As with previous issues, “Uncanny X-Men” #3 begins with a credits and recap page. As the title suggests, this issue is chapter number 3 of a story arc called “Red Wave.” The subtitle of this chapter is “Inside Man” – who could that mean?
The character list includes both X-Men and Outliers: Jitter (who can “hyperfocus” herself to perform amazing feats), Ransom (whose heart is literally a black hole), Deathdream (who can switch between life and death, summoning ghosts in the process), and Calico (she rides a pegasus with whom she is psychically linked).
Nightcrawler last appeared in “Uncanny X-Men” #1. He was giving funeral rites to Harvey X, a psychic mutant boy who was suffering from a fatal illness, and he asked the others to come to cheer the kid up by seeing his favorite heroes. Kurt was absent in issue #2, but Rogue called him to rejoin, and it looks like issue #3 will be when he officially joins the main cast. However, he’s nowhere to be seen in these next three pages.
So far Rogue has been the narrator of this book (her text boxes are green like most of her outfits), so the issue begins with her. She wakes up next to Remy in the bayou mansion where they’re staying. She notices that the blanket she’s wrapped in “smells like somebody’s mother made it,” only to remember that her mother (Mystique) isn’t the one who knitted the blanket. She looks up at the man standing next to her, calling out to him “[Her] The best Gambit ever.” (Ouch) Rogue worries about being a grand guest, but then she remembers that in issue #1, Gambit’s friend Marcus said that all orphans are welcome at his door.
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The next page is fairly disjointed; Rogue goes into the kitchen and finds Logan is already there, sitting at the table. In four panels, they talk from opposite ends of the room (and frame) while Rogue gets coffee. Most of the dialogue is simple banter (Logan waking himself up with tequila instead of espresso), but then Logan expresses his skepticism about outliers.
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On the next page, Marquez divides a large square panel with an X to show four outliers, breaking the rhythm (and catching readers unfamiliar with these new mutants). Logan reminds Rogue of little Harvey’s last prophetic words; that they will meet needy young mutants and that one of them, “the Endling,” will bring destruction. Rogue reaffirms to Logan that she wants to help the kids, but internally admits she is choosing willful ignorance. Marquez has painted Rogue with big eyes and a wide smile you can get lost in; such a close-up is a pleasant closing note to this preview.
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Now that “Uncanny X-Men” is underway, I understand why Simone chose this cast. It’s not like all of these characters have relationships that closely matched each other. (Rogue is lovers with Gambit and adoptive siblings with Nightcrawler, who is Wolverine’s best friend, who is Jubilee’s mentor, Rogue’s friend and Gambit’s friendly rival, etc.) Rogue, Gambit, Logan, Jubilee, and Nightcrawler were also once lost souls in need of guidance, and they found it with the X-Men. Now, as they question what the X-Men mean anymore, they find needy children coming to them. Without Krakoa, it seems the X-Men are needed more than ever to protect and inspire vulnerable mutants.
Rogue’s character has evolved considerably since Mike Carey’s run on “X-Men” in the 2000s, and she’s emerged as a leader. Now, with Professor X absent and Cyclops barely answering her calls, Rogue is stepping up again. This time, however, she’s following fellow villain-turned-X-Woman Emma Frost’s principles: “For the kids.”
“Uncanny X-Men” #3 will be published on September 25, 2024. The first two issues are currently available from print and digital retailers.
