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You might expect that Uncanny X-Men
#450 would be one of those oversized anniversary specials, but
it isn't. Instead, we have yet another new plot thread,
as Claremont brings X-23 into the cast.
Of course, X-23 has already been brought
into NYX, in a storyline that should have been long
finished by now. She's also got a miniseries coming up
fairly soon. I suspect the agenda for this two-parter is
to give X-23 a bit more prominence, and do some set-up for the
miniseries.
I'm still in two minds about this
character. She was originally created for the cartoon,
but NYX did a very different take on her. She
hasn't yet established much of a personality, and the "clone
of Wolverine" concept from the cartoon doesn't overly impress
me. (Besides, why on earth would a clone of Wolverine be
a girl?)
She doesn't get to show much more
personality in this issue either, but Claremont does at least
make her a little more communicative, and establish her as a
reasonable threat. She's cast in the villain role here,
with the idea being that Wolverine is initially suspected for
her killings, bringing the X-Men in. While I wish
Claremont would get a bit more focus and actually follow
through on some of his storylines, at least we're finally
getting back to the XSE concept in some form here. And
the police actually show some common sense by immediately
eliminating Wolverine as a suspect (his claws are differently
spaced).
Alan Davis is back, and the quality of his
artwork is enough to carry the book past most of its flaws.
He's clearly deeply enjoying the opening pages doing a pirate
riff in the Danger Room, and if the bizarre superhero costumes
in the nightclub scene don't make much sense (why the hell
would New Yorkers be imitating members of the Starjammers and
the Imperial Guard?), it's still a good visual.
There's a rather forced subplot trying to
set up a romantic triangle between Kurt, Rachel and Ororo.
It doesn't really work, because the characters have known one
another for years, and yet the attraction appears to have come
out of nowhere. The shadow of plot convenience looms
over the whole thing.
Still, this is readable enough. It's
Alan Davis, after all.
Rating: B
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