Uncanny X-Men Annual #1 (spoilers)

[Anduinel]

I'm not going to do a blow-by-blow, I mostly just have a few comments and wanted to set up a discussion space:

Story 1:
- There seemed to be a bit of metatextual commentary lingering just below the surface of the Elixir story re: the death/resurrection cycle common to superhero stories and what it does to characters. I didn't think it was too heavy-handed though; just enough to maybe be worth unpacking later, but not enough to bog down the story.
- Elixir does wind up with a power upgrade. But Bunn puts a good brake on it that keeps the character from being too OP and potentially more usable (and interesting!) under the next writer than the typical healer character. Nice bit of writing, points from the American judge.
- Elixir doesn't wind up dead again, so my fellow New X-Men fans can rejoice!
- We also get signs that Monet may be getting her fill of Magneto's methods as well. The UXM roster is gonna be mighty thin if this keeps up.

Story 2:
- It's a fun piece, but short. There's really not a lot I can say on this one that won't spoil the ending completely. I'll just say that Domino gets a good showing here, and Roberto really needs to keep in mind who's been doing this espionage thing longer.
- Also, my favorite panels of the week:

[Fokken]

LIVING for those PTT PTT's

[Ambaryerno]

Josh certainly seems to be getting set up to be a major player in the ultimate fate of the mutants. And I agree, I love how Bunn was able to give him a power boost, while still nerfing him in a way that doesn't seem forced or heavy-handed by preventing him from having too much control over his new abilities (I think one of the worst things they did was granting Elixir all of Beast's medical knowledge, thus giving him the ability to actually USE the full extent of his powers).

Loved the way they set up the end of Domino's story right from the beginning. It was pretty obvious that it would be important later, but waiting to see HOW it would factor in was a big part of the fun of the issue.

[OWL45]

I'm not going to do a blow-by-blow, I mostly just have a few comments and wanted to set up a discussion space:

Story 1:
- There seemed to be a bit of metatextual commentary lingering just below the surface of the Elixir story re: the death/resurrection cycle common to superhero stories and what it does to characters. I didn't think it was too heavy-handed though; just enough to maybe be worth unpacking later, but not enough to bog down the story.
- Elixir does wind up with a power upgrade. But Bunn puts a good brake on it that keeps the character from being too OP and potentially more usable (and interesting!) under the next writer than the typical healer character. Nice bit of writing, points from the American judge.
- Elixir doesn't wind up dead again, so my fellow New X-Men fans can rejoice!
- We also get signs that Monet may be getting her fill of Magneto's methods as well. The UXM roster is going be mighty thin if this keeps up.

Story 2:
- It's a fun piece, but short. There's really not a lot I can say on this one that won't spoil the ending completely. I'll just say that Domino gets a good showing here, and Roberto really needs to keep in mind who's been doing this espionage thing longer.
- Also, my favorite panel of the week:

I really liked this annual and really glad Elixir is back and Intrested to see what they do with the character. I thought the backup story with Domino and Roberto was badass and a fun story. I really like what Marvel is doing with Roberto and would like to see him make a few more appearances in the shadows working with Magneto's group given his resources and new role. I like how he is working to protect mutants still.

[hedgehogvampire]

I'm not going to do a blow-by-blow, I mostly just have a few comments and wanted to set up a discussion space:

- Also, my favorite panels of the week:

Oh my god! I laughed much harder at this then I should of at this. XD

[healed1337]

I haven't read Uncanny X-men for a while, but I picked up this Annual to give it a chance. I'm so glad that I did. It actually gives hope to the terrigen mist storyline, plus the fun Domino backup story.

[Anduinel]

Oh my god! I laughed much harder at this then I should of at this. XD

Isn't it great when a comic is actually worth the cover price?

[Proto]

This issue was stellar. I'm so glad Lashley was on it. Elixir's back and finally his powers don't completely spit in the face of medical science. Double points to Bunn for tweaking his power set enough to make him not a walking a deus ex.

Domino's story was great as well. I wish she would've been on Magneto's team at the launch of this book but thankfully she's being written by Bunn either way.

[CraigTheCylon]

Shocking absolutely no-one, I bought this for the backup and don't regret a thing. Hopefully someone at Marvel editorial are smart enough to keep Anthony Piper's contact deets handy; his writing's solid and his art is lovely - very clean lines, good expressions and deft storytelling that makes it look easy - and whether it's a Domino-related project or not I hope to see him around again in the new year.

I liked the main story, too. Not been following UXM, and what little I've read hasn't been inspiring, but this was a solid little one-shot, and I'll take a focus on Elixir over most of the main cast any day. Also like the reactions from the people at the camp on seeing Magneto, especially that one poorly guy going "what have years of your magnetic terrorist schtick done to help guys like me?". I can't tell if it's either a sign of Magneto's typical bloody-mindedness that he just ignores this, or a show of shocking maturity and humility that he didn't throw a tantrum and strangle the guy with a chain.

[Beaubier]

Well, sounds like I need to buy this.

[Master of Sound]

What happened to the Dark Riders?

Was only Gauntlett shown and if more, who and are they now back in business?

[Anduinel]

What happened to the Dark Riders?

Was only Gauntlett shown and if more, who and are they now back in business?

They're all still worm food.

[CraigTheCylon]

What happened to the Dark Riders?

Was only Gauntlett shown and if more, who and are they now back in business?

Just Gauntlet. And I wouldn't count on a comeback anytime soon.

NINJAAAAA'D

[Hariel0079]

Enjoyed the annual as well, the first story was definitely the strongest. I like the use of foleys powers right down to what he can see.

A lot of what elixir said definitely feels very much foreshadowing.

[ChildOfTheAtom]

Do you recommend this annual? Is it better than regular issues in this volume?