EmmaFrostFiles.com

Uncanny X-Men Annual #2
COVER BY: YANICK PAQUETTE
WRITER: MATT FRACTION
PENCILS: MITCH BREITWEISER
THE STORY:
Emma Frost has never been a simple person, nor has
she had a simple past. The Hellfire Club. The Hellions.
Generation X. Genosha. But you haven’t seen it all. Did you know about her history with Namor? With Tony Stark? With Norman Osborn? The X-Men have often operated on the outside of the Marvel Universe; that stops now and in this annual.
Rated T+ …$3.99

Average Rating:

Aggregated reviews for Uncanny X-Men Annual #2 are up. Not all reviews are complete — still waiting for reviews from other sites, so this will be updated in due time. I’ve also included a review of my own. Mild spoilers and spoilerish images exist, beware.

From Comic Book Resources

Excerpt: That’s what we get in “Uncanny X-Men Annual” #2 — Matt Fraction’s best X-Men work to date, even though there’s nary an X-Man to be found. Read More
Rating:

From Comicsbulletin

Excerpt: Uncanny is fairly traditional, even though Fraction has a much more contemporary sensibility when it comes to his narrative style. It’s still a soap opera with powers; it’s just a very good soap opera with powers. I think that might be what’s putting me off. Read More
Rating:

From ComiXtreme

Excerpt: I think it is funny how the more progress Emma gets as a character, the more people go back into her past and add to it. It works here as Fraction gives us a time divided story of Emma Frost. Half the book is centered on Emma and Namor after the Dark Illuminati meeting. It turns out that they have had a relationship in the past and that is what the remainder of this issue displays. The pages with the flash backs are terrific. Fraction writes Emma pretty good and he nails Namor’s character perfectly. Read More
Rating:

From IGN

Excerpt: …Fraction contributes to both Emma’s history and her current situation in a story that continually shifts from a previous encounter between the White Queen and Namor, and a more recent interaction that follows their meeting with Norman Osborn as depicted in the Dark Reign one-shot. Read More
Rating:

EmmaFrostFiles.com Review

Full: Uncanny X-Men Annual #2 is pleasantly surprising. Biting dialogue and a creative spark that start new interests make this issue an all-around great read. Matt Fraction makes Emma shine all throughout the issue. With the appropriate combination of artists (Acuna, Fraction), not one dull moment exists within this annual.

This issue picks up after the Secret Invasion: Dark Reign one-shot. Emma Frost converses with Namor and the two agree to meet to discuss their future with the Cabal.

According to an old memory recalled by Emma, Sebastian Shaw once asked Namor to take the seat as the White King of the Hellfire Club. Insulted, Namor pridefully rejected the offer and headed back to Atlantis. The angered Black King ordered Emma to coerce Namor to join through “all means necessary.”

For two weeks, Emma didn’t return to land. Instead, she screwed around with Namor. Shaw became angered and ordered his Sentinels to attack Atlantis.

In the present, Namor wants revenge, and Emma agrees to hand him his prize in exchange for the Atlantean King’s allegiance to protect mutantkind.

This issue shows that Emma Frost truly cares about her own people, which is mutantkind. She realizes mutantkind is at its peak danger and, as an X-Man, she is willing to do anything to protect those under the X-Men’s wings. At most, Emma is pragmatic and fully knows “superhero ethics” are not welcomed in her mind.

To most comic book readers, Emma is often overlooked as a “B-villain” but proves that she is a queen among kings within the Marvel Universe. In the Dark Reign one-shot, she set her foot in dangerous grounds and seemed to be the victim of the Cabal. But in this Emma-centered issue, she makes her presence and motives clear and known to readers.

The Hellfire Club’s debauchery is rather prominent throughout this issue. Acuna provides some rather scandalous art, and the dialogue makes it only more obvious. And speaking of the issue’s scandalous moments, Emma Frost and Namor have a brief fling with each during Emma’s White Queen days. Certainly, Namor has a fetish for blondes, but Emma has yet to tell him she’s not a real blonde.

As for the art, this annual alternates its pages between the past and the future, as provided by Daniel Acuna and Mitch Breitweiser. Acuna provides a synthetic, paint-type style for the Hellfire Club’s vintage moments, and Breitweiser makes Emma, at times, look like Jessica Alba, but nonetheless, he does a great job portraying the characters’ emotions and uncertainties. And, finally, Namor actually looks like himself and not like Bendis, unlike the Dark Reign one-shot.

In conclusion, Uncanny X-Men Annual #2 is a must read for any Emma fan, and even worth reading if you just cruise along the X-books. This annual is a definite improvement from the previous Uncanny X-Men issues under Fraction’s writing, and provides hope into the future of Emma’s life. I’m surprised — in fact, blown away because my expectations had been so low. There hasn’t been a great Emma issue since Whedon’s Astonishing X-Men.

Emma is in power — she’s in control. Buy this book, enjoy the ride, because you’ll like it — actually, screw that. You’ll love it.

Rating:

In Summary…

Uncanny X-Men Annual #2 is one of the greatest issues under Fraction’s writing and rightfully puts Emma in the spotlight.
Average Rating:

Related Posts

No related posts.

1 Comments to Uncanny X-Men Annual #2 Reviews