Uncanny X-Men #9 - Marvel Comics

UNCANNY X-MEN No. 9, March 2025

Arguably containing some of the most blood-crazed, stone-cold killer Sentinels seen within the Marvel Universe, Gail Simone’s opening action sequence for Issue Nine of “Uncanny X-Men” is certainly not for any faint-hearted fans. However, despite such an incredibly grisly introduction to Larry Trask’s cybernetically-enhanced stray dogs, the bulk of this twenty-page book is disappointingly just filled full of word-heavy conversations between the titular cast and the young, predominantly unlikeable mutants under their guardianship; “Each one of y’alls gonna take one Outlier to mentor. Get close. But be the adult, not their buddy.”

Indeed, in many ways it seems as if the Oregon-born writer simply needed some storyline with which to pad out the majority of this comic, so decided upon a straightforward ‘pen-by-numbers’ sub-plot which allowed her to individually pair the central cast up with a fledgling character, and then uninspiringly have the duo discuss their future plans together. Such a technique certainly helps fill the sheet space. But it also makes the entire ensemble feel more like an understandably unused storyline from Chris Claremont’s run on the “New Mutants” during the 1980s - in which the fledgling X-Babies impatiently rebel against their well-meaning, highly-experienced tutors.

Thankfully though, things definitely do hot back up once Ransom, Calico, Jitter and Deathdream take a trip to the local shopping mall, and are almost immediately attacked by an unauthorised deployment of the aforementioned Wolfpack. This savage scrap is as enthralling as it is ferociously fought. Albeit the American author’s determination to depict Valentin Correa as some sort of major big hitter by him referencing that he's previously “knocked down Wolverine” with a single punch is rather clunkily-delivered, and shows a disagreeably arrogant side to the super-strong student.

Proficiently pencilling all of this comic’s highs and lows is Andrei Bressan, who undeniably adds an element of gratuitous body horror to its pulse-pounding proceedings which has seldom been seen before. In addition, the deadliness of the Bloodhounds attack upon the unsuspecting Outliers is extremely well-sketched, with many a bibliophile doubtless able to hear the disconcerting clank of the homicidal canines’ robotic frames on the plaza’s tiled floor as they encircle their intended target.

The regular cover art to "UNCANNY X-MEN" #9 by David Marquez & Matthew Wilson