Uncanny X-Men #10: I really, really want to like this series, but I really, really don't. First, I have to say that I'm occasionally a bit at a loss when it comes to stories involving Abigail Brand and S.W.O.R.D. I don't collect "Astonishing X-Men," so I missed a lot of her initial appearances during the "Breakworld" saga. It's mostly not a big deal, since I get that S.W.O.R.D.'s goal is to protect Earth from alien invasions and, most of the time, I don't really need to understand more than that. But, I feel like Gillen clearly thinks I should know more about Unit than I do, which is a problem given that I have trouble understanding his schtick. He wants to unify the Universe by...controlling it? Maybe? For course, I'm not really sure that I'd care even if Gillen explained Unit and his M.O. better. I've found these issues to be incredibly boring. The problem with these all-powerful villains is that it's remarkably dull to watch them simply defeat everyone. I mean, we don't even get to see the X-Men struggle against Unit, trying to find a way to beat him, despite his belief that he's unbeatable. He simply just immediately beats them. When they do eventually defeat Unit, I fear that it seems destined to feel forced, given that Gillen has gone to such lengths to prove that Unit is unbeatable. I think that Gillen is trying to use Unit to show that Cyclops' previous decisions are starting to haunt him -- Brand blackmailing him over X-Force, Emma implying that his commitment to the cause is hurting their relationship -- but I spent so much of this issue skimming Unit's monologues that I can't say I really focused on the finer points. Also, on a smaller note, I'm not really sure what happened with Colossus here. He doesn't really do anything all that dangerous -- he simply gets hijacked by Unit and then thrown into orbit -- but suddenly decides that he has to be imprisoned for his and his friends' safety. WTF? Unless something major happens in "Avengers vs. X-Men," I'm definitely canceling this title.
Winter Soldier #4: Brubaker sticks with a pretty familiar fomrula in this issue. He spends the first third showing Bucky and Natasha trying to get more information on whatever plot it is that Von Bardas and Kragoff have set in motion this time, the middle third showing them trying to foil said plot, and the final third revealing that the plot Von Bardas and Kragoff really were advancing. It makes for a great issue, because you get to watch Bucky and Natasha do what they do best -- gather information and then kick ass -- and then learn that they're several more steps behind Von Bardas and Kragoff than they think they are. I feel like Brubaker has done a masterful job with this formula, because every new reveal not only thickens the plot but does so in a believable way. At the end of each issue, I feel like Von Bardas and Kragoff's next step is a logical progression from their previous one, rather than a convenient development with little evidence supporting it. For example, we ended last issue thinking Doom was going to blow up the United Nations, but here we learn that this plot was only a ruse to distract Bucky and Doom from realizing that they were actually after Doom's nuclear weapons in Latveria. But, Brubaker also makes the issue fun, not just suspensful. I loved Bucky's banter with Doom. Bucky clearly knows that he's outclassed power-wise, but he's always been a cocky son-of-a-bitch, and he gives as good as he gets. I particularly enjoyed him telling Doom that he wasn't allowed to be stashing weapons on U.S. soil. Doom dismissed him, but Bucky kept at it. It would be easy for this book to be totally overwhelmed by Doom, but Brubaker does his best to keep Bucky in the mix. I'm looking forward to future arcs that focus on a little less complicated plot, freeing up some space for Brubaker to pay more attention on Bucky and Natasha, particularly a story where they don't have the resources of Nick Fury to accomplish their mission. But, for an introductory arc, this one has been great, setting up the structure that we're going to see in future issues, giving us an iconic villain at the center of an intriguing (and well-scripted) plot, and keeping it fun along the way. I'm starting to wish Brubaker wrote Cap this well!
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