Last week, Uncanny X-Men #534, signifying the end of Matt Fraction’s 3 year run on the title hot off the heels of Brubaker’s run. However, as soon as it was announced that Kieron Gillen would be co-writing the book we all knew – Fraction was getting ready to leave. With Invincible Iron Man, the Mighty Thor and the massive Fear Itself on it’s way (and perhaps more?), Fraction has handed off the reigns. And after a run like his (which was assuredly a love it/hate it run at the Multiversity offices), it’s only fair to take some time and look back at some of the moments from the 37 issues (including an annual and one-shot) he penned for the flagship title.
Take a look behind the cut for the Top 5 Moments of Matt Fraction’s run.
5. Scott Summers creates Nation X (Tie)
One of the biggest solo-endeavors in Matt Fraction’s run of Uncanny X-Men was the crossover between Uncanny and Dark Avengers, at which point Fraction took the book from Brian Bendis and did his own thing for a little while. Utopia as an arc is different things to different readers, but just as Brubaker brought the x-Men to California for a new home, Matt Fraction took it over and helped to completely redefine the future of the X-Men: in the form of a landmark to call their own.
There were many things to note about Nation X. The first is that the new rock they inhabited just happened to be one of the most famous asteroids in all of the X-Men’s history: Asteroid M, the former orbiting home of Magneto. The second is that now the mutants had a brand new home, and this time it wasn’t set up like Genosha. Genosha was set up to be both a home for humans and mutants alike (with the emphasis being for the mutants), but Nation X is a home for mutants only. For a species that wanted to be accepted, they certainlly went out of their way to segregate themselves – and that in and of itself was a tremendous way for Fraction to leave his mark on the future of the X-Men, because the inherent commentary on that action alone is still yet to be fully realized within the comics (this action took place in a time when Norman Osborn was top cop, but since then the X-Men haven’t really tried to reintegrate).
However, the biggest element of the change is that Fraction gave all of the X-Books a new grandstage to play on. Many things happened following Utopia, but the biggest one of all was that now the X-Men were their own. While they have always been fairly autonomous to the world around them, now there is no answering to the world at large at all. While it is yet to be seen if there are any plans to bring the X-Men back to the United States at any time, the message was perfectly clear as Utopia ended with a mass exodus: the X-Men are no longer playing by anyone else’s rules.
5. Magneto brings Kitty Home and Kitty is a mess (Tie)
Magneto returned to the mutant world at large with Utopia (see: next blurb), and in doing so he was met by glares and various “under the breath” comments from our assorted hero collective on what used to be his home. So finally, Magneto had enough and decided to go and attempt to “fix Kandor,” in a manner of speaking. Using every bit of power that he had, Magneto reached out into space and curved Kitty Pryde’s bullet, bringing her back home. The only problem is that due to the amount of time she had spent in the bullet, phasing it through assorted planets, Kitty developed the inability to become fully tangible again. She was able to hold herself stable enough not to just fall through the planet, but not enough to touch or feel again, which resulted in her being placed in stasis until the X-Club could figure out a suitable “cure”.
Continued belowThe double-edged sword with which Fraction presented this is probably one of the most noticable moments of commentary of the fan/creator relationship. It is definitely noticable how bad fans wanted Kitty to return. The second Whedon fired her off in an incredible open ended scene, fans immediately wanted to bring her back, and it was quite noticable in other series (see: SWORD). In bringing Kitty back, Marvel not only acknowledged that it will listen to fan cries, but Marvel and Fraction both showed that they were not going to make it easy on any of us. So the fans get a character back, but everything that we assumed we’d get with that was taken away in one sad moment of intangibility. Not only that, but future writers (i.e. Kieron Gillen) now have to figure out a way to deal with this, because it’s assumed that she’ll be normal again some day – right?
However, on top of all that, Fraction was able to give Magneto a moment of reprieve, setting the bar for everyone to note that he is a hero now, not an antagonist or a villain waiting in the shadows. At least, not for Fraction’s run. I suppose Gillen could turn that around if he wanted to, or Carey, Way, Gage, Remender, Abnett and/or Lanning.
4. Magneto Returns – With Powers!
In the wake of House of M, Magneto was in fact one of the characters who didn’t make it out of his own daughter’s epic universe altering mindfreak in one piece. The poor guy found himself depowered, stuck being the one thing he has always despised – human. But a resourceful man like Erik Lensherr is not one to be kept down, and teaming up with the High Evolutionary, he eventually found a way – in the background of Fraction’s storylines – to restore his powers thanks to the work of the High Evolutionary, and in turn arrived on Nation X soon after it had formed to join the X-Men under the leadership of Scott Summers.
