Sep 16, 2009

"Mr. Osborn . . . "

" . . . we're all X-Men now."

So ends Utopia, Matt Fraction's first cross-over as writer of Uncanny X-Men. Now, I like that moment a lot; I dig the idea that you have to be your own X-Man (or X-Woman) if you expect to survive in a world that hates and fears you. In theory, I support the whole "be your own superhero" mantra, but in practice, what does it mean for the book?

This book needs a regular cast of 7-9 characters, not 35. It's all well and good for fan favorites to make a cameo every few issues, but the cast needs emotional arcs, not two panels of face time every two months. It dilutes the readers' connection to the story when they can't relate to any of the main characters. Also, mark me down as unenthused about the X-Men running their own island nation (after only 15 issues in San Fransico). It was called Genosha, and Grant Morrison decimated it for a reason.*

*This post brought to you from the EXTREMELY NERDY portion of Wade's brain.

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