Uncanny X-Men #507

I love Matt Fraction. I don't make a secret of this fact. But I've been a little wary of his X-Men. While I've enjoyed every issue he's written so far, it all seemed to be moving very slowly (like perhaps he'd inherited some of the pacing problems exhibited by his frequent collaborator and predecessor, Ed Brubaker). Plus, so much of the book seemed tied into the plots of the other books in the X-line that I wondered when Fraction's book would find an identity of its own. Would there ever be payoff?

The answer, as 507 practically screams from the rooftops, is yes. Yes, there will be --and there has been -- payoff. Fraction is keeping a lot of balls in the air, but he isn't forgetting about any of them, and he's letting his intersecting plotlines and character arcs take their natural course, ending or progressing when they need to, and sometimes reappearing when we least expect them.

The end to the Colossus arc in this issue was lovely -- as lovely a depiction of grief as can be found in comic books. Instead of making Piotr simply forget Kitty, or wallow in static sadness for issue upon issue, Fraction took him through grief's natural course, allowing him an outlet for his sadness and anger and, finally, providing him with a cathartic breakthrough: the ability to let himself feel pain. And the fact that all of this was tied into a plot about former mutant refugees sold into slavery, which dovetails wonderfully with Cyclops' mission to provide a sanctuary for mutants and ex-mutants alike in San Francisco -- well, that just made it that much better.

My other favorite part of this issue was the interaction between Hank and Warren, and the revelation of Warren's ability to turn into Archangel. I've made no secret of the fact that I hate what's been done to Warren over in X-Force, and the concept of X-Force's secrecy in the first place. But what Fraction did, here (besides allowing Warren a truly cool "saving the day" moment, which the poor guy doesn't get very often) was to show just what damage all this secrecy is doing. And he did that by choosing the perfect character to react to it: Hank McCoy. Hank has known Scott and Warren since they were all teenagers, and for him to find out that they've been hiding something from him, something so important and horrible, is simply devastating. Through Hank's hurt, and his failed attempts to discuss the situation with Scott and Warren, we see how much pain Scott's plan is capable of causing. This -- not the bloody violence -- is the dark side of X-Force. (And any comic that showcases the relationships among the original 5 X-Men gets extra bonus points in my book.)

With these two stories, Fraction managed to tie up one plot and give needed progress and layers to another. He also added progress on the story introduced in the Uncanny X-Men Annual, with Emma and Sebastian Shaw. And, as an extra treat, he included a bit at the end of the issue about Magneto and the High Evolutionary, a plot that's been languishing since issue 500. While I didn't understand what, exactly, was going on in those pages, I did understand Fraction's intent: to show us that he hasn't forgotten anything, that he has a plan for this series and he's dedicated to letting it play out. And I, for one, am more than willing to follow him along for the ride.