off Lorna with sticks, when, so far as he knows, she's trashed EVERY major X-character at the mansion. I know it was spur of the moment -- though I wonder , since he *was* wearing his X-jammies under the tux -- but still, not the brightest plan in the world, especially when you're traveling with two non-combatants. I admit though, I'm not especially familiar with Havok's powers either. Maybe he had to recharge or something.

4)Am I the only one who found incrediably frelling creepy that the entire basis of Annie and Alex's "relationship" was the fact that Annie's pre-pubescent son was crawling about in both their heads and essentially willing them to fall in love? So...what's to stop him from doing the same thing to a pretty girl when he gets older? Or getting anything else he wants? I'm sorry, but I think a revelation of that kind of power deserved more gravity than it was given and should not be treated like its getting those two together was a wonderful thing. This will be topping the Husk/Angel relationship and Northstar's #425 dialogue as Austen's most twitch-worthy accomplishment to date.

*sigh*

It's been a year since UXM #414 came out and I've picked up most of the issues since then (save for a couple of isses of the DS storyline, which I've already ranted about). In that way, Austen has done his job -- he has gotten me to shell out my bucks for the book on a pretty regular basis, despite my nearly inceasent griping.

So far as keeping me happy and entertained though, this book hasn't done much at all for me and the triumph of hope over experience only goes so far. I've been threatening to quit the book again for a few months and now I am done. I may pick up an issue or two when Austen turns his talents somewhere else, but too many issues of UXM have left me angry and disappointed, and I've really just had enough.

Just...yeah. Not having fun anymore. Screw it. I'll keep buying New Mutants, and maybe keep an ear to the ground for any exceptional Northstar activity down the line, but I'm bailing on this title for now.

Suzene

[Duncan]

Wasn't Alex supposed to be the weakest one of the two summers' brothers? If he can now fly using his powers... than what is cyclops capable of doing with his...?

[Justclowes]

This issue sucked big time I’m getting fed up of uncanny x-men turning into a cheesy American day time soap - What's next Juggernaut & Nightcrawler fight over which one of them made Jubilee pregnant or Husk finding out that Professor X is her illegitimate dad (Hope I’m not giving him ideas here) Reading the 1st few pages of the next issue it doesn't seem to get much better either with more sex references. I know sex sells but come on this is getting tedious. I liked Austen's run initially as it focused more on the personal side of the team but it's just becoming cringable now. I personally think he's taken to much work on as well as all his stories just seem rushed. Plus side though the art was brilliant. I really like the gritty look of Tan's pencils.

[Portsian]

mmm the issue was disappointing, and I do feelt eh Alex / Annie thing was contrived / rushed. I would rather have seen Alex realise he deosnt; love Lorna on his own, and not just because he loves someone else.

and then see their relationshipn grow.

and if the have been dating for a year in each others minds linked by Carter - I get a lsightly icky feeling - justhopw far did those dreams go, and how much did Carter see?????? Who would date for a year without any kind of rumpy pumpy, and Carter seeing that - icky idea..........

also, bit strange that Annie the nurse who happened to look after him has mutant son who acted as match maker?? come on!!


and I wasnt overly impressed with the art - really could not recognise most of the characters at all

[Vasiliki]

Originally posted by Suzene
And his confession of love to Lorna after he'd been snogging, nuzzling, and hand-holding with Annie only hours before? FEH! Women don't brush you off 'cuz you're made of ice, Bobby, they brush you off because you're a self-absorbed tweak! Please, please, please let this guy just be a jerk and not in denial about his sexuality because, and I repeat, NORTHSTAR DESERVES BETTER!

Oh, I couldn't agree more! Besides, if Iceman falls for Jean-Paul at this point, it'll be pure tokenism - he hasn't even <B>noticed</b> Jean-Paul until now, for God's sake! If he had any kind of romantic interest in him, he'd have tried to be in his company more, chat with him, learn things about him, and not be so indifferent towards him that he only learned he's gay last issue by chance from Annie. If they want to reveal Bobby as bi (after Annie and Lorna, I think 'gay' is out of the question), they'd better leave NorthStar out of this, and have a separate subplot with Bobby and another guy.

And while I'm at it, they'd better leave NorthStar out of the team too, so that we don't have to suffer watching the disintegration of a fine character. Send him over to Weapon X to find his sister.

[ugaryan526]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Suzene


2) Well, I see Lorna's leveled up without telling anyone. Admittedly, I've been out of the loop, so maybe it's just my ignorance of recent events speaking, but when did Polaris become the most powerful mutant on the planet? I mean, honestly, Magneto has had more trouble subduing the X-Men than she seemed to!

First of all, Lorna has always been powerful. They even mention in this very issue that her tutor, magneto, seemed to teach her a thing or two. And this freezing of everyone at the wedding is something magneto has never done? Raise your hand if you read Uncanny 304 with Illyana's funeral. That's right. Read it.

3) Havok figures out he can fly, so he grabs Annie and Carter and gets the hell out of Dodge. Fine. But instead of getting even further away, he decides that the best thing to do is hold up in the woods, wax poetic about his love for Annie, and prepare to hold off Lorna with sticks, when, so far as he knows, she's trashed EVERY major X-character at the mansion. I know it was spur of the moment -- though I wonder , since he *was* wearing his X-jammies under the tux -- but still, not the brightest plan in the world, especially when you're traveling with two non-combatants. I admit though, I'm not especially familiar with Havok's powers either. Maybe he had to recharge or something.

If you just learned you could fly and had the two most important people with you, would you decide to take a day trip to Paris? He landed as best he could in a place where they wouldn't be hurt in the landing. And Havok's "x-jammies" are functional, not just a costume. They have always been around in some adaptation to help him keep his power in check.

