Uncanny X-Men #516

I'm not sure how this arc will turn out or where Fraction will take it.  But I'm quite hopeful that we'll get a Namor Vs. Magneto fight.

I actually didn't mind Greg Land on art last time. despite his faces looking weird for obvious reasons i really think his layouts are improving

Here's to hoping.  I'm glad the Utopia arc is over, I never really warmed up to it, and I thought this book had some momentum before that.

I can't take the fucking science team anymore, but unfortunately it looks like they're here to stay for a while

Oh yeh.  Magneto again:(

Who is that on the cover? I mean, he's wearing the Magneto helmet, but... doesn't look a think like Magneto, does it? Hmm, I wond-, oh, I see; Greg Land, there's the problem! (zing!)

this will be the first x - men book I've picked up in years, I dont know what to expect but I've heard the writer on the Best Show on WFMU a month or so back and he seemed like a cool dude(I also inted to pick up Iron Man at the begining of the next arc and maybe pick up the worlds most wanted trades).

@cutty: Heh, "Here's to hoping" is a good slogan for what it's meant to be an X-reader for like nearly two decades now.

@captbastrd: Yeah, no kidding, that does not look like any face of Magneto I've ever seen!

@flapjaxx - haha, not bad.  I thought the x-books were at a near all-time high right before Messiah Complex.  Then they can'd New X-Men, made Carey's book Xavier-centric, and rolled out Young X-Men series that should set us as a society back a few decades

So what happened to the Beast cover?  That was solicited for last issue, but that's not what I got.  I thought it might have been a mistake and he would have been on the cover this time.  Was that a variant or something?  Anyone know?

I think is going to be make or break time for me... I haven't been enjoying the X-Men in a long time. It's getting to be painful seeing characters I've grown up with being written like it's their first day and uninspired rehashings (Even if self aware) of old storylines. I'm aware not many agree with that, but I'm really souring to the X-Men. I still can't figure out why this is the Fraction work I'm rebelling against.

Magneto "returns" a lot.  the first issue of X-men I ever bought (in the 90's) was Magneto returning.

@praxjarvin - i'd say Fraction hasn't really done any character development during his entire run so far.  I've liked the storylines for the most part, but he jumps around from character to character so much that we just don't spend any quality time with anyone.  Outside of Cyclops, who is apparently a leader

Something bugs me about this cover. At first glance it looks pretty good but when you just examine it further it's off putting. I think it's the teeth, I can't say what is the main problem but the teeth are bugging me for some reason.

That cover does look suspiciously like a Fleer Ultra card from the 90s.... Quick, to the Google Task Bar!

@TNC & Prax
Is it that whoever's on the cover doesn't look a godfuckdamn thing like the Magneto we've come to know over the years? Magneto has always come across to me as having a thoughtful, calculating demeanor. This looks like the copy & pasted cover to a fan-fic comic where the premise is "Imagine the Juggernaut from the movie was Magneto!"

Furthermore, the 3 layers (helmet, face, teeth) look like they come from 3 seperate art styles (wonder why).  The teeth look computer generated, the face looks kinda like it was drawn (but that's suspect considering who we're talking about) and the helmet looks like it was drawn and colored by someone entirely different. Oh, and the lightning was obviously copy & pasted in.

I know the argument is, "Well let's see you do better!", and against Land, I know I personally could do a servicable job sticking to my convictions of "No copying, no tracing".

It's about time.  How many months ago did we see Magneto with the HIgh Evolutionary?

Why is everyone hating on this X-treme and in-yo-face Magneto?  I think he appeals to my young and active lifestyle

@captbastrd: Yeah it certainly doesn't look like Erik under the helmet. I'm trying to imagine what the face looks like if he took it off and I can't picture it. It also certainly looks like the helmet, face, and teeth we're done seperate.

Oh well, that's Greg Land for you.

Is it just me or does the Land drawn Magneto look different than the normal Land-drawn characters? There's something about him that makes him look different...

I'm a big cyclops fan. I was always pissed at the X-Men films for not using him properly. I'm loving the X books now though. Scott is the leader of the X-Men, not Xavier, not Magneto, not Emma, Scott Summers. I'm loving every panel of it while I can, before the X books starts turning into the films, where every story is about Wolverine.

That looks like Wolverine wearing a Magneto helmet.

AND it looks like a really familiar image of Logan at that.

I see what people like about this guy, but it annoys me to no end. I wish Marvel would stop giving him work. Every artist I know wants to punch him in the face.

@WilliamLund: Wait a tic....Your right!!!!

That is Logan underneath that helmet!!!

That's exactly what I was about to post.  Totally Logan looking.

Why the f**k is there lightening coming out of his eye?

I got this not thinking about whether or not itd be a good jumping on point... anyone know before I read it?  If it's not, what's some recommended reading to get to this point.  I know asking that about an X-Men book is asking for a lot...

it's a pretty damn good jumping on point, read the recap and you're solid

I didn't think I would like this. I hate Land, I'm not exactly a fan of Fraction...

You know what? I liked it a lot.

Aw crap, I'm an X-Men fan now.

I call bullshit on Magneto getting on his knees.  No way that would happen.

That being said, it was a surprisingly good issue.  

Good first issue to this arc, I agree this should be a pretty good jumping on point.

Great issue. Best book I read this week.

As far  as Magneto getting on his knees, I can believe it. He's making a point in his usual, overly dramatic fashion. Subtlety has never been his thing.

Man, Scott just chose Magneto over Xavier. Harsh.

I laughed when I saw the panels of the red haired chick randomly posing and then Psylocke's ass. Shameless.

When was the last time Magneto and Xavier saw each other?  Wasn't it before House of M, and weren't they back to being buddies on Genosha?

I was pretty surprised by his reaction.  Although when you think back at all the Magneto = bad guy stories, I guess its justified.

Man, I want to give this book a shot. The new status quo's kind of interesting...but this artwork is absolutely awful.

The dynamic between Magneto and Xavier in this issue seems kind of outdated.  Back in Legacy Xavier and Magneto left on a good note.  Now in this issue, it's like we're back at square one  again with Xavier instantly attacking Magneto the minute he touches down on Utopia.  Xavier wouldn't normally do this given their last meet and also, this just isn't his character period.  That sequence of events just seemed out of synch with me is all.

Mr Land just isn't very good.

That... was unfortunate. 

I went back in and fixed up by review a bit. No more late night reviews! 

It was a pretty good issue story-wise, but Greg Land's art is just horrendous.

I think I'm going to drop this and give it another shot in trade.  I appreciate Fraction's writing in general, but the characterizations in this run have started to bug me, and it takes too long for anything to happen to make it worth following in issues.

It needs a new artist and not exactly what I imagined the return of Magneto to be but I'm interested.

Since Magneto never *really* leaves it's not really a shock to see him appear once again with his powers.  Also, I can't say enough about how poor the art is on this book.

This book needs a new writer and art team. I want Meltzer, Romita jr., Palmer, White and Eliopoulos for at least 24 issues. Epic!