Kelly-Seagle UXM Run

You expected this from me...but this time no drawing. I had one in mind but I do not have the scanner for it
Today's subject is the Kelly/Seagle UXM absolutely unfortunate and short run. Reading it now, I feel it would have been better with much less editorial interference (for the most part). For all the flaws that I found in it, not everything is to be thrown away to be honest and while it is not as metal as its predecessor (my fucking favorite...), the right aspects are to be kept in mind and should be reused on-screen.
I think they've started with a limited hand anyway . I mean, "Onslaught" and "Operation Zero Tolerance" have been so neutered due to Marvel's clinging to what should have been buried a kilometer underground that it was clear this would be the last time we'd see any kind of development (not counting Cable, Generation X, X-Force and the like which are for the most part less restrained and let the cast evolve to a point...). Imagine what it'd be like if the X-men were truly left without the mansion, on the loose and with some the Bastion-improved sentinels still somewhere. And that's without counting the Big A, Dr Essex, Mr Creed and the Black Queen ! [personally, I'd have much different and controversial plans...hehehe... though the more watchful of you would have noticed them from the various posters. The clues are in the details! Nothing was made on a whim !]
Another difference is that while I felt Lobdell and Nicieza complemented each other and were more consistent as to the characters personnas, the epic plotlines and downtime issues, here Joe Kelly is the stronger of the two since Seagle is more hit or miss. But hey, I am here to judge fairly so, let's go with it.


PROS

+ The Art is generally good, especially from Carlos Pacheco. Chris Bachalo also does a good job here... shame about his later stuff though! What the hell happened ?!

+ I will give them credit for using some of the forgotten baddies and deliver some pretty neat fights here and there:
* On the Kelly side, I dug the Psylocke VS Shdow King "Psi-War" (I find Shadow King okay and at least invading the astral plane is still a better scheme than making Karma fat. I mean come on dude, you're better than that !)
* The Juggernaut tries to take over the house through the law ! XD
* On the Seagle side, the fight against Sauron was fantastic and a great example of teamwork done right; it took Iceman, Logan, Maggot, Sam and Jubes to take the scaly fucker down and he gave them quite a run for their money !
* Old mainstays of the old Brotherhood are back, though Pyro remains the most memorable here.

+ Cannonball interractions. Though it will thankfully lead to his return to the team he perfectly belongs to...

+ Marrow never downplays her lethal nature and I am thankful for it (though she is not as cruel as Feral. That would've led to a bloodbath). In fact, this depiction of the character and her Weapon X incarnation are damn memorable. Despite her aggressivity and initial animosity towards Storm, she demonstrates that she is manageable as a teammate (for the most part). I also dug her growing crush on Cannonball...shame she didn't appear in X-Force later...

+ Dr Cecilia Reyes worked far better than anyone told me (damn you, anyone!). I like that for all the freak-outs and apparant issues of self-loathing, she has enough guts to handle emergencies when they actually occur.

+ Here's something that few people adress and yet was a delight to read (also very unfortunately swept under the rug), the team-up of Bishop and Deathbird. It took from the Phalanx-Shi'ar war plotline that ran in parallel with OZT (and was allowed to take more chances because Cosmos, baby !) and the Bish was the only merry mutant left in space. If there's ONE Shi'ar I'll always like, it's definitely Deathbird. True she is a ruthless and overtly ambitious pretender to her sister's throne but isn't that what gives her such a saucy flavor ? And I love how she's now allied with the most altruistic and disciplined law enforcer in fiction. Even when he was lost in space with her, Bishop reamins heroic all the way through. The crowning moment of this plot thread is in the Team X 2000 one-shot (though it takes place in 2018. I guess we have 2 years till bird people attack and invade us !); basically Bishop and Deathbird will oppose the tyranny of Alanna, daughter of Lilandra and Xavier (man, when I told them that guy's sperm will cause the fall of men. And they still are surprised when he became Onslaught ?). They will be helped by Cable (hurray !), Longshot, Falcon, Jubilee (codenamed Vertigo for some reason...), a one-eyed Wolverine (ah, Bone-clawed Logan how I miss you...) and Dr Doom !

