UNCANNY X-MEN #36 (MARVEL COMICS)
Gambit’s losing the fight against the curse from Agamotto.
It has forced Rogue to seek dangerous help to save her husband. Between Gabriel, the demon hunter and Repent, She’s exhausted all options. One last act might be the salvation Remy needs, but at what costs?
Back in Louisiana, The X-Men have stumbled across Howler’s captors and discovered something far more evil as they try helping the young mutant.
UNCANNY X-MEN #36 by Gail Simone, Luciano Vecchio, Matt Wilson & Clayton Cowles (Marvel Comics) concludes “Wild Ride”.
Let’s take a closer look at the arc finale.
UNCANNY X-MEN #36 by Gail Simone, Luciano Vecchio, Matt Wilson & Clayton Cowles (Marvel Comics)
*** POSSIBLE SPOILER WARNING ***
WRITING:
Simone gives Gambit and Rogue a thrilling finish to their story while the true evil lies back home. The opening shows the tense ride to a last ditch effort to save Remy. The writing focuses on Repent in varying degrees. Readers are treated to his tragic origin while teasing a more devilish side to the exorcist. It leads to a frightening reality. There’s no disguising the fear involved with the procedure. As it rolls on, Rogue’s caring nature shines through. Simone has tapped into this side of the legendary mutant and made her the star of this series. Her acts lead to a bittersweet finish and an uncertain future moving forward.
Where the issue excels at is dealing with Calamity and the mutant-trafficking facility. The disgusting acts unfolding in this building strikes many nerves (as they should) with the X-Men, primarily Wolverine and M. This allows for a defiant reaction to take hold on the pages. The moment is defined with Wolverine’s fight with Calamity. Knowing what has provoked Wolverine, his response is justified and applauded. This catapults the action into brutal displays fitting for the acts being done. It is an intense sequence that releases the pent-up anger knowing what’s been done. This leads into a sensational ending that never lets up on the emotional weight of what’s transpired. An excellent presentation all around.
read last issue’s review!
ART & LETTERING:
Vecchio & Wilson juggle many characters with relative ease while presenting the dark subject themes. Opening with Rogue and Gambit, the panels show the pain Remy is pushing through while allowing Repent to take over scenes. Panels show many various looks of the mutant exorcist before landing on a superb half panel origin. It conveys the moody areas they trek while dealing with Gambit’s curse. This leads into a strong finish for this portion. Readers get a powerful full page image to lead to its’ finish. The aftermath is a solid half panel to reflect on the hell they just went through.
Readers get amazing action in the fight with Calamity. Wolverine’s reactions show the building rage behind his eyes. Processing the evil behind mutant child trafficking forces a savage and justified reaction. An electric full page sequence unlocks his berserker rage. Watching the anger explode makes a very bold statement. It is followed up by another mutant unloading their frustration via full page. There is no mercy shown to the guilty party in these scenes. A smaller panel shows the children’s reaction in finally being free of their nightmare. This moves to a violent and fierce finish. Wolverine’s parting panel cements the frustration home while making a warning for the future. Vecchio locked in on this aspect for the two leads here and firmly planted their rage in these panels.
FINAL GRADE: 9
The X-Men battle pure evil on two fronts in an exciting arc finale! Simone unleashes the fury behind heroic eyes with a fantastic script. Vecchio and Wilson craft intense images that never let up on the magnitude of the events. This run of UXM is what you set as the benchmark for modern X-Men stories to hit!
Let me know your thoughts on UNCANNY X-MEN #36 in the comments below. Thanks for reading!