My suggestion? You and all the other regular gripers need to look at what you're doing. Every week, you buy Uncanny. Every week, you complain, and rant, wah wah, I could do better type of crap. So dont...pick...them...up. Ta dah! Problem solved. Those who enjoy Uncanny can do so, those who don't shouldn't. You're all like those people who constantly complain about how bad American Idol or Joe Millionaire are but watch every single episode. Chuck isn't on here anymore so he couldn't care less about your constant (and often unfounded) criticisms. What he does care about is that his book is riding high on the charts, thanks to your desire to gripe.

!RYAN![B]

[ugaryan526]

Originally posted by Duncan
Wasn't Alex supposed to be the weakest one of the two summers' brothers? If he can now fly using his powers... than what is cyclops capable of doing with his...?

No, Alex has always been portrayed as more powerful, more reckless, and less in control.

[Hellion]

I really thought Chuck was going to go somewhere else with story. This seemed way too predictable an option. To me this was just self serving to the characters Chuck created or brought to the book. Alex is in love with a woman he has been dating psychically while in his coma? This is going way beyond Soap Opera and believability. Alex has known Lorna forever, and he just figures out at the alter that something is different about her and he doesn't love her anymore? Both character deserve more respect than that. I am tired of reading "Annie and the X-Men", ever since she came to the book she has been shown more than any other character. I thought the whole Lorna thing would turn out having her be possessed again, or that she would snap out of it in the end. Chuck took what Grant set up, and turned it up to the extreme with her, and it just leaves a bad taste. She was mentally unstable do to all the deaths of Genosha. In Uncanny it hasn't been mentioned once. Better her to have gone back into character limbo than this, IMHO. Bobby's still in love with Lorna after all these years, but he never showed a sign of it in all this time is strange as well. And the savior in all this, Cain? We get it he's a good guy now. So much of this book is getting a little to "for plot sake". Where were the rest of team? We haven't seen half of them in a few months now. Chuck doesn't seem capable of writing large casts. Frank Tieri, Geoff Johns and Chris Claremont haven't had trouble writing with big casts. We see the characters, even if it is a panel or two. We know what they are up to. We see them develop and grow without being neglected for months at a time. Is Northstar still on the team? I have been reading Uncanny since #125, and for the first time I am starting to consider dropping it. If Sal weren't coming on board and the fact that a lot of my favorites are in this book I would in a second. Each issue for me is less and less entertaining to me. I know there are a lot of people out there liking where he is going with this book, and that's great for them. I just think I might have to move on soon.

[Vasiliki]

Originally posted by ugaryan526
So dont...pick...them...up. Ta dah! Problem solved.

Did you read Suzene's post to the end? Because that's what she did. With #426, she dropped the title.

[Lady_Nomad]

Okay...

If you ask me, I love this issue. I don't know why everyone seems to hate it!

First of all, I love the Alex being able to fly thing. It shows how much he has been learning to control his powers since he got up and maybe how much he retained from the Mutant X universe.

All those who hate the 'Alex and Annie' dream date thingy, deal with hit. Okay, it is weird but interesting. It explained Annie's fantasies without making her come across as insane and Alex's feeling that he knew Annie.

The little revelation of Bobby loving Lorna is an interesting twist. Although, it made me wonder how Bobby will treat Alex afterwards.

Cain being the savior wasn't that shocking. Remember, he had fought foes like Magneto and Polaris in the past and know how to deal with them. Also, Lorna didn't expect anyone to help Alex so she was focusing all of her rage at Alex. Cain's strength, huge 'stick', and element of surprise gave him the edge to take down Lorna and establish the fact that he is a good guy.

I'm positive that Annie will be more into the background once the other arcs take off like the origin of Nightcrawler, trial of Juggernaut, and other things. Hopefully, Lorna's insanity can be explained but I hope she wasn't possessed.

That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it.

[ugaryan526]

Originally posted by Vasiliki


Did you read Suzene's post to the end? Because that's what she did. With #426, she dropped the title.

Good. But 10 bucks says that there is a comment on next month's issue.

[Arachne]

I'm glad to say since I work at a bookstore I get to read it without Austen getting any money for this. The reason people keep buying the book even though they hate Austen's writing is very different from not liking a tv show. I mean if you have been collecting and reading Uncanny for years, you're not just going to quit now- you're going to keep buy so not to break up the collection and keep your fingers crossed that things will get better.

[Silverwolf]

To be honest, I'm a relative newcomer to the X-books, starting up during the days of the Gold & Blue strike teams, but I've researched 90% of the characters to death using the internet. It turns out Iceman and Polaris have quite a history together. As a matter of fact, Iceman saved Lorna from Mesmero's mind control early on in the first X-Men series, that being her first encounter with the X-Men. Bobby had a crush on her, and things seemed to go his way, but then Havoc entered the picture. Iceman and Havoc fought over Polaris a few time, with Alex seriously injuring Bobby in one of those fights.
So Bobby's love of Lorna isn't all that odd. Chuck actually did his homework on the characters' bakgrounds, and it makes sense that Bobby's old crush never died out. after all, a teenage crush never really dies.
I think both Bobby and Lorna should hook up and join Weapon X. God knows they don't belong in Austin's Uncannily Cheesy Drama X-Men.

[Alex Groff]

ugaryan526,

I think at least three posters stated they were quitting with this issue.

I know for me, it was hard to quit this title. I love Havok and Polaris-- I thought I would read anything with them in it. I also rather like Nightcrawler, Angel and Husk. It takes a lot to get turned off from the characters-- which is why many keep with it. Brilliant artists like Tan make it hard to quit. We complain because we don't want to quit. That's our last option, and it's a shame we have to take it.

