Review: Uncanny X-Men #4

When major events have a moment like that it allows relative smaller characters to step up to become bigger players, and it appears Glob may be that character this time around. As a character, he has such an endearing spirit that does not diminish even when times are tough. Considering his appearance it would be easy to write him as this self-loathing character whose sole purpose is to look normal. Instead, he constantly looks for the good including in those others have given up on. He standing up to Jean Grey was a major highlight.

Pacing wise this is the part of the story where everything is beginning to slow down, perhaps too much. The amount of dialog is dominating and while most of it is well written at times conversations are spinning in circles. Glob“s standout moment is surrounded by similar moments that are hitting on the same beat. Having so much of this story tied to an event that happened nearly twenty years ago a lot of time is spent filling in those massive gaps. Going back to the generation clash it is not without merit as many of the characters involved were not around for the Age of Apocalypse, however when you couple that extraneous expository dialog with the repetitive arguing it grinds the pacing to a staggering halt.

Where this issue did succeed is introducing X-Man/Nate Grey as a compelling threat. The X-Men have dealt with plenty of villains that want to shape the world in their own image. Few have been as equally low-key and forceful about it has him. Villains are at their best when they fully believe they are a force of good and that is the case here. There are still many unanswered questions regarding the deeper motivations to his actions and how exactly he has god-like powers. For a basic introduction though there is a lot to be hopeful for with the direction of this series.

Final Thoughts:

When you have a massive weekly event comic with a half-dozen creators working on it a lot can go wrong. So far this massive relaunch of Uncanny X-Men has navigated those challenges rather well. As the story begins to settle in we get an issue that slows things down to add some much-needed context. At times that context can be overbearing as the creators’ desire to harken back with what was clashes with the need to keep things coherent for newcomers. It is a necessary evil that should hopefully lead to a better series moving forward.

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Writer: Matthew Rosenberg, Kelly Thompson, Ed Brisson
Artist: Pere Perez
Color Artist: Rachelle Rosenberg
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramanga