Uncanny X-Men #21 Review

Writer: Matthew Rosenberg / Artist: Salvador Larroca / Marvel “It seems we’ve all had our backs against the wall lately.” The end is nigh, and Hickman is on the way to bring the X back around again. With only one issue remaining in the Rosenberg/Larocca run of the relaunched Uncanny X-Men title, all of the transformations, deaths, and shifting alliances are finally coming to a head. As Emma Frost, Mr. Sinister, and Mystique join forces with the X-Men in the inevitable battle with the mutant-purging Office of National Emergency (O.N.E.), the mutants make a collective decision that changes the entire status quo for mutants worldwide. Sometime X-Man/most of the time villain Juggernaut was the first to point out Cyclops’ glaring omission on his list – his former mistress, lover, and the current Black Queen of the Hellfire Club, Emma Frost.  As revealed in the previous two issues, Emma Frost effectively blocked any memory of herself from the X-Men while she was under the control of the O.N.E.  Although she claims she did this to protect Cyclops, Frost is always one to place her own needs above others, even her fellow mutants. Still, the Black Queen rules the chessboard, so her endgame is still anyone’s guess. When this issue opens, the X-Men are preparing to infiltrate the Hellfire Club to get some answers. Instead of a fight, however, they find Emma Frost alone and waiting for them.  Of course, they couldn’t expect to sneak up on an Omega level telepath without her knowing it fir…