Uncanny X-Men is one of the most important titles in Marvel history. For years, it was the bestselling book in comics, making icons of characters like Wolverine, Jean Grey, Storm, Cyclops, Rogue, Gambit, and many others. The book reached its height in the ’90s, but more recent years have seen the book – and the X-Men – fall from the lofty heights that its success allowed them to reach. One of the best parts about the golden age of Uncanny X-Men is the way that it told stories that you would never expect with the team, building its characters and giving readers plots that kept them on the hook for years. Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 6) is the best of the current X-books, with its latest story, “Wild Ride”, continuing the saga of Gambit’s transformation into Wyvern, while giving the X-Men a new mission.
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Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 6) #34 is yet another example of what has made this book so amazing. Writer Gail Simone has long been one of the best team writers out there, and this issue shows off that skill yet again. This book honestly feels like something we would have read in the Claremont run in the mid ’80s, when the writer was taking the team in weird, wild directions. Simone is joined by artist Luciano Vecchio, whose current stint on Uncanny has been showing him for the stellar artist he is. Together, the two of them give readers another awesome ride with the men and women of X.
| Pros | Cons |
| Simone gives readers an exciting story with peaks and valleys that will keep you hooked | The A plot of this story fills a bit like filler, trying to pad the story’s run time, but at least it’s good filler |
| Vecchio continues to knock the art out of the park, giving readers some detailed, exciting pages | |
| I’m loving Monet in the book so far and Simone keeps that up, showing us new sides of the mutant hero |
Simone Keeps Proving She’s the Best X-Writer in Years
So, I’m going to get the cons of the issue out of way. While this is an enjoyable read, you get the feeling that this issue’s A plot with Rogue and Gambit is only there to pad the run time of this story. While it’s an entertaining segment – the demons of the underworld trying to convince Gambit to give up his soul sooner, using an apparition of his and Rogue’s future son to force him to make the choice they want – it’s not anything that really needed to seen. That said, these scenes are also super fun and help the book’s old school feel. Nostalgia has been a huge problem with the X-Men books since 2024, but Simone has figured out how to use it in a way that the rest of the X-office just doesn’t seem capable of doing.
Chris Claremont’s landmark X-Men run succeeded for a lot of reasons, but the two most important were the characters and the way the book never felt stagnant. The X-Men got popular because it was the best superhero soap opera that you can imagine, constantly taking the team to new places, and various creators have been trying to recapture that feeling for years. Simone is one of the few X-writers since Claremont that has been able to give readers the same kind of stories without overtly copying them. Simone gets that the best way to keep the X-Men fresh is to not go back to the well of story ideas but to use common tropes in the team’s history – in this case their past with the supernatural – in new ways. Simone has been building up stories that revolved around magic since she came onboard and this issue uses that to its advantage.
Her work on the characters is also top notch. Her Rogue and Gambit are two of the best versions of the characters ever, and this issue is full of more of that, with Gambit fighting against the literal demon inside of him and Rogue showing how far she’ll go to save her man. However, my favorite part about the issue is Monet. I’ve been a fan of the character for over 30 years now, but one of the problems with her is that she’s basically the same character – the arrogant, powerful young woman – that she’s always been. However, Simone is working to show new sides of her and this issue has more of that, showing that she’s more than arrogant, there’s a caring person under all of that. The writing of this issue isn’t perfect, but it’s definitely going to leave you wanting more.
Vecchio Is Proving That He’s One of the Great X-Men Artists
I remember a few years ago, when Luciano Vecchio was announced for The Resurrection of Magneto, some fans were wondering if he was the right choice for the book. However, he’s been proving that he’s a great X-Men artist since he started working on their books and this issue is yet another example of why. I’m going to talk about the above picture for a second, because it’s the perfect example of what he does so well. These are Demon Sentinels, created by the forces of darkness, taking something that mutants fear and making it even more terrifying. They use the iconography of the Sentinel, but take them in a more horror-oriented directions. It’s a small thing, but it shows how adroit Vecchio is at this sort of thing – taking the familiar and making it shine in new ways.
His character acting and detail are out of this world. Simone is writing stories that revolve around the characters and their feelings, and Vecchio is able to capture the emotional stakes of every scene. His panels are detailed and flow very well, with his page layouts helping the pace of the book perfectly. There are some excellent action scenes throughout the issue, with the battle against the Demon Sentinels giving the readers some exciting, well-paced and laid out action. I was somewhat disappointed when David Marquez didn’t come back to the book, but Vecchio is proving that he deserves his place as the top X-artist.
I’ve been an X-fan for years and the current X-Men books are the first time their books aren’t at the top of my read pile. However, Simone’s work on Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 6) has been a breath of fresh air after years of lackluster X-Men books (yes, even the Krakoa Era and the Hickman issues), bringing a classic feel to the book that has been missing a long time. Issue #34 is yet another awesome old school X-Men thrill ride, taking the team to some new places while giving readers everything they loved about the team in the past.
Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 6) #34 is on sale now.
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