Era #4, Part 15: Uncanny X-Men #235-238

Grade: A-

Chris Claremont introduces us to the island nation of Genosha. Found along Africa's Eastern coast between Madagascar and Seychelles, Genosha is an advanced society of technological wonder that was built and maintained using mutant slaves called mutates. Any citizen found to be a "genejoke" is given a number, fitted in a permanent skin-suit and sent to the Genegineer to be genetically modified as a passive and obedient drone. The entire system is ruthlessly protected by a police force known as the Magistrates.

I really like the stories in which we see different ways society tries to deal with people who are different. Genosha serves as an allegory (to an extreme measure) of South Africa's Apartheid system. It also becomes a focal point for other great stories, but no need for spoilers now.

[4-Stars] 235 - "Welcome to Genosha" A baby born to mutant slaves was smuggled into Australia from Genosha. Jenny Ransome is a mutant Genoshan in Australia working as a nurse. The Magistrates have been dispatched to retrieve both of them. The Press Gang, an elite Magistrate team made up of cooperative and free mutants, lead the operation, but when they incidentally grab Maddie as part of their trap, they draw the attention of the X-Men.

[4-Stars] 236 - "Busting Loose" Wolverine, Rogue and Maddie are "guests" of Genosha learning what happens to mutants found on the small island nation. Meanwhile, their teammates continue to battle the Magistrates in Australia eventually discovering Genosha's dark secret.

[4-Stars] 237 - "Who's Human?" The Genegineer's son, David Moreau, is having a hard time accepting that because his fiance, Jenny Ransome, is a mutant, she will become a slave. Drunk, he picks a fight with some Magistrates landing himself on a slave train bound for a mutate camp. It is up to the fugitive (and powerless) Wolverine and Rogue to rescue him.

[4-Stars] 238 - "Gonna Be A Revolution" The arc comes to a close with the X-Men leaving their mark in Genosha.  They take the fight to the Magistrates in order to find their missing teammates. Wolverine and Rogue help David Moreau understand the depth of Genosha's mutate program, and Genegineer tries to understand how his lab is destroyed by Maddie when his team attempts to turn her into a mutate. I was a little disappointed with the ending to an otherwise phenomenal story.