Uncanny X-Men #516

Yeah, I'm starting to think that Fraction just simply does NOT KNOW X-history very well. Evidence: the point you mentioned at the end of your review, but also in a recent interview he made the following claims: 1) "NO ONE ever knew where Genosha was exactly" (Uh, in EVERY Genosha storyarc they've repeatedly said it was off the coast of Madagascar...), 2) "I grew up with Dave Cockcrum's Beast" (Beast wasn't even in the X-Men when Cockrum was the artist!), 3) "Emma was never really a bad guy" (Read Dark Phoenix Saga, where she's a complete witch?!).

The way that Fraction manipulates things so that Xavier and Cyclops are at odds...it's very forced. And, yeah, I can already sense that there's a growing discontent among the mutants about Cyclops' leadership. But you know what? Just because Cyclops is SUPPOSED to be flawed and annoying does not make him an interesting  leader . . . it actually just annoys the reader in the process, when things are being set-up so blatantly.

Great review! You should do more of them ;)

I gave up on this title once Land was considered an artist a long time ago. But I'm not surprise that:

A) The art looks like shit.

B) This title is still pretty bad to read overall. Not even big names like Brubaker or Fraction can keep this title interesting....or good for that matter.

I just cleaned this review up a bit. It was a little embarrassing! No more writing reviews at 2 am.

@flapjaxx  Wow, I didn't know those three things you mentioned there. Heck, Emma was still bad guy up until she joined Generation X! She technically raped Iceman in X-Men 311. As for Cyclops and Xavier, it seems so fake to me. Like "Hey, Magneto's coming over. Let's pretend we're having a fight to get him to leave earlier." I want to see the inevitable Namor/Magneto confrontation. It should be good. They do have a history that could fuel some animosity.

@TNC I've said it before, I never much minded his tracing wayback on Sojourn. Yeah, it sucks he traces, but I don't feel the need to drum up how much I dislike it everytime a book by him comes out.  

LOLZ this issue rocked!  Your review is WRONG!  MARVEL KICKS ASS!!!!!!!

;-) 

I thought this issue had promise.  Yes, the relationship portrayals are questionable, as well as Magneto's actions, but I felt Fraction got Magneto's mannerisms and attitude down pretty well.  Plus the second storyline with Scalphunter was pretty straight forward, as stupid as all those characters seem at this point. 

Not a flawless issue by any means, but certainly better than most of the single issues he has done before in his run.  Although that isn't really saying much. 

BTW, I've been super busy, but I'm gonna try to do my review later on tonight, assuming things go as planned

The issue definitely gave the impression that Fraction learned everything he knows about Professor X from Onslaught and a few scattered Claremont issues.  Or, this is a terribly hamfisted way of revealing thatg maybe Professor X isn't really Professor X!  (groan)

I really wish Marvel could figure out a way to put A or B level writers on this title without compromising their writing.  While Whedon was somehow able to pull of a good run, fantastic writers like Brubaker and Carey put out really lackluster X-stories, and now Fraction seems to be floundering.  It's really disheartening.

@drake I don't care how busy you are, we had a gentlemen's agreement! ;-) I was a little disappointed by Magneto. He felt a little flamboyant, too much of a show off. For me Magneto is not a maniac, he's a more sane Doom. He's calm, cool, collected but most importantly smart and just the slightest bit statesmen. And that did come across. But I also felt like I was seeing someone write Ultimate Magneto in the regular MU. The Scalphunter/Gamemaster storyline just doesn't feel like anything yet. There are absolutely no stakes and hence no drama. To be honest, I've felt that Uncanny hasn't been great, but it just seems to be getting worse the deeper into post-"Utopia" we get.

@akamuu Yeah, I'm not sure what to think about Prof. X. It seems every five years we decide he's good or bad, and just decide to make it fit instead of exploring everything. He has been, from the start, a short-sighted manipulative jerk. However, this is just coming off terribly. It contracts characterization established a year ago in X-Men Legacy. (Which I've dropped but you know what I mean.) I haven't really enjoyed the X-Men or the X-Franchise as a whole since Morrison left. Milligan floundered despite having the stellar X-Force/X-Statix under his belt. Even Morrison's run dwindles into something bad. Perhaps its editorial playing it safe? Perhaps its time to just end the X-Men? 

Considering Uncanny X-men consistently ends up in the top ten issues sold and the unending stream of X-titles shows no sign of abating, I suspect "ending" the X-men is not likely to occur any time soon. You are more likely to see Fantastic Four go away (which it won't). I am just waiting for the next great thing. We had Claremont, Morrison, & Whedon, who all had great runs and so far Fraction (and Brubaker before him) are not it. Who is good at sprawling storylines and an overwhelming embarrasment of characters? Bendis? I don't think Geoff Johns is available for X-men duties any time soon. I vote we send Wolverine, Colossus, and Nightcrawler off to find Kitty Pryde and a new writer.