In desperation, Rogue takes Gambit for help to an unexpected, unreliable source, and the cure may be far worse than the disease. Meanwhile, the Outliers struggle and act out in the absence of the two people they have come to rely on most, just as a voice of malice from the past returns. And who is the terrifying being known only as Repent? Uncanny X-Men #34 is written by Gail Simone, drawn by Luciano Vecchio, colored by Matt Wilson and lettered by Clayton Cowles.
Adam Reck: Austin, I believe we established last time that you don’t like roller coasters, and yet here we are going back for round two! How’s your stomach holding up?
Austin Gorton: Let’s just say I shouldn’t have eaten all those chicken tenders.
Adam: Oh no. Hang on, buddy! Despite the demonic possession, the theme this month somehow seems to be … growing families? Let’s see what’s happening here.
And baby makes three
Adam: We’ve seen Rogue and Gambit discuss and agree not to have kids before in the pages of Tini Howard and Marcus To’s Excalibur. We’ve also seen multiple instances of alternate futures/timelines where they do have children. But as we open on the couple in adjoining rooms at Gabriel Devil-Hunter’s castle abbey, Rogue is hand-on-belly conversing with what appears to be her unborn child. Is Rogue pregnant?!
Austin: And, more importantly, if she is, when was the child conceived, and will it be part dragon?
I go back and forth — whatever it is that is talking to Rogue in that scene mostly sounds older than a child, and mostly has Rogue’s accent (as Simone writes it, at least), so part of me wonders if it’s some kind of past or future self. But then it talks about being scared, and it being dark wherever it is (Rogue’s womb?), and it sounds much more like a child. And then the scene ends with Rogue offering to sing it a lullaby, which the voice says would be nice. So if that’s not meant to indicate that the voice is that of a (Rogue’s?) child, it’s definitely putting children in our minds.
Adam: Cowles’ spooky lettering of the voice is also emanating from an apparition of an elementary school-age child whom dragon-Gambit identifies as “Jean-Luc” (a nod to Patrick Stewart or perhaps Remy’s last name in Claremont’s X-Men Forever?). Ghost child is angry that Rogue and Gambit chose the Outliers, specifically Calico and Jitter, over him.
Austin: Jean-Luc is also the name of Gambit’s adopted father, so I assume the name is a nod to that.
Adam: Oooh, I totally forgot that! Smart reference. Jean-Luc also says he “hasn’t even been conceived yet.” But as the issue closes, Vecchio frames Rogue’s abdomen as she says (in a classic Gail-ism) “I might maybe got something to tell you.” Which sure suggests Rogue is pregnant and just hasn’t told possessed-Gambit yet (Understandable! He’s possessed!). Is this Jean-Luc? Is Jean-Luc just a Wyvern hallucination? Where did you land on this, Austin?
Austin: Nice catch on the way Rogue and Gambit are positioned in that panel! It definitely has a weird focus — framing them such that their hands and Rogue’s abdomen are the focus — but I just chalked it up to Vecchio mixing things up for visual variety. But the combo of “I have something to tell you” and a close-up shot of Rogue’s abdomen, on top of all the child imagery/language throughout their sequences sure seems to be implying Rogue is pregnant. This is why you’re a visual artist.
That said, I don’t think the voice Rogue is talking to at the beginning and Jean-Luc are the same — their diction is too different. So if Rogue is pregnant and the child is Jean-Luc, then the voice at the beginning is something else. And if Rogue is pregnant and the voice is the unborn baby, then Jean-Luc is something else. I lean toward the latter, that Jean-Luc is some kind of demonic/dragon-induced hallucination.
And one more makes five?
Adam: One of the criticisms of the current era has been the multiple additions of new mutant characters at the exclusion of other existing fan favorite characters. We’ve spent enough time (two years!) with the Outliers that they feel established, and yet there does seem to be a lingering feeling there will be a fifth. Given the foreshadowing, is this finally the issue where the X-Men accept Mutina into their ranks so she doesn’t have to stand mopily on the sidelines?
No! Instead of adding Mutina to the team we have yet another new mutant to add to the crew, a traumatized chicken-killing dog boy named Howler!
Austin: She’s not in this issue, but Mutina definitely looms large over it, because she sure does seem meant to be the “missing” fifth member of the Outliers — especially after their adventure together against Perimeter. All of which made me immediately start doing “new character calculus” in my head when Howler showed up versus just taking him in. Which, granted, is probably more of a “me” problem.
Adam: Same. I know Monet and Quicksilver have to prove themselves as not being super snobby elitist jerks here, but I’m not sure we need a new character to do that. But I guess it gives the team an excuse to go wreak havoc on an underground mutant fight club? Sure, why not.
Austin: Gotta do something while mom and dad are away getting exorcisms! Seriously though, Simone does an effective job of quickly making Howler a sympathetic character. The moment where she tells Howler to sit (at a picnic table) only to turn around and see that he’s sitting on the ground like a dog? Eff yeah I want the X-Men to go find his handlers and kick the shit out of them.
Adam: Puppy dog eyes have power!
This has nothing to do with the addition of Howler to the cast, but I did want to make note of the scene before he’s discovered. I really liked the intimacy of the St. Juniorses, especially Alice’s appreciation of her “beautiful” husband, Marcus. It shows some great body positivity to show a character who isn’t super-ripped and muscular like the X-Men are and have him described as “pretty.” Good job!