The thing is, when people do quit reading comics, or simply this comic, it could be a long time before they get back into it. I have friends who won't try comics again because they were so utterly disgusted with some of the mid-90's crap writing. THE ENTIRE POINT OF POSTING COMPLAINTS AND FRUSTRATIONS IS TO HELP MARVEL KEEP READERS BY SEEING THE FLAWS IN THEIR WORK AND CORRECTING IT BEFORE PEOPLE QUIT.

If our points turns into rants, well for myself at least I apologize-- but we don't complain because we don't like Uncanny X-Men. If we didn't like it, we'd quit and never look back. Our problem is one writer doing a major disservice to the book that we want to like, that we try to like. However, in the end, a poor writer is enough to turn a lot of people off from the book.

I'll buy it again once Austen is gone.

[ugaryan526]

Somehow I don't believe the regular ranting comments are to "help marvel keep readers". Justify it how you will, and you 100% have the right to voice your opinions, and I'm just voicing mine about gripers.

[Suzene]

Originally posted by ugaryan526
[B First of all, Lorna has always been powerful. They even mention in this very issue that her tutor, magneto, seemed to teach her a thing or two. And this freezing of everyone at the wedding is something magneto has never done? Raise your hand if you read Uncanny 304 with Illyana's funeral. That's right. Read it.

I have read it, actually, but thanks for the rec. I always thought that the scene where Peter was burning all of his paintings was especially poignant. Ah...how nice to be able to read an issue of X-Men dealing with character-death and not feel the urge to roll my eyes!

Like I said, I haven't been up on current events. Lorna is the new Magneto? If you say so. I still didn't like the issue.


If you just learned you could fly and had the two most important people with you, would you decide to take a day trip to Paris? He landed as best he could in a place where they wouldn't be hurt in the landing.

You mean like they did about five pages later? And my main gripe about that was that they weren't trying harder to get away from ground zero once they did make that landing.

Re: the costume --

Learn something new every day. I still think it strange that he thought he'd need it at his wedding, though.

My suggestion? You and all the other regular gripers need to look at what you're doing. Every week, you buy Uncanny. Every week, you complain, and rant, wah wah, I could do better type of crap. So dont...pick...them...up. Ta dah!

OMG, u r so like smart! I've never herd ne1 make that suggestion before111!!!!

Look, if I buy a comic and I think it sucks, I'm not going to just sigh and meekly return to my life. I'll vent. I'll rant. I'll cruise forums and read about other people tearing it apart, because I'm going to get my entertainment value out of the rag one way or another. If I buy a book and I think it's great, I'll bring it to the attention of my friends and tell them that they should pick it up and I'll likely subscribe. Believe it or not, just because someone doesn't like a particular issue of a comic, that doesn't mean that they've detested everything about the run. I was expecting to drop this book at #425, but I liked the art and thought Robin's was kind of neat -- like a more modern Harry's Hideaway for the X-crew -- so I bought this one.

For my time and money, it sucked. So here I am.

Problem solved. Those who enjoy Uncanny can do so, those who don't shouldn't. You're all like those people who constantly complain about how bad American Idol or Joe Millionaire are but watch every single episode. Chuck isn't on here anymore so he couldn't care less about your constant (and often unfounded) criticisms. What he does care about is that his book is riding high on the charts, thanks to your desire to gripe.

I didn't buy the book to gripe. I bought the book and have been buying the book hoping for an enjoyable read with characters that I've grown quite fond of over the years, and even then, I left the really horrendous-loking issues on the shelf. It's the fact that I couldn't find anything enjoyable about the book that's causing me to leave, not the reason I started picking it up. Bit of a difference there.

If I thought my opinions would make the slightest difference in the direction of Austen's writing, I'd be contacting him. As it is, I don't see why I should go any easier on his writing because he might or might not see what I'm saying about it.

Maybe I *will* pick up the next issue. Maybe people whose opinions I value will tell me that it's the best thing ever, that the art is great, that the characters are given depth, it's the best thing Marvel's put out in years, and why the hell am I still standing here listening to them and not out buying the comic right now?!...but somehow I doubt it. Until there's some major change in the status-quo, such as Austen going off to another book, I have no reason to hope that the quality of the book will improve.

Whether or not I'm reading this title isn't a matter of me sitting here thinking that my quitting or staying will teach Marvel any kind of lesson, it's a matter of whether or not I feel the title is worth my money every month. Right now, I feel it's not. If you're enjoying it and don't see any flaws, more power to ya. Have fun!


Suzene

[Patrick James]

While I liked the end product of this issue, it was too poorly cohesive to be graded on a close level.

The end page or so with Jubilee and Husk "wrapping" everything up was lame as heck and I sure did wonder how Bobby feels about the next sudden change in his life...losing his girlfriend...to Havok...AGAIN!!!

But, I actually loved Austen's writing of crazy-Lorna. She had me convinced and I enjoyed buying into it, although her character will have to dig like hell to recover from this.

Oh well. Tan's art got better this issue and Austen's just taking us on a very strange ride. I'm sitting down, checking my safety gear and holding on tight. Whatever you do is your business.

[Suzene]

Originally posted by Sneakydub
[SIDE NOTE: Personally, I am plain tired of people who berate Austen's work because they are incredulous to some of the things that have occurred. I'll assume that these people have forgotten that they're reading comics, which depict realities and universes in which characters like the Beyonder and Stacy X are allowed to exist ;) ]

On the one hand, I can agree with you...when we pick up a comic, we're agreeing to suspend our disbelief to a certain extent, otherwise, we are going to have a very hard time with wall-crawlers, telepaths, and men with laser-beam eyes. It's like playing D&D and bitching that elves don't really exist and if they did, they wouldn't be that fast. If the book says they exist, then they exist, and they've got a frelling dex bonus, so nyah!

