For entertainment purposes, if you're a fan of Uncanny X-Men, this one is another solid entry for the title. For others, it's a good jumping on point because it's another issue of team-building and solidifying mutant powers. Read Full Review

Uncanny X-Men #17 continues developing great original characters by one of the industries consistently brilliant writers who no doubt has used what may at first glance seem like a plot light issue to lay the foundations for some great content yet to come. The duo of Bendis and Bachalo always seem to deliver and they do once again here. Bendis' often goofy character interactions play superbly inside of Bachalo's very stylized world. Read Full Review

Chris Bachalo returns to the series after taking a couple issues off. He brings a welcome sense of style, though the washed out colors and abstract environments don't always do justice to the Tabula Rasa setting. Bachalo is able to differentiate the many characters in terms of anatomy, body language, and facial expressions so that there's never any confusion as to what's unfolding on the page, despite the fairly low-key costume designs and smaller panel work. Read Full Review

Anyway, despite the lack of main characters, this is a good series that focus on the newcomers. Maybe one day these character will be important enough to have their own series, and we will be glad to know them first from this series. Read Full Review

One issue stories are rare nowadays, but Bendis is knocking them out of the park month after month. Too many of the issue's strengths are conditional for it to fully live up to the Benjamin Deeds or Magneto issues, but the opportunity to see this team start to come together is truly wonderful. Read Full Review

The plot felt forced in parts but there was some great banter and character development that will clearly have Eva and Hijack to have some shining moments in upcoming issues. It had some solid moments but coming down from a Magneto-centric issue, it just wasn't able to pull me in. Read Full Review

I've got to say I'm not altogether happy with the set-up of this issue as Cyclops throws the unprepared recruits into a dangerous situation without the control of a Danger Room scenario. Although they each perform well in surviving the bizarre super-evolutionary town in Montana, they nearly get taken in by S.H.I.E.L.D. thanks to Hijack's cellphone leading the heroes right to them. And I'm not exactly buying the idea that this is the last we've seen of Hijack whose skills are far too valuable not to see him return after he's “learned his lesson” (if that's even why he was truly let go). Worth a look. Read Full Review

This was an issue about everyone working together, getting along, and then Hijack putting SHIELD in their place. Cyclops firing him at the end put a sour note on everything. It also goes against everything I thought I believed Bendis was building with Cyclops and his team. It just didn't work. Read Full Review

I liked the issue, but I didn't think Bendis went nearly far enough with the characters. It's time to really start playing with these characters and turning them into real people with real drama. And that ending just left a bad taste in my mouth. It went against everything I believe in about Cyclops. But here's hoping Bendis has something in store. Read Full Review

This issue let some of the underused mutants strut their stuff, which is great to see. Bendis continues to intrigue and impress with his care of the characters and stories that he writes. Chris Bachalo has kept this book interesting solely by adding his one of a kind style to a top-selling book. This series is fun and a must read every month. So dont miss out on the next new batch of X-Men! Read Full Review

So, while this issue was an enjoyable read, the fuzzy lack of direction and lack of a unique take on what could be a very interesting alteration to Cyclops continues to let down the series. Bachalos art is, while not a style that I have ever been partial to, done extremely well here. The colours pop and the layouts are very nice. Read Full Review

Bendis seems to be hearkening back to the heady days of the Blue Team/Gold Team X-Men but he hasn't quite found his feet again in the pages of Uncanny after Battle of The Atom. The first two arcs showed the very vast story potential of this X-Men team, but after adding the All New squad into the fray, he has stumbled balancing the large cast of mutants he's given himself. The new mutants are very welcome fresh blood in the mutant community, but until Bendis gets them to stop bickering, they might just continue to be background noise. Read Full Review

Any story that allows Bachalo to showcase his talents can't be all bad, and it's worthwhile to go back and reread, even if just to enjoy the art all over again. Sometimes Bendis' garrulous writing technique works, and sometimes it doesn't; "Uncanny X-Men" #17 is the latter, and while this comic is definitely optional for many, it's a must-have for Bachalo fans. Read Full Review