Uncanny X-Men #478

Written by Ed Brubaker

Pencils & Cover by Billy Tan

 

The overall plot is quite the slow burner, with the X-Men and Vulcan still en route to the Shi’ar homeworld, but each issue is a small story unto itself. Just like the old days, Brubaker has decided to both write for the trade with his twelve issue story arc and provide a monthly tale as we see the X-Men run into new obstacles along the way.

 

This issue has them coming upon what appears to be a rundown Shi’ar space station when Lowe-and-behold (anyone get the pun?) the few Shi’ar onboard are really shape shifting Skrulls. Vulcan had been through the area and the Skrulls just came upon the decimated station. They were waiting for the first ship to dock so they could steal it. Turns out they were refugees from the Annihilation Wave (the cosmic mini-series going on in Marvel right now).

 

The use of current continuity within the issue, to reference the Annihilation Wave, is exactly the kind of nod that writers should use more often. Brubaker isn’t forcing the reader to understand a completely separate book to comprehend the plot, but if you’ve read Annihilation then the story becomes all the more rich. It isn’t hard to do, but so many writers don’t do the proper research, or the editors don’t. Brubaker also makes sure not to ignore the obvious fact that the Shi’ar Empire had just finished trying to kill Marvel Girl in Claremont’s run on the book. He’s actually incorporating and tying up loose ends from another writer!

 

The things Brubaker is doing right are hardly new, even if they have been ignored and underused in the past six years since the X-Men Renaissance under Morrison. As I said already, Brubaker uses the old school style of writing that had the mentality ‘every comic book is somebody’s first comic book.’ Notice that the recent (as in past six years) discovery of the synopsis/recap page allows Brubaker to use this style of scheduling without bogging down the comic with exposition every issue.

 

I’m really shocked that I can’t think of anything that has come out quite like this since that innovation started being used. It isn’t rocket science to do these things, but to not only do them but do them well is the quiet success of Brubaker’s work. Nothing here is revolutionary, just well-done.

 

I am a little apprehensive about just what Polaris’ powers are, she’s now shooting green lightening out of her hand for some reason. At the same time, I haven’t seen Havok’s powers look so dynamic or satisfying.

 

Oh, and did I mention how much I love the little headshots on the cover?

 

Rating - 7