On the other hand, if you present the world inconsistantly within itself, you get problems. Go with the example above, if someone claims that their elf is inherently stronger than other races, not quicker, then people are going to question it. Loudly. Or say you read 20 years or so worth of continuity that shows plainly that Wolverine can kick 500 times his weight in ass and that it takes near-godlike damage to put him down for the count, then you read a storyline about what seem to be straight-forward werewolves kicking his butt, you might be inclined to raise an eyebrow (not bitter, not bitter, not bitter). Or Northstar, who has been known to harbor grudges older than the pyramids, attending the bachlorette party of the crazy lady who threatened the life of the only person in the mansion he's really clicked with, then proceeded to throw him through the roof.

Another reason for complaint might come up when a writer removes things that ground even a fantastic world in reality, such as expected human behavior. The reader then might lose the ability to relate to the work and feel put out. Case in point, Carter mentally initiating Annie and Havok's relationship without their permission. I'm sure Annie loves her son. I'm not saying that she have should have freaked out totally over the situation, but I think most of us, no matter how deeply we care for someone and no matter how pure their intentions, would need at least a minute to adjust to the idea that we'd had our head tampered with and might question any decision that came of it. To see Annie, who's been shown to freak at the use of telepathy pretty recently book-time, accept both what her son had done and the romance that stemmed from it without question seemed odd to say the least.

Just my POV.

Suzene

[Suzene]

Originally posted by Vasiliki

Send him over to Weapon X to find his sister.

*perks up!*

Yeah! Or keep him in New Mutants. Y'think maybe that's why he gets so little screen-time in UXM, because he's busy with the class schedule? ;)


Suzene

[Queen Artemisn]

The last thing I'm going to say on this is, "And the editors at Epic told me my "skills in structuring and executing a story needed developing before I'm ready to write for comics". :rolleyes: Right. I wonder if this particular editor reads Uncanny.

[Black mamba]

Originally posted by Arachne


Mystique's still his mom, but Austen said (I think it was in Wizard) that his father is now going to be some big bad alien guy instead of a German baron. blah. I think Marvel should be brave enough to go with Claremont's original story- Mystique's his father and Destiny was his mother. Now THAT would be a interesting story...


the minute i heard that story always wished it would happen betcha marvel doesn't have the guts :D

[Jesse Baer]

I just picked up this issue, and I pretty much agree with this review.
I really liked the expansion of Alex's powers, and the story was alright, but there were just too many loopholes. Why is Lorna suddenly so messed up? What happened to Bobby? What happened to Lorna?
I really hope the next issue deals with these issues, and doesn't just leave us out in the cold as they start a new arc.

[Black mamba]

for the last time people lorna is messed up because of what happened to her in GENOSHA. seeing THOUSANDS of PEOPLE DIE firght before your very eyes and not having the power to stop it can mess with anyones mind.whew! it also says this in many of uncannys recape pages i hope this is the end of why is lorna acting crazy posts though i doubt it.:(

[spare_ribs85]

I have to diagree with the review. I thought this ish was quite good, a lot better than the previous one...Austen ended the arc well. The whole thing about their dreams being manipulated was great...i must say i liked it...and we did get to see some of this (if i[m not mistaken- i don't have an issue on hand) in the opening pages of #425...(or i'm probably just imagining things...but it makes sense).

I have to add that Phillip Tan's art is great...He prob. one of the best artists goind around at the moment...his style is so dramatic, and full charachter...the spread of Juggernaut on the 3rd or 4th ( ?) page was awesome...a personal highlight.

One thing that did suck tho was some of the lines Lorna was saying when searching for Havok and annie....they were so lame...you'd expect to hear stuff like that in the old Adam West Batman series....

Apart from that, i loved this issue...

[Inferno256]

I thought this was a googd issue, soap-opera-ish, but good. art is great

[supercalifragilistic]

i dont understand why everyone hated this issue. austen is paying very close attention to his story and not leaving anything out at all. as for everyone wanting more of their favorite characters and such --- thats what keeps people coming back to the books.

i, for one, want to find out what happened to lorna, what happens between havok and iceman and annie, and more of juggernaut, who is turning into a really deep character --- anyone even remember how austen has been praised for his work on that character???

so everyone stop picking out every bad moment and just enjoy the final product, which is a very interesting CONTINUOUS story. and such is life.

[TurdFerguson]

Originally posted by AirDent554
. seeing THOUSANDS of PEOPLE DIE firght before your very eyes and not having the power to stop it can mess with anyones mind.

You may have said it a thousand times, but no one ever answered the question. How do we know that Lorna was in Genosha when the sentinels came? Lorna left Genosha at th end of the mini-series where magneto got his powers back. There were no life signs other than Emma when the X-Men came over right after the attack. Therefore, Lorna must have come over sometime between when Emma was recoverred and Polaris showed up in NXM #132.

Since polaris wasn't there, it really shouldn't have driven her crazy. It didn't drive anyone else crazy, did it?

[Duncan]

and also... nobody noticed Lorna being as nutty as Jerry Lewis while she was at the mansion? Nobody said anything down the line of "hey guys, Lorna's acting a bit like wacko jacko... maybe something's wrong"

[Black mamba]

Originally posted by TurdFerguson


You may have said it a thousand times, but no one ever answered the question. How do we know that Lorna was in Genosha when the sentinels came? Lorna left Genosha at th end of the mini-series where magneto got his powers back. There were no life signs other than Emma when the X-Men came over right after the attack. Therefore, Lorna must have come over sometime between when Emma was recoverred and Polaris showed up in NXM #132.

