by Josh Powell, Editor-at-Large

Official Description:
Mutantkind is more endangered than ever before. The anti-mutant organization Orchis attacked the Hellfire Gala and issued an ultimatum: For every mutant found on the planet, Orchis will annihilate increasing numbers of humans. With no other choice, Charles Xavier psychically banished all mutants from Earth; only a handful with training were able to resist his telepathic command. The mysterious mutant Captain Krakoa launched an attack on the U.S. government. Captain America set out to intercept him but was in turn attacked by Orchis agents and then rescued by the mutant Rogue. And a new breed of Stark Sentinels are on the hunt for mutants…

Captain America knows fascism when he smells it.  This whole Orchis situation forcing mutants of every stripe to take a “mutant-inhibiting injection” or get forcibly deported off-planet stinks to high heaven, or at least Mars.  Captain Canada or whatever his name is and his cronies in Alpha Flight may be willing to knuckle under, at least superficially, but the guy with the A on his head isn’t taking this lying down AND PUBLIC OPINION POLLS DON’T FACTOR IN!

Mutants have always been welcome in Mr. Rogers’ neighborhood (provided they don’t do something crazy like form a Brotherhood of Evil) and to drive the point home he and Iron Man join forces with several notable Krakoa refugees still-earthside and try to use their high-Popularity reps to resuscitate the perpetually-but-this-time-severely damaged X- brand.  (Thus the Uncanny Avengers portmanteau, rightly rejecting Deadpool’s ‘Avenging X-Men’ marketing try.)

But first- time to pick up some reinforcements for the dirty work as Tony Stark and the White Queen (and Kitty Pryde, and Kamala Khan, amongst others) must maintain a low profile underground in the old Morlock tunnels (empty from one of the last mutant massacres- it’s always been hard out here for a mutant), Tony trying to find some way to head off his own sentinels and Emma no doubt being chapped as hell trying to keep sewer gunk off her all-white clothing and flawless makeup all while hiding her immaculate coiffure underneath a mousy brown wig.

A visit to a relocation camp in Missouri shows a spittle-flinging commandant getting shown what happens when Psylocke brings a katana (two, in fact) to a laser rifle fight, with Penance slashing up the fences and exhorting all the mutant civilians to go anywhere but a) there or B) home, where they would be immediately rounded up again.  The killing is only about half-finished when Cap shows up and puts her to shame by casually tossing his shield off four skulls and spines and back into his hand, as a preliminary to making his pitch for them to join his ragtag band of rebels.  Shield tricks aside, they are helpless against the force of the Javier Garron (Secret Warriors)-rendered mighty blond eyebrows jutting commandingly out of his larger-than-usually-depicted eye holes and quickly agree, after conferring telepathically.  Besides Deadpool, Quicksilver is already on board and is good for several instant changes of scenery when all these otherwise transportation-challenged heroes need to be elsewhere fast.

The mysterious Captain Krakoa, Grim Avenger of Murdered Mutants has also been keeping busy, having decided that the Blob and Wildside alone do not a strike force make.  So he travels back to decimated Krakoa and picks up two of his own, in the person(s) of… Fenris? An energy-slinging pair of mutant siblings known for little except into twincest since before the Lannisters made it cool.  Well, trendy.  Okay, topical.

And Fenris are also known for being a couple of white-supremacist douchebags descended from Baron Strucker, so one suspects he might just be trying to piss a scale-mail clad opponent off. He doesn’t have long to wait before Pietro zips them all into combat with each other, with Deadpool immediately suffering grievous injury in the manner of all regenerators everywhere, so that his powers can be demonstrated.  

Note: Let that be a lesson to you, kiddies.  Always take Force Field or Invulnerability, NEVER pick Healing Factor.  It only seems good on the surface.  And speaking of surface, get a load of the undifferentiated meat on the inside of Wade Wilson.  He must be pure tumor through and through by now.  How is he even drawing breath for those pearls of wit?  

Rogue and the Blob grapple- there’s one power she’s not anxious to absorb- while Wildside and Kwannon face off in slicey-dicey corner.  That leaves the commissioned officers to contest the main event, where Cap A quickly finds out that though everyone thinks Cap K is basically Dark Cyclops, this person actually seems to have had super-strength even before slipping on his stylish leaf-accessorized Krakoan strenk-enhancing armor, a discovery that leaves him no doubt wishing he had a healing factor of his own.  

Which he basically does.  So don’t worry, he’ll be right as rain soon.  Which is good, because what are M.O.D.O.K. and Mr. Sinister’s (inexplicably more highly-educated) clone Dr. Stasis up to in the pre-credits scene?  Who is that other super-powered, and, they hope, Orchis-friendly being they are reviving?  Only Gerry Duggan (Deadpool, Attack of the Show!) knows for sure.

But not even he may know what former lead X-writer Jonathan Hickman had in mind when he dropped in to write one page of “G.O.D.S.” starring a bunch of ivory tunic-clad people doing surgery to remove a Cosmic Cube from the brain of someone who appears to be an alternate-universe version of Ikaris, and tossing said artifact onto a pile of same that they already had!  Curious, indeed!

Rating:
ComicsOnline gives Uncanny Avengers #1, “Truth & Justice” 4/5 huge, ostentatious, eye-catching, round leather backpacks to wear when Steve Rogers is cruising around in his civvies pretending he gives one crap about maintaining a low profile.

—

Please take a moment to FOLLOW & SUBSCRIBE to our updated ComicsOnline social channels.
We appreciate your support!

INSTAGRAM – COMICSONLINE
BSKY – COMICSONLINE
YOUTUBE – COMICSONLINE
FACEBOOK – COMICSONLINE
TWITTER / X – COMICSONLINE

Throw your mighty shield for justice with ComicsOnline.com for more reviews, interviews, and everything geek pop culture!