Uncanny X-Men #25 Review: Gail Simone Lets the Monsters Loose and the Mutants Bleed Greatness

Uncanny X-Men #25 is not playing nice. This issue storms into New Orleans with claws out, nerves fried, and danger hanging in the air like a bad decision at 2 a.m. The Legion of Monsters wants the city. Rogue and the team are already dealing with internal fractures, Gambit is slipping deeper into trouble with the Eye of Agamotto and Sadurang, and Logan getting bitten by Werewolf by Night pushes the whole book into gloriously unstable territory. This is a milestone issue, and it comes in swinging like it knows the spotlight belongs to it.

What makes this comic hit so hard is that Gail Simone does not treat chaos like empty noise. She uses it like a drum beat. Every fight, every creepy turn, every emotionally messy conversation lands with purpose. The issue opens with a fun Western-flavored Outliers sequence before slamming into the main threat, and that contrast gives the story texture. You get monster madness, yes, but you also get heart, dread, tension, and that classic X-Men feeling of a team trying to survive the world and themselves at the same time.

The character work is where this joint starts glowing radioactive. Gambit’s turmoil is not just tossed in there for flavor. It matters. It aches. Simone gives him regret, conflict, and the kind of inner struggle that makes him feel dangerous and tragic at the same time. Then you mix in Morbius and Jubilee, and suddenly the issue gets even richer because that vampire history gives their dialogue extra bite. That is the secret sauce right there. Not just action. Emotional shrapnel. And the art team? Oh, they cooked!

With David Marquez, Luciano Vecchio, Matt Wilson, David Messina, Rachelle Rosenberg, Travis Lanham, and Clayton Cowles in the mix, this issue looks like a full-scale mutant event even when it is just one stare, one entrance, one splash page. Lady Darkholme’s arrival comes in with menace. Gambit’s encounter with Sadurang gets a huge visual punch. Rogue throwing down with a more feral Wolverine has the kind of loud, savage energy that makes you stop and admire the wreckage. Then the backup, “They Dwell Too in the Human Heart,” keeps the momentum going instead of feeling like filler. That matters. A lot.

The best part? Uncanny X-Men #25 actually feels important. Not fake-important. Not “anniversary issue so let’s act fancy” important. Real important. The kind where the story moves, the characters get tested, and the pages feel alive with consequence. This is a comic that understands what fans want from X-Men: weirdness, pain, power, monsters, emotion, and at least one moment where you whisper, “Yo… that was crazy.” This issue earns that reaction.

Uncanny X-Men #25 is wild, dramatic, creepy, emotional, and straight-up fun in that beautiful mutant mess kind of way. Gail Simone delivers a finale that bites hard, and the art team gives the whole thing fire, fury, and flair. This book does not limp across the finish line. It kicks the door off the hinges.

Crusaders Score:
4/5
Certified mutant heat. WEPA.

Writer: Gail Simone
Artists: David Marquez, Luciano Vecchio
Colorists: Matt Wilson, Rachelle Rosenberg
Backup Story Artist: David Messina
Letterers: Travis Lanham, Clayton Cowles
Publisher: Marvel Comics

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Al Mega: I'm Al Mega the CEO of Comic Crusaders, CEO of the Undercover Capes Podcast Network, CEO of Geekery Magazine & Owner of Splintered Press (coming soon). I'm a fan of comics, cartoons and old school video games. Make sure to check out our podcasts/vidcasts and more!