Since polaris wasn't there, it really shouldn't have driven her crazy. It didn't drive anyone else crazy, did it?


welll,it appears that lorna was in genosha since it says so in the recap pages and knowing morrison he probably just ignored the part where lorna was leaving genosha and had her just witness it.lorna was also driven crazy by the fact that she became a magentic pole to all the dead peoples last words and she was forced to boost the signal.

[thewrite1]

Originally posted by supercalifragilistic
so everyone stop picking out every bad moment and just enjoy the final product, which is a very interesting CONTINUOUS story. and such is life.

Austen is sticking to the histories of our mutants and he's doing a good job with sticking to continuity. However his stories, which are pretty cool, are told too quickly and there is very little explanation or development in the characters. Alex was not at all concerned to see his college professor die. The subplot with the ancient mutant fossils has since been ignored. Nobody either noticed or cared that Lorna was insane. Northstar doesn't seem to mind being thrown through a roof by Lorna.

There are many inaccuricies in Austen's writing and as people have said he needs a co-plotter so he can tell his stories well. I don't mind long drawn-out plotlines, but not when the characters hardly develop from issue to issue and interesting ideas are left to the wayside.

[TurdFerguson]

I agree. I feel that if every story was just slowed down a little, I'd be able to swallow Austen's storytelling a lot better. It's not that these stories are bad per se, it's just that I don't feel I'm given a proper amount of time to digest them before the next one is thrown at me. Austen's ideas have always intrigued me, it's just that the whole title seems rushed right now, and I feel that's stopping me from enjoying this title.

That and all the soap opera crap.

[Black mamba]

i agree i think chuck realy should slow it down a bit and get more girls on the team!!!!! lorna isn't even permanet and the only girls are paige and jubilliee we need more!!!!!:D and doesn't anyone think that when juggernaut hit lorna with that tree it should have crushed her or paralysed her? it just seemed strange to me that it didn't.

[Suzene]

Originally posted by AirDent554
and doesn't anyone think that when juggernaut hit lorna with that tree it should have crushed her or paralysed her? it just seemed strange to me that it didn't.

She was wearing the Magneto helmet! She was invincible! Eh, OK, thin reasoning, as it hasn't seemed to do Erik or Lorna much good, but I do love that thing.

Wouldn't it be funny, though, if Austen had just taken Havok out of his coma, only to put in one? Maybe Carter can set up a dream-date for her and Juggernaut.

Suzene

[Hellion]

Originally posted by TurdFerguson
[B] I feel that if every story was just slowed down a little, I'd be able to swallow Austen's storytelling a lot better. It's not that these stories are bad per se, it's just that I don't feel I'm given a proper amount of time to digest them before the next one is thrown at me. Austen's ideas have always intrigued me...B]
You are so right. I like a lot of what Chuck has done on the book, and if he would let things take a little longer to develop (which could be an editorial thing) I think I could really enjoy this title. If we had seen Bobby showing some lingering feelings before the "I still love you" thing, or more than one scene of the "dream dating" (ok I might be pushing this one) then I think this could be a really good read. This rushed pacing feels like pie being thrown in my face. This should have a little of the Tsunami pacing going on.

[Arachne]

I agree that the story arches are too short. An arch isn't two issues, and despite Sacred Vows being done with Austen's got alot of explaining to do if this is going to make any sense.

[znop]

Someone help me out here.

Wasn't Annie and Bobby kissing rather intimately, in the parking lot -- at the pre-wedding party as if they were falling in love and, holding hands at the actual wedding?

[Terry Bogard]

I think Austen is a good writer. He just has problems executing his ideas. I read Exiles #28 and I loved it I read it 3 times! But then I picked up Uncanny and I was like "What happened?"

I just don't like how he ignored somethings just to have a story. And I think Carter made Alex love Annie instead of Lorna...

[Chris Wilson]

Originally posted by Suzene
Another reason for complaint might come up when a writer removes things that ground even a fantastic world in reality, such as expected human behavior. The reader then might lose the ability to relate to the work and feel put out. Case in point, Carter mentally initiating Annie and Havok's relationship without their permission. I'm sure Annie loves her son. I'm not saying that she have should have freaked out totally over the situation, but I think most of us, no matter how deeply we care for someone and no matter how pure their intentions, would need at least a minute to adjust to the idea that we'd had our head tampered with and might question any decision that came of it. To see Annie, who's been shown to freak at the use of telepathy pretty recently book-time, accept both what her son had done and the romance that stemmed from it without question seemed odd to say the least.

Like I said, Annie isn't playing with a full deck either. :cool:

Am I the only one who thinks the flaws that Austen is putting into his characters are purposeful instead of products of poor design/plotting?

I say that Annie is so insanely in love with Alex that she didn't much care that her mind was tampered with by a mutant. She got what she wanted; she's not gonna ask any questions.

On the other hand, you seem to assume (stop me if I'm wrong here) that Annie is a fully competent, and sane individual, and that her lack of concern for the strange circumstances under which she fell in love speaks to author's impaired or nonexistant talent.

I mean, did you see how she verbally assaulted Iceman... for no apparent reason. And then concedes to making out with him later. There are a few bricks missing in that building. If Annie were a real human being, I wouldn't like her. However, I find her character interesting in this book because I can just see that she's gonna continue to mix things up for the regular cast. The girl is loopy :crazy:

Call me guillible, but I think Austen is purposefully making this character frustrating to swallow.

-Chris

[MonkeyBot20]

i liked this issue/story arc. It was my reintro to Uncanny. I just felt sorry for Iceman and I was glad to see Scott being a D**K again!

[Suzene]

Originally posted by Sneakydub


Like I said, Annie isn't playing with a full deck either. :cool:

Am I the only one who thinks the flaws that Austen is putting into his characters are purposeful instead of products of poor design/plotting?

