An extra-long conversation you may not care about
This volume of Uncanny X-Men has made it to 25 issues. To celebrate, this issue is extra long, continuing the Original Sin pseudo-tie-in story of Professor Charles Xavier's last will and testament.
To be clear (yet as spoiler-free as one can be), this issue delivers two big clarifications:
- Who is Matthew Malloy
- Whether more of Xavier's will is yet to come
You may remember Matthew Malloy from the past two issues and his unfortunate run-ins with S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives and others. Here you find out exactly who he is, what his connection to Xavier is, and why it matters to all the teams of X-Men.
The Good
Brian Michael Bendis pulls charming moments from X-Men continuity and inserts Matthew into the midst of history. We get to see him grow over the course of the issue and hear Charles recount difficult decisions. The noteworthy Bendis character moments are sprinkled liberally throughout the back half of the issue, but a few of them fall very flat. Humorously, (adult) Iceman and others keep bringing up the great revelation of the last issue (regarding the identity of the Professor's wife), but it is a tease of what we want to know more about, while we are told more about someone and a plan that seems very disposable.
Chris Bachalo's art is fantastic! The first three spreads are well composed and strong examples of the Bendis storytelling to bring you into the flow of the narrative.
If you are a child of the 80s, you'll love a Saturday-morning cartoon easter egg that is beautifully incorporated into a key moment.
The Bad
Since the book is around 30 pages, the issue is a dollar more than usual. The sticker price might give some of you pause, but what you'll find inside is exactly what this series has been delivering from the beginning: convoluted story progression through languishing conversations, offset by marvelous spreads of magnificent artwork. There's just more of it.
We're frequently told to suspend both our expectations and disbelief about continuity, but the plot holes in this book are difficult to ignore. How does a mutant as strong as Matthew never register on Cerebro (or Cerebra) when Professor X is not using it? We had the Cuckoos, Emma, and others detecting mutants for long periods of X-Men history, but some of them are present for Matthew's revelation and they had no clue. On top of that, you have obsessive characters like Monet who once boasted she knew about all the mutants after the Decimation, including their political leanings. Yet Matthew is never mentioned.
Despite being largely incognito throughout all of modern mutant history, Matthew is a blank slate (as thoroughly and painfully explained by Xavier) during the course of the story. His powers are impressively manifested through the detailed artwork of Bachalo, but are still inconsistent in the scope and magnitude of their impact.
Scott continues to be browbeat for his role in the professor's death, but he gets indignant about Charles' flawed ethics. This is a hurdle many of the characters present have already overcome. It's old news, but here it is brought up as if it is new.
In the end, we are left hanging as to whether the X-Men are going to follow through on the final(?) wishes of Charles Xavier in order to unlock more of his last will and testament.
The Verdict
This issue is less about Xavier's last will and testament and more of the secret origin of Matthew Malloy. Your appreciation of this story may hang on how much you like Chris Bachalo's art. He delivers the script as ordered, bringing fantastic layouts and vivid colors to every page.