Uncanny X-Men tells the story of Scott Summers, Cyclops, and his efforts to piece together a school made up of renegade and new mutants in the aftermath of the Avengers vs. X-Men war -- AvX.
The catalyst of AvX was the return of the Phoenix Force, which possessed Cyclops and other key X-Men and led not only to the death of Professor X (at the hands of his star pupil, Scott Summers) but also to the birth of an entire new generation of mutants.
Uncanny X-Men #11 accomplishes something that is the essence of the comic-book-reading experience, at least for me; it is one of the things that attracted me to comic books as a kid; and that is the experience of battle.
If you have every been in a street fight or bar brawl alongside a buddy, or if you have ever played team sports, or if you have ever participated in a protest that turned into an open conflict with law enforcement, this is a feeling that comic books convey better, more authentically and reliably, I think, than other media.
Take for instance the recent Hollywood X-Men blockbuster, X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014). Its $200-million budget and its many scenes of X-Men fighting to the death with Sentinels nowhere approach the power contained in the single issue of Uncanny X-Men #11.
In #11, both new and old X-Men take on a Blockbuster Sentinel that has mysteriously materialized on a Michigan-university campus where the X-Men had recently teleported to express their support for protesters.
Note the incredible artwork of Frazer Irving and Kris Anka. Is there any doubt that it is reminiscent of Balthus?
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