I say that Annie is so insanely in love with Alex that she didn't much care that her mind was tampered with by a mutant. She got what she wanted; she's not gonna ask any questions.



You know, Chris, I hadn't looked at Annie's character in that light at all, and you bring up an intriguing possibility. The freak-outs, the irrational behavior...Annie being out of her mind would explain those perfectly.

I do think that you've hit the nail on the head with the suggestion that Annie is so happy to get her dream-romance with Alex -- who, up to this point has really been the perfect man for her. He was in a coma...he couldn't talk back, think for himself, object to her taste in jokes and reading material, form an opinion, or hurt her in any way. Alex was a safe target for her affections, as is Jean-Paul, who has absolutely zilch in the way of sexual interest towards her -- that she doesn't even think to question how it came about (and you could further excuse her forgiveness of the mental tampering with the simple reality that Carter *is* her kid, and so probably gets a lot more leeway than most psis would). The idea of her dream hitting the brick wall of reality out in the waking world warms the cockles of my cynical little heart, and I'll pick up the book again in an instant if I get wind of that happening, just to watch the train-wreck.

The problem is, as I look at Austen's set-up, I have a hard time buying that as his intent. His entire focus since Havok came out of the coma seems to have been getting Annie and Havok together. He's broken up a long-time couple to do it, and in a way pretty much guaranteeing that there will be no reconciliation at a later point. It just doesn't make sense that he'd make such a push towards that goal and then have Annie turn out to be a nutter, especially when that's what he's just done with Polaris to demonstrate why she *shouldn't* be with Alex.

And...well...not to be insulting to Austen, but it seems like slowly sneaking Annie's insanity up on the readers would take a lot more subtlety in storytelling than we've been shown so far. As much page-time as Annie's gotten, if she were intended to be mad, I think we would have seen a lot more in the way of cackling, shifty-eyed looks, and strange bodies turning up in the infirmary. Of course, I could be dead wrong...maybe there was a sinister reason why Warren's blood couldn't save everyone when Annie was at the switch, why Lorna said that she saw Annie banging Havok's head against the table, and why Annie seems to be trying to weave herself into the confidance of the majority of team's members. I just think that it's unlikely.

On the other hand, you seem to assume (stop me if I'm wrong here) that Annie is a fully competent, and sane individual, and that her lack of concern for the strange circumstances under which she fell in love speaks to author's impaired or nonexistant talent.

Nah, you didn't peg me wrong -- I am operating under the assumption that Xavier wouldn't put his X-Men under the medical care of someone who was playing with less than a full deck, especially when she's already confessed to be twitchy around mutants to begin with.

I mean, did you see how she verbally assaulted Iceman... for no apparent reason. And then concedes to making out with him later. There are a few bricks missing in that building. If Annie were a real human being, I wouldn't like her. However, I find her character interesting in this book because I can just see that she's gonna continue to mix things up for the regular cast. The girl is loopy :crazy:

I can't be too hard on Annie for giving Iceman a tongue-lashing because, really, the man has been a jerk to everyone around him for the last year's worth of issues. I've wanted to shake him for a while now, and I had the feeling that a lot of what Bobby got from Annie at Robin's (pre-tonsil hockey) was the result of Annie having had enough of his behavior, and the fact that she was more than a little tense herself, what with the vegetable of her dreams getting married to the crazy lady and all. That's not a sign of insanity, that's a sign of having a low BS tolerance.

The kissing, though, yeah...that was a WTF moment. Isn't she supposed to not like "Iceboy"? Shouldn't she have smacked him for the presumption? But he wanted Lorna and couldn't have her. She wanted Havok and thought that she wasn't getting him. Maybe they got together and had a big ol' pity-party for themselves.

Call me guillible, but I think Austen is purposefully making this character frustrating to swallow.

If that's what he's doing, I think he's doing his job too well. There's nothing wrong with making a character out-of-place, antagonistic, and all shades of frustrating -- it keeps the team dynamic interesting -- but if said character never gets called for that behavior, then it just becomes annoying to read. I see a lot of that in fan-fiction, and it almost always deals with new OCs worming their way into the mansion and getting to whatever they want without repercussions. I think that's more than likely what we're seeing here; there's more than a touch of the Mary Sue that in Austen's handling of Annie, and he just too close to see it.


Suzene

[ChibiKasai]

Originally posted by Suzene
there's more than a touch of the Mary Sue that in Austen's handling of Annie, and he just too close to see it.

Oh, thank you. I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who thinks Annie reeks of Mary Sue.

[Vasiliki]

Originally posted by Phlebas
It takes a lot to get turned off from the characters

Which is why you endure, and hope, and then endure some more, because you don't want to break your hundreds of issues collection... until you either say 'I've had enough' and stop buying with a vengeance, or grow cold and indifferent and not buying seems the most natural thing in the world.

There is a point where the feeling of not recognising anymore the people you grew up with hurts. So you either keep hurting, or accept that the dopplerganger you see in the place of your favourite character has usurped his place in the Marvel universe for good, and you move on. There are other characters/titles out there whose life you can follow, after all (not necessarily Marvel; in fact, preferably not Marvel). But the procedure of being turned off is painful, and you need to find other fans to share your rage and hurt with, while you still care. Once you stop caring, no more ranting to anybody.

I bought #425, was enraged about a WAY out-of-character and token NorthStar appearance (who's that guy with NorthStar's name?!), and ranted. What's the point of buying a title, when your fav member of the team doesn't show up for issues in a row, and at the instances he shows up, it's not him? (I'm not mentioning all the other problems I have with the title, because they're so many, that if it wasn't for JP, I wouldn't follow it.)
But I did not rant about #426, because I read parts before I bought it (smart girl!), gagged, and decided not to buy it. Notice, though, that I still cared enough to open it.
Which might not happen with #427.