I suppose it goes without saying that some of us here (read: me) at Multiversity are huge Magneto fans. He is one of the definitive X-Villains, and has often been both a hero and a villain throughout the varied history of the X-Men. While he was seemingly a “loss” at the end of House of M, the writers were quick to bring him back to his former glory, and in making him a hero instantly divided fans as to if this was a pro or a con for the future of the x-Men and their new home. So really, just the fact that he is now a main character once again in the ongoing saga of the X-Men is a plus, and the fact that Fraction was the one to bring him back after Brian Bendis took him down a few nothces is noteworthy in and of itself.
3. Colossus Gets a Tattoo
Colossus is a fan favorite character, to say the least. His death upset many, and his return at Whedon’s pen thrilled even more. What excited readers even beyond that though was the development of the relationship between Kitty Pryde and Colossus, before eventually Kitty gave her life to protect others in the same way that Colossus had done only four years ago (in our time). In reaction to this, Colossus had been attempting to find a way to honor her memory, and chose to do so in the form of a permanent mark on his skin. The only problem with this was that every time he tried, his mutant ability would flare up, thus breaking the pen that was attempting to ink him.
Cue now an issue discussing the entire scenario, focusing on Colossus and his ability to not just be a man made of metal. There’s something to be said for great character issues, that take the time to stay within the ongoing saga of various heroes but also shine light on the personal tragedies of characters that we ourselves love. The story of Colossus here stands on it’s own as a testament to the idea of love within a fictional realm, especially in the case where the impossible is possible, and watching Colossus slowly learn to control his own temper – let alone his ability – was quite the endearing tale to watch.
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2. “Stand. Down.”
When I say that we here at Multiversity love Cyclops, it should honestly come as a surprise to no one. We really do. He’s our favorite X-Man, specifically because of the massive character arc that he’s had since his original inception. This element is something that many writers have tackled, especially recently with his ascension from pupil to teacher. As Utopia wrapped, Magneto returned to join under Scott’s leadership, at which point Xavier reminded everyone of how dangerous Erik is, attempting to go above Scott and kick Magneto off of Asteroid M. Of course, Scott immediately stood up to his former mentor and, in extremely simple terms, told Xavier off.
Sometimes, we as readers forget that we are reading fictional characters. As much as any character is “real” to us, their actions are not up to them but rather the writers who stand behind them, pulling strings like puppets. And for those of us who had watched the steady growth of Scott Summers as a character, this was arguably one of the best moments that saw Scott really standing above and beyond as a character. Most of us remember a time where Scott was considered a teacher’s pet, let alone a lap dog, and Fraction turning Scott into the true leader of the X-Men more than he already was was one of the best moments of Nation X, if not the defining moment.
For reference: Fraction isn’t the only person to discuss the situation between Xavier and Cyclops. Multiversity favorite Mike Carey had done so previously in X-Men Legacy, with Xavier having a “mind battle” with Emma at Scott’s behest. However, this moment – in which Scott truly stood up to Xavier on his absolute own – is still the greater one.
1. Beast and the X-Club Go Back In Time!
There is only one issue of Uncanny X-Men from Matt Fraction that I have found is universally loved by all, and that is issue #512. The issue found really is as simple as the title of this item says: following the return of Psylocke, Beast takes a motley crew of mutants to the year 1906 to research the origin of the species. The issue features the beginnings of the Hellfire Club (something Fraction had been dealing with a lot, especially in the Uncanny Annual he wrote) as well as the construction of the first ever Sentinel in a very steam punk-y fashion.
The issue in many ways feels like one of the most original stamps that Fraction was able to leave on the X-Men during his run, with the issue decidedly feeling like a thematic continuation of Fraction’s graphic novel, The Five Fists of Science. Featuring the same black humor as well as Fraction’s love of playing with science in the realm of fiction, this issue stood above and beyond the other issues due to it’s over sized nature and endearing character qualities. While Fraction may have had a run that divided opinions, it’s impossible for anyone not to adore this one-shot of an issue, as not only did it remind the various haters of Sisterhood that yes, Fraction can write, but it ended up being the most affable issue of Fraction’s run to date.
If there were any issue to dig out of your collection and mount in a frame on your wall from Fraction’s run, it’d be this one.
