The Cruelest Cut

• Writer - Chris Claremont
• Writer - Alan Davis
• Inker - Mark Farmer
• Colorist - Frank D'armata
• Lettering - Virtual Calligraphy
• Lettering - Rus Wooton
• Ass't Editor - Stephannie Moore
• Ass't Editor - Sean Ryan
• Editor - Mike Marts
• Editor in Chief - Joe Quesada

Summary

  You might expect that Uncanny X-Men #450 would be one of those oversized anniversary specials, but it isn't. Instead, we have yet another new plot thread, as Claremont brings X-23 into the cast.

  Of course, X-23 has already been brought into NYX, in a storyline that should have been long finished by now. She's also got a miniseries coming up fairly soon. I suspect the agenda for this two-parter is to give X-23 a bit more prominence, and do some set-up for the miniseries.

  I'm still in two minds about this character. She was originally created for the cartoon, but NYX did a very different take on her. She hasn't yet established much of a personality, and the "clone of Wolverine" concept from the cartoon doesn't overly impress me. (Besides, why on earth would a clone of Wolverine be a girl?)

  She doesn't get to show much more personality in this issue either, but Claremont does at least make her a little more communicative, and establish her as a reasonable threat. She's cast in the villain role here, with the idea being that Wolverine is initially suspected for her killings, bringing the X-Men in. While I wish Claremont would get a bit more focus and actually follow through on some of his storylines, at least we're finally getting back to the XSE concept in some form here. And the police actually show some common sense by immediately eliminating Wolverine as a suspect (his claws are differently spaced).

  Alan Davis is back, and the quality of his artwork is enough to carry the book past most of its flaws. He's clearly deeply enjoying the opening pages doing a pirate riff in the Danger Room, and if the bizarre superhero costumes in the nightclub scene don't make much sense (why the hell would New Yorkers be imitating members of the Starjammers and the Imperial Guard?), it's still a good visual.

  There's a rather forced subplot trying to set up a romantic triangle between Kurt, Rachel and Ororo. It doesn't really work, because the characters have known one another for years, and yet the attraction appears to have come out of nowhere. The shadow of plot convenience looms over the whole thing.

  Still, this is readable enough. It's Alan Davis, after all.

  Rating: B