>>If I thought my opinions would make the slightest difference in the direction of Austen's writing, I'd be contacting him.

Truth is that Austen has taken into consideration some valuable information offered by fans (like, swearing in Quebecois; see #414). On the other hand, since his original fine ideas and his final bad executions are as different as night and day (see NorthStar's remark about Gambit in #425), I doubt that any direct suggestions would be of any help. What's the point of writing to him: 'OK, here's why JP was way OOC', when the author knows how JP should be written (as witnessed by his original script), but for some mysterious reason of his own decides to write him OOC instead? It's baffling. And enraging, because it betrays the fans' trust. As another fan said, Austen needs a co-plotter... or another title.

>>Yeah! Or keep him in New Mutants.

Where at least he's written IC. :)
In that case, I'd hope for more things happening in the book. NM#2 was not bad, but it felt 'too little' - read it in a few minutes and didn't open it again. The panels felt empty as well: no detailed backgrounds, too many sketchy figures. I compare with the old NM#1-2 and they were superior.

>>She was wearing the Magneto helmet! She was invincible! Eh, OK, thin reasoning, as it hasn't seemed to do Erik or Lorna much good, but I do love that thing.

You just sent me ROTFLMAO with tears in my eyes! :D

Originally posted by TurdFerguson
no one ever answered the question. How do we know that Lorna was in Genosha when the sentinels came? Lorna left Genosha at th end of the mini-series where magneto got his powers back. There were no life signs other than Emma when the X-Men came over right after the attack. Therefore, Lorna must have come over sometime between when Emma was recoverred and Polaris showed up in NXM #132.

Since polaris wasn't there, it really shouldn't have driven her crazy. It didn't drive anyone else crazy, did it?

Originally posted by Duncan
and also... nobody noticed Lorna being as nutty as Jerry Lewis while she was at the mansion? Nobody said anything down the line of &quot;hey guys, Lorna's acting a bit like wacko jacko... maybe something's wrong&quot;

Agree.

[Chris Wilson]

Originally posted by Suzene

...with Alex -- who, up to this point has really been the perfect man for her ...he couldn't talk back, think for himself, object to her taste in jokes and reading material, form an opinion, or hurt her in any way


Ha ha ha ha :rofl: That would be the perfect man!


The problem is, as I look at Austen's set-up, I have a hard time buying that as his intent. His entire focus since Havok came out of the coma seems to have been getting Annie and Havok together. He's broken up a long-time couple to do it, and in a way pretty much guaranteeing that there will be no reconciliation at a later point. It just doesn't make sense that he'd make such a push towards that goal and then have Annie turn out to be a nutter, especially when that's what he's just done with Polaris to demonstrate why she *shouldn't* be with Alex.


Actually, weren't Alex and Lorna sorta broken up before the plane crash? Their relationship wasn't working, with or without Annie there. Besides, I think change is good. Hell, I'd like to see Jean divorce Scott and hook up with... uh, I don't know... maybe Fantomex ;) Anyway, this long time relationship, dating back to the sixties, smacks of the antiquated moral values of the sixties, replete with comic code language and the such. Keeping people together for the sake of showing kids that good people stay together is bogus. People break up, people fall out of love; it's not that uncommon. Scott got married to his high school sweet heart. I know only one person who's done that; I know 20 more who won't even talk to their h.s. sweet hearts. :cool: Alex and Lorna probably shouldn't be together and I'm glad that they're in the process of moving on.

And I didn't mean to imply that Annie was completely nuts, but rather that she's just plain off. I'm sure you know people like that; people, who at times, just don't make sense. People so controlled by emotion that what is rational occassionally evades them. She's obviously of a sound mind professionally, but when it comes to the heart, she isn't all there. But who is when it comes to emotions like that?

-Chris

[Radius]

I thought this ish could have been a lot better considering what was happening. maybe it needed to be a three part arc instead of two! It seemed kind of rushed to me!

[A. M. Hixson]

I think that's more than likely what we're seeing here; there's more than a touch of the Mary Sue that in Austen's handling of Annie, and he just too close to see it.

Agreed. Though I think Austen's fully aware that Annie's a Mary Sue. From what I've read, she's named after, and partially based on, his wife.

Uncanny X-Men #426 was the worst issue of the title I've read in years. So bad, that I've dropped the title completely. And I've been buying the book every month since #279, way back in the summer of 1991. The characterizations, especially of Havok and Polaris, were completely off and inconsistent with their history. I could've swallowed it, and the extremely forced Annie/Alex relationship, if there'd been better build-up. A natural development of their romance rather than the shoehorned, retroactive contrivance of "their minds have been dating for a year." If that's the case, we should've seen those dates. We should've seen the two of them grow together, not grafted together at the last second. It would've also been more satisfying, and consistent, to have seen the triangle between Annie, Alex, and Lorna played straight instead of Lorna going inexplicably insane. The grim melancholy as Alex and Lorna realize they've drifted too far apart, Alex's frustration with the loss and tying it into his sense of displacement after being comatose for a year, awkward tension between Annie and Lorna, the characters actually behaving like the adults they are (a criticism I'd expand to include most of Austen's characterizations)... And if Lorna has to be crazy, where's Alex's concern? Why doesn't he care? Even if he doesn't love her anymore, this is a woman he's been close to for years, for most of his adult life. So many avenues that could've been explored, so many better ways the story could've been told. I can't help but imagine how much better it would've been if Peter David, who seemed to understand Alex and Lorna best, had told the story. What we got instead was so inconsistent, my suspension of disbelief snapped.

Sorry, Chuck, but you just didn't earn it.