Austin: I flagged that for discussion, too! I also dug that scene for the same reason — it was nice to see someone whose body type is much closer to mine than mine is to the typical ripped superhero, let alone have it described as “beautiful” by his wife. Both of them feel like believably real people in the midst of all the craziness around them, and in this era of dwindling or extinct supporting casts in comics, I really appreciate Simone taking the time to highlight them here.
Oh, you wanted a mutant exorcist
Adam: So yeah, no Fly Demons this issue, but Gambit is haunted by the zombie Sentinels we saw in the Outliers’ New Mutants alternate reality / AI program / we still don’t really understand what was going on there created by Perimeter (Oscar Ellis). On the one hand, it’s cool to see Vecchio draw these super creepy undead killer robots again. On the other, this makes absolutely zero sense whatsoever given where we saw these things the first time.
Austin: It … does not make sense. I guess, maybe, these zombie Sentinels are, for whatever reason, something that exists in Gambit’s mind as like, just a scary thing, and both Perimeter and whatever is attacking Gambit now both coincidentally manifested them?
You’re right though, they are creepy as hell, and Vecchio draws the shit out of them.
Adam: I do have a physics question about this scene. If you charge up the “bespoke stinger” and blow up a demon’s head with it, wouldn’t the dagger have exploded? Because the dagger does not explode, which begs the question: What exploded the demon’s head?
Austin: Something something magic?
Adam: Must be. We are getting a clearer picture of what Gambit’s transformation/possession is all about. Instead of becoming Wyvern, he seems to simply be inhabited by it. Which is a big difference! That said, the inconsistency of when he appears to be a Gargoyles-inspired demon guy versus just regular ol’ Gambit kind of takes the bite out of the threat.
Austin: I’m not going to lie: I have completely lost the thread (if there ever was one) on what, exactly, is going on with Gambit at this point. He made a deal with a dragon, and part of the terms were he was going to start transforming into a dragon, at which point he’d be a threat to people around him. Got it. Then he started showing signs of that transformation beginning, prompting Rogue to take him on a mission to stop his transformation. I’m still on board. Instead of going to, say, Clea Strange (whom Rogue name drops in this issue), they go to Gabriel, at which point, as you said, Gambit’s transformation starts being presented less as a physical transformation and more like an outside force gradually gaining more control over his body. Which, I guess, is because Gabriel does exorcisms, so this needs to be a problem an exorcist can solve. OK, sure. But who is attacking Gambit? Who is sending the Zombie Sentinels? Who is the “they” Gabriel says is coming for him? Demons? Satan? But why? Is it just to “speed up” the possession? That seems pointless.
Adam: I agree that the goal posts have shifted. Last issue, I understood the presence of the rival fly demon. This round I’m just rolling with it because I also don’t quite get what the external force is that’s attacking them. The good news is, Gabriel knows a guy. And that guy is REPENT. The bad news is, he’s busy exorcising another mutant!
Austin: Who, to your earlier Gargoyles comp, kinda reminds me visually of Desdemona? And Repent, who was previously seen hanging out on the X-Mentions page in the spot taken by Black Hole in this issue’s column, has a pretty sick-ass design himself, with a missing arm, some facial scars, a shock of pink hair and rosary beads hanging from his belt.
Adam: So yeah, not unlike other arcs of this run, some of the details remain hazy, but the overall plot steamrolls forward. Vecchio and Wilson are still killing it on art, and I really like the design of Repent. I guess we’ll see if his personality matches his cool looks next time!
X-traneous Thoughts
- We do get on-page confirmation that Monet has closed Graymalkin Prison.
- Favorite overwrought line of dialogue this issue has to be Wolverine saying, “Someone’s ‘bout to get damn well housebroke.”
- We also get a new nickname: Wolverine calls Quicksilver “Fleet Foot.”
- Speaking of Quicksilver, when Quicksilver starts freaking out about M getting hurt, it feels like a toss-up between “his love for her is overpowering his senses” and “he’s an idiot” — because Monet is nigh-invulnerable, and she doesn’t need to be blastin’ for that to be true.
- Gambit’s whole monologue about how the X-Men don’t have a lot of people who can fly is nonsense: Lots of X-Men can fly besides Storm and Rogue, including one (Monet) who is shown flying in this issue.
- Also, “that Angel fella”? You lived with him in the mansion for years, Gambit! One of the great sins of your past was helping the Marauders perpetuate the Mutant Massacre, in which the life of “that Angel fella” was horribly maimed!
- Gabriel refuses a ride on Gambit’s Wyvern wings, but he hops on a plane instead of having Rogue fly him. I guess she wasn’t offering.
- I once wrote a silly Age of X-Man fanfic for AiPT where I nicknamed the Jean Grey and Bishop ship “Jean Luc.” You can read it here.
Buy Uncanny X-Men #34 here. (Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, ComicsXF may earn from qualifying purchases.)
Adam Reck is the cartoonist behind Bish & Jubez as well as the co-host of Battle Of The Atom. Follow him @adamreck.bsky.social.
Austin Gorton also reviews older issues of X-Men at the Real Gentlemen of Leisure website, co-hosts the A Very Special episode podcast, and likes Star Wars. He lives outside Minneapolis, where sometimes, it is not cold. Follow him @austingorton.bsky.social.
