By Miguel Acedo

Think fast: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes? “The Avengers,” you say? WRONG. According to Cyclops, his “Extinction Team” comprised of Emma Frost, Magneto, Storm, Colossus, Hope Summers, Magik, Danger and Namor will prove that they have always been Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.

In the brand-new ongoing series, Uncanny X-Men, writer Kieron Gillen and artist Carlos Pacheco present a book with a team out to make a serious statement. That statement: The Uncanny X-Men will no longer stand for the victimization of Mutants.

That statement carries conviction in Gillen’s well-paced script. He shows an affinity for these rich characters and does his best to capture their idiosyncrasies through enjoyable dialogue. The story and its visualization contrast to satisfaction.

The dim and low energy of these X-Men, now fighting against a foreboding future after the events of Schism, is perfectly rendered and balanced by Pacheco’s art which is vibrantly colored by Frank D’Armata. The art is clean and effervescent; the subtext of unease is present through visual composition, spatial relations within panels and the layouts themselves.

On the surface, this may not seem like a bold new direction, visually and/or atheistically, but just like the X-Men have proven time after time, there is more than meets the eye. There are clear and intriguing team dynamics manifesting themselves here. A flirtatious exchange, the seeds of sibling-splintering and a multitude of plot possibilities make this a teasing and titillating read.

For a marketplace cluttered with X-books, Gillen’s omni-powerful team of multi-layered characters bound to face the brunt of their ideologies, this title features a fascinating meditation on Cyclops. As a character, he has matured. He has strategically made choices and stands by them. He is a true and time-tested leader. And he is more serious than ever, so for the sake and identity of Uncanny X-Men, the title’s team and its mission, that is not a bad thing.

So, for those of you that don’t buy that the Uncanny X-Men really are Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, Gillen and Pacheco may prove you all wrong.

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