[A. M. Hixson]

Anyway, this long time relationship, dating back to the sixties, smacks of the antiquated moral values of the sixties

So functional, life-long relationships are an antiquated concept? Finding the right person and spending the rest of your life with them is simply old-fashioned, a fantasy of the naive?

I smell a cynic.

Keeping people together for the sake of showing kids that good people stay together is bogus. People break up, people fall out of love; it's not that uncommon. Scott got married to his high school sweet heart. I know only one person who's done that; I know 20 more who won't even talk to their h.s. sweet hearts.

And people fall in love and, sometimes, stay in love with each other for life. These characters don't exist as personifications of current public morality. That's DC territory. The X-Men are meant to be people who aspire to certain ideals, functioning as individuals do. That is, they behave like people do. And some people, the really lucky ones, find the right person in high school or in college and are smart enough to stay with that person for life. Granted, it's not all that common anymore, but it's not absurd or unrealistic either. So, Scott marrying Jean is hardly "bogus." Moreover, I doubt their relationship, or any other in the X-Men, has anything to do with sending a message to kids.

[LoganBane]

Did anyone else notice that Annie's breasts are a little too firm and perky after having a kid? Just a thought

[Anthony Lucynski]

Just a thought you can keep to yourself. All ages forum, man.

Anthony L

[LoganBane]

Sorry, I'll be good. (but I do have a point)

[BlackSamurai]

I wasn't really so much about writing this here and spoiling a chance to pitch this in Epic, but did anyone consider that Lorna's fragile, often possessed, and stressed mind could have company, a la Magneto? Yeah yeah dead is dead now but come on, in a world where people do the unrealistic can't a mutant with technological genius, psionic based powers, history of being a template for Onslaught, and resources of an entire mutant nation, not prepare for his possible 'death' by linking his mind to his magnetic energy to pattern it and intruding upon a mutant with similar powers who worked directly under him.

Granted I would feel a way if some other newcomber grabbed this idea and ran with it, effectively bringing back Mags, but if a real X-Men writer took this idea and used it I'd still be happy. Ofcourse that extablished, Mags quest for survival could lead him to seek out another body that can host his power and mind, one that isn't hampered by another mind being there (like someone who died) some one with some relation to magnetism (someone with a metal body who died, perhaps) someone personally favored and sharing a history as say, an acolyte (like mabe COLOSSUS)

It'd be so cool to see the resulting power struggle if Mags was in Lorna, made a run for it after realising how hard it is for him, a non experienced psychic possessor, to control even a fragile mind such as Lorna, especially after the professor finds him out and struggles with whether or not to risk Onslaught II by interfering psionically to excorcise him, and ended up in Colossus. Imagine the most powerful magnetic manipulator in the body of a natural level 8 strength metal character. Imagine after that as I'd plan a discovery of Colossus's mind linked to the body and after Mags runs again, a more powerful (Earth magnetic field backed strength due to a residual effect) Colossus.

Look out for a hopeful script called 'Soul Survivors' This plot has been in my head from the day I saw Lorna lost it in that nuclear mud. It's so possible Marvel might not want to do it, but why lose Magneto? Why keep characters dead, if their existance can be plausibly enough explained, after all no story was writen to denounce Hell, Mephisto, Valhalla, Hel, etc. and reveal all the other undead/revived characters as some nefarious plot of some villian. Heck with my idea we can explore the true nature of the Legacy Virus and show an interesting twist befitting the motive and manner of Strife.

I know I digressed but for real, Alex and Lorna while, I hoped would always find their way back to each other, and aside from the way writers didn't make Annie more interesting to me, I am all for the possibility that two people could get to know each other in a psychic setting. I am not sure however how this having been over a year affects the whole Six story line, but it is different to anything else Marvel has done and it shows ingenuity. My only complaint is how casually Alex (and many others) allow and accept Lorna's decent into madness.

As to why I liked the idea of Lorna and Alex so much, Alex is Scott's brother, Lorna is so powerfully similar to Jean, and no one ever connected the pairing (possibly by a Mr. Sinister scheme) of their genes to affect another Nathan like alpha mutant. And hey since it's highly possible that my idea will never make it through Marvel's policies and my revealing it here first, wouldn't it be interesting to witness the birth of another high energy powered entity, in the likes of Magneto's power given form in a manner that it can be used like the Phoenix entity and link to another being/host? Starting with Lorna?

[tapwater86]

Originally posted by A. M. Hixson


The characterizations, especially of Havok and Polaris, were completely off and inconsistent with their history. I could've swallowed it, and the extremely forced Annie/Alex relationship, if there'd been better build-up. A natural development of their romance rather than the shoehorned, retroactive contrivance of &quot;their minds have been dating for a year.&quot; If that's the case, we should've seen those dates. We should've seen the two of them grow together, not grafted together at the last second. It would've also been more satisfying, and consistent, to have seen the triangle between Annie, Alex, and Lorna played straight instead of Lorna going inexplicably insane.

I picked up an issue of the fantastic four from the dollar bin at my local comic book shop. It wasnt really all that good. not only did it feature a cat fight between crystal and sue, but it involved this horrible love pentagram between crystal, alicia, the torch, the thing, and the second ms. marvel.
Anyway, at the end of it, they reveled that little fraklin richards had been manipulating the minds of half the team, because he thought it would make everybody happy, or something of that nature. so in another grand and contrived gesture, he switched everyone's minds back to the way they were. so before it was...
torch and alicia-engaged
thing and ms marvel-dating
crystal-homewrecker

then it was

torch and crystal-dating
thing and alicia-engaged
ms marvel-runs off into a feild and dies

the whole point to this story is that love....shapes...are already complicated enough without the addition of some near omnitient mutant pyschic boys that just want to help. the story didnt work there, and it does not work in uncanny