+ The whole Original 5 reunion was kinda heartwarming, and I have to admit they have a good handle on the very first class. Beast has pretty good interractions with Doc Reyes, Warren is less whiny (then again he gets to shag Psylocke so what the fuck does he have to bitch about ?!), Iceman is depicted as powerful and imaginative with his abilities (and next time you'll see him, nobody will bother remembering that ! So better enjoy while it lasts! ) and as for the most hated Marvel couple ever, they're trying to get a vacation which results in defeating terrorist with the power of "sneaking and punching" and watching X-Files. There's only ONE thing I didn't like when it comes to their handling of Jean and all of you know what i am talking about...

+ Gambit's return issue was fine (kudos to Steve Skroce's art !) but I would let him on a moratorium after that till his solo series kicks into high gear (and man did it kick ass !).

+ As for the shining moment of this run; Maggott/Japhet himself. The mutant who can legitimately Spider Jerusalem his bitch!
He is the main reason I kept this run around in my collection and I consider it his show more so than any other of the new or the established characters. He was kind. He had one depressing past but kept his pain inside and was upbeat all the way through. He was damn interesting, unique and balanced power-wise (Eany and Meany are basically Shizuku's Deme-chan with a more Geigeresque aesthetic. How can I not be charmed ?! He also ate A BOMB ! AND IS IMMUNE TO GASTRIC INCONVENIENCES ! So anyone who said he was lame might eat their words if they ever get the running shits... )
Point is the flack this guy gets is a fuckload of bullshit because he's easily among my favorites despite his rather short stint. Also Maggott, much like Sinister and Gambit, is one of those executions that surpassed the initial concept. Originally, Lobdell's idea was that he was australian and that he was an admirer of Magneto that was a reasonable person (the madness !). Joe Kelly made him south-african, kept the Magneto connection but had him be both horrified and admiring the red buckethead because Japheth has things that are called "a conscience" and "basic fucking decency", hence why he would never work in the 00's status quo. A shame Tony Bedard didn't use him in Exiles...
And even when he was sent to Generation X, I wish he stuck there and replaced M. Why? Well he is a character, she's a failed plotline. I guess that sums up the bulk of it.



CONS

-...I am however disappointed they did not use new baddies like Holocaust, Sugar-Man or Dark Beast. Hell, Omega Red was used in Maverick's ongoing. I mean, had the main direction been to craft plotlines out of the consequences of these guys presence, there would be more of of a substantial purpose to this run. Hell the X-men had it hard before, now they'd be playing in extreme difficulty ! But hey, that's just my take on it here.

- The loss of the mansion and all that did not feel as hard as it should have.

- Look, Jean taking the codename Phoenix in honor of Rachel, that is a nice thing to do (as it happened in the former run...). Bringing back the fucking space chicken is however infuriating as fuck. Stop it, we've been over this shit ! Also, it would have been more ballsy to make her preggers with a current Rachel , that would have made things go full circle ! (that and 90's Cyclops seeds produce superheroes, so there's no danger...)

- Rogue and mutant cure , pfff...If I were to have any complaints about Rogue’s character, it’s that the comics incarnation falls into a rut that both cartoon version never did ! Under Claremont, it was the whole Carol Danvers thing (have a shot anytime that plot point is mentionned and you'll be blitzed within the hour!), later it was the Gambit situation which was much better in the cartoon (and in Gambit's ongoing for that matter...). Point is,comics Rogue is a huge pile of angst more often not than and that can wear my patience very thin.

- The whole "leaving Gambit in Antarctica"...the fuck were they thinking ?! And using Claremont logic, shouldn't that make Remy a teacher ? Or he didn't kill enough people for that ? And yes I know, Seagle didn't want to use him and quite honestly, there are way more savory ways to retire a character. (read my Gambit retrospective for more detail...)

- The whole "Joseph is not Magneto"... Pfah. Look , the only way for me to accept Joseph was to go full GUNNM on Magneto and never come back to his original (and quite frankly dead tired ) personality. Hell it could have even given the Acolytes something to do instead of wallowing in obscurity !

- The return of the Excalibur cast-offs, Nightcrawler is fine but the 2 others ? Meh... and you can see that this is where any progression in the main book is bid farewell.

- The fucking Hunt for Xavier ! Why can't he just DIIIIIIIE ?!

And after this? Alan Davis' run and man was it like walking barefooted on crushed glass. Before you think I am being too harsh on Mr Davis (for the record, I know he can do good stuff, it's even more frustrating !), he drew THIS farm5.static.flickr.com/4056/4… I think it closes this case.