PREVIEW: Uncanny X-Men #3 – X-Men vs. Space Gods!

Uncanny X-Men #3 Cover

 

This holiday season, all my dreams are coming true when it comes to the X-Men. Coming off the excitingly successful Regenesis relaunch of sorts, the action seems to be non-stop across all the X-Men books.  Take Uncanny X-Men #3 for example.  Not only has writer Kieron Gillen and artist Carlos Pacheco given us a wonderfully classic X-Men Vs. Mr. Sinister (with all the fantastically eccentric Victorian charm), but they’ve also added the Celestials to the mix.

You can’t deny the classic design and epic threat that Celestials pose, and I have to admit that Pacheco is bringing it with this story arc. Take a look at these preview pages from Uncanny X-Men #3 below if you don’t believe me. I have to admit, after reading Uncanny X-Men #1, I didn’t know where Gillen was taking us with this story, but once I saw Sinister in front of a carousel in San Francisco, I was on board. The Celestials are just icing on the cake after that as far as I’m concerned.

Just in time for the holidays, Uncanny X-Men #3 goes on sale on December 21, 2011 and is the perfect stocking stuffer for your favorite mutant fan, with a cover price of $3.99

 

 

 

 

Comments

  1. I can’t believe it’s taken this long for the Celestials to be heavily involved in an X-Men story. They were introduced…what…back in the middle of Brubaker’s run?

    Regardless, I’ll be looking forward to this. Both main titles are pitch perfect.

  2. I saw the title of this and out loud (and not alone) I just said ‘yes please.’ Sometimes I like my X-men to feel like that real world, political climate, prejudice stories (Morrison did that really well). Other times I like them to be clear superheroes (Cassaday in recent years) other times they work best as struggling students (Academy X, Wolverine and the X-men and of course the original team). But the surprising constant through all of that? Aliens. Awesome, awesome aliens.

  3. This is all just too wacky for me, it’s only a matter of time before space pirate celestials and ninja brood fight the X-Men.

    I definately don’t think Claremont envisioned Mister Sinister becoming PT Barnum. Oh well, there’s always X-Force…

    • He may not have, but it’s about time someone did something to explain what the hell Sinister’s been up to since….when was introduced? 1986? A quarter century of mysterious motivations?! I’m on board for answers.

    • I’m fine with retcon’ing (or whatever) Siniser’s origin, It’s the cane-twirling that isn’t washing with me. Just not my thing, but I’m probably turning into a curmudgeon who likes Claremont’s foundation as gospel.

      Regardless of if I’m being petty (I get it, its comics), Sinister was a well-established character who acted a certain way for a long time. Seeing him fly around in a giant SInister head would’ve looked silly during Mutant Massacre, Inferno, or even X-Cutioner’s Song, but now “its just so much fun!!!”

    • I think X-Force qualifies is wacky also. One of the Final Horsemen being a Confederate drummer who bangs on his drum to cause bioauditory cancer is a prime example. I remember trying to explain X-Force’s plot to a friend up to the point where they went to Age of Apocalypse to retrieve the life seed. He looked at me like I was crazy.

      Don’t get me wrong, I love Uncanny X-Force. The stranger power sets and characters add to the X-Men’s charm (Forge has the power to…build things!). Super-hero comics are inherently silly and crazy. I’m of the camp that likes to see that embraced. So a bunch of Victorian Sinisters and Celestials make me want to keep reading Gillen’s book even though I’m turned off by the previous continuity.

      Of course, there is a silliness threshold for everyone and it’s cool if you don’t like this.

  4. I also don’t remember enjoying Mister Sinister as much as I am now. Ever since his first appearance, he never really had much of a personality, and was pretty much only defined by the fact that he was an immortal-ish geneticist. He seems like a much richer character now.

  5. I never really like it when the celestial and different planets are introtduced. Even in Whedon’s Astonishing run, I inwardly groaned when they went off world, even though it was a big aspect of the story. I believe that X Men works best when it is mutants vs mutants/mutants vs humans, playing up the special and persecuted angle. Having said that, I guess you need to shake things up in comics if your gonna keep it interesting…and I don’t hate the Shi’ar

  6. This looks so stupid I’m actually intrigued. I shall check it out.

  7. I can only stomach so much of the outcast-hated-by-the-world X-Men. It makes no sense in the Marvel U that super-powered people like the Avengers and the FF would be accepted and loved but that people that born with superpowers are hated and have government built robots hunting them. It works better in the X-Men movies where the only people with superpowers are all mutants themselves.

    I love it when the X-Men go cosmic. This looks beautiful, and more importantly, fun.

  8. and i just lost all interest to buy-clops

  9. I’m reading X-Books!

  10. Pacheco looks like he changed his style a bit for this issue.

  11. I jumped back into Marvel thanks to Wolverine and the X-Men, and now I’m loving Uncanny like I haven’t for a VERY long time. I grew up on 90’s X-Men (starting with the cartoon), and I love both books for different reasons. I love the Celestials story line a bunch, and Sinister hasn’t felt this cool since his Age of Apocalypse version. He’s a genuine threat, and I absolutely cannot wait to see Magneto face off with him next issue!

  12. I watched a good amount of the X-Men cartoons and I feel I should know who the Celestials are.

    • I don’t recall ever seeing The Celestials in any X-Men cartoons.

    • The Celestials are 2,000 foot tall space gods that experimented on humankind in our prehistory and are the reason people can get superpowers in the Marvel U. Because of the Celestials’ tampering some humans have this genetic ‘x-factor’ that enables superpowers — some of them are born with them like mutants, and others require some sort of catalyst for their powers to awaken (cosmic rays, gamma bombs, etc.) The Celestials return every few years to judge mankind (with either a thumbs up or thumbs down since they don’t speak). Apocalypse’s headquarters and all of his advanced technology were derived from discarded Celestial technology, as well.