Review: Uncanny X-Men #537

In the dead of night, dreams dance through slumbering heads while vengeance teems at the fingertips of a silent stalker. Room by room, a shadow descends across the visages of our weary heroes, turning dreams to nightmares with a twist of the wrist. Kruun, the former leader of Breakworld, has set his trap perfectly; those that took away his power– will now pay with their lives.

Gillen’s tale of open arms and daggers dipped in blood, eerily creeps it’s way into the dark recesses of your mind — making it more horror movie than anything else. And I personally loved every horrific moment of it! The tone and pacing were top notch, leaving a deep feeling of dread and foreboding in every page. It was smart, factoring in all aspects of Kruun’s plan to the most minute detail without loosing it’s sense of shock and awe. And believe me it is shocking!

Kruun taunts the injured Kitty through every panel, always one step ahead of our cunning heroine. As she sees his plan laid out before her, you can almost feel her fear ooze off the page. Her hope for finding help slowly seeps out of her, pooling on the floor mixing with her congealing blood! Is there anyone who can stop the nightmare before it’s too late? I truly don’t know and that is what makes this book so amazing!

Gillen and Dodson have made the perfect thriller within the confines of a superhero book. Usually these amalgams of genre don’t mix well; Zeb Well’s New Mutants run comes to mind, but this book was executed flawlessly! Suspense, action and the creeping sense that no one is safe, mix to form one hell of a book. One that leaves poor Kitty, (why is it always her that is left alone in the dark?), to become the salvation of Utopia. It might be a little easier if she wasn’t intangible, voiceless and bleeding. And the final page will probably make her task a little more unattainable — Poor Kitty!

Awesome job by everyone involved! Horror fans and X fans can finally converge on one book and get the best of both worlds. Get this book before the lights go out on our heroes — forever! You will definitely be pleased at Gillen’s third chapter of his arc on Uncanny, “Breaking Point” is the perfect name for a story that tears the X-Men asunder!