Era #5, Part 08: Uncanny X-Men #265-269

Grade: B

I forgot how much I enjoy Jim Lee's art. He made his debut a few issues back, but he becomes the regular penciler with Uncanny X-Men #267, and he adds his distinctive touch to Chris Claremont's stories.  In this run, we have an arc featuring a Storm that reveals how she became so young and introduces another soon to be fan favorite character, Gambit. Jim Lee proves he is the right artist for the job with a solid Wolverine/Captain America/Black Widow tale, and after a year of waiting, we finally learn Rogue's fate.  

[3-Stars] 265 - "Storm" Young Storm is robbing from the rich returning the stolen property she finds back to their original owners.  She must keep a low profile to avoid drawing the attention of both Nanny and the Shadow King.

[3-Stars] 266 - "Gambit: Out of the Frying Pan" The Shadow King sets a trap to finally capture Storm, but she receives help from a mysterious Cajun thief in an issue that boasts the first appearance of Gambit. 

[3-Stars] 267 - "Nanny: Into the Fire" Storm and Gambit are on the run from the Shadow King and his "hounds" while Nanny and Orphan Maker make their move.

[4-Stars] 268 - "Madripoor Knights" This is a really fun issue weaving together two related stories in Madripoor. The first is a 1941 flashback in which Wolverine helps Captain America and Ivan Petrovich save a very young Natasha Romanov from the sinister Nazi villain, Baron Strucker. The second story also has Wolverine helping Black Widow. This time, Psylocke and Jubilee join the duo in an attempt to stop the Hand and an alliance between Matsuo Tsurayaba and Fenris (Andrea & Andreas Strucker).

[3-Stars] 269 - "Rogue Redux" Rogue is back! She was sucked in with Nimrod/Master Mold back in Uncanny X-Men #247, but unlike the other X-Men, she retained her memories. She is also split from a very angry Carol Danvers (Ms. Marvel). Appearing at the Australian base, Rogue barely escapes the Reavers with the forced help of Gateway and finds peace and solitude in the Savage Land, but her solitude is violently ended when a disintegrating Ms. Marvel attacks. There is only enough life force for one of them to exist, so it is a fight to the bitter end. 

Era #5, Part 07: X-Factor #51-59

Grade: D

Nearly all super comics have an element of soap opera drama. It is much stronger in this run that focus on the team's personal relationships. Ship lands on the X-Factor property changing the Manhattan skyline, but despite some local grumblings about the imposing presence, their popularity as superhero celebrities remains unusually high for mutants. Iceman finds a new girlfriend, Opal Tanaka, and Archangel becomes closer to Police Officer Charlotte Jones. It is not all good news. Beast and Trish Tilby slowly drift apart, and Jean Grey pulls away after Scott proposes to her.

The romantic undertone is coupled with a slow pace and uninteresting villains. Louise brings back Locust (from the 1966 X-Men #24) and introduces Crimson and the Ravens (and their incessant use of "four and twenty blackbirds" to identify themselves which makes absolutely no sense). Sabretooth and Caliban each make a conspicuous and awkward appearance that doesn't seem to really fit, but I am glad to see a glimpse of the Right hinting at the next big storyline. 

[2-Stars] 51 - "Home!" X-Factor returns to Earth, and Ship surprises them with a landing that ensures everybody in the NYC will notice. Meanwhile, Sabretooth is on the prowl hunting defenseless Morlocks. Caliban can no longer contain his rage and prepares to get his revenge on the savage Marauder. This issues marks the first appearance of Charlotte Jones.

[2-Stars] 52 - "Celebrity!" Sabretooth finds a more suitable target in Archangel; Iceman meets and falls for Opal (in her first appearance) who is hiding one of the frightened Morlock; and a double date (Cyclops / Marvel Girl and Beast / Trish Tilby) at an expensive restaurant is interrupted by Locust and his giant cockroaches (I am not even kidding). 

[2-Stars] 53 - "Ghosts" Caliban takes on both Sabretooth and the injured Archangel. Scott proposes to Jean.

[2-Stars] 54 - "Crimson" Iceman and Beast are on a double date with Opal and Trish when they run into an amnesiac Colossus who is content to be a struggling artist and not a superhero. Unfortunately, the psychic vampire known as Crimson finds the mutants a better meal than society's invisibles. 

[2-Stars] 55 - "Desperately Seeking Vera" Beast's old girlfriend, Vera Cantor, is a pawn in Mesmero's plot to...? All I can do is sigh deeply for this fill-in story that doesn't make too much sense when the actual puppet-master is revealed. 

[2-Stars] 56 - "Ravens" Crimson is part of a larger coven called the Ravens (which numbers 24 because that is what the nursery song says). They now have a taste for mutants, and Crimson has her sights set on the most troubled one in the news, Archangel who has become unhinged after his battle with Sabretooth and Caliban. 

[3-Stars] 57 - "Reflections" X-Factor's search for the delusional Archangel is slowed by an unprovoked attack by the mutant hating terrorists, the Right. Forge and Banshee lend a hand and discover that Warren's behavior is likely a result of a poison he received during his battle with Sabretooth.

[2-Stars] 58 - "Nevermore" The Ravens have Archangel and prepare to add him to the coven after he killed one of their number (which must be 24). They abduct Charlotte Jones to use as his first victim in this final chapter of the Crimson/Raven arc.

[2-Stars] 59 - "Yesterday's News" Archangel gets closer to Charlotte Jones, Iceman spends time with Opal and Scott & Jean agree to forget the marriage proposal (for now). Trish Tilby's coverage of Archangel's recent and very public problem created a rift with Beast that they may not be repairable.

Era #5, Part 06: Uncanny X-Men #259-264

Grade: C

The X-Men are returning from the Siege Perilous, but rebuilding the team is proving to be much more difficult. This run tracks Wolverine, Jubilee and Psylocke's travel from Hong Kong to Mandripoor. It also follows Banshee and Forge as they search for the missing X-Men. The tension with Genosha builds as does the suspicion that something is not right on Muir Island.

Perhaps the biggest news is that this marks the departure of Marc Silvestri, one of the longest running pencilers on the Uncanny X-Men (second only to the legendary John Byrne). Marc's style and talent certainly make him one of my favorites.

[3-Stars] 259 - "Dream a Little Dream" Colossus reappears in Soho in time to save Phillip Moreau and Jennifer Ransome from Genoshan Magistrates. Lila Cheney's majordomo, Guido, finds Dazzler on the property's beach. Neither Peter nor Allison are able to remember anything. Meanwhile, Forge and Banshee start their quest to find the X-Men.

[3-Stars] 260 - "Star 90" Eric Beale's career was build and destroyed by Dazzler (chronicled in the graphic novel Dazzler: The Movie). Now that she is back, he has every intention of paying her back.

[2-Stars] 261 - "Harriers Hunt" Wolverine, Jubilee and Psylocke run into Hardcase and the Harriers in Marc Silvestri's final issue as the regular penciler.

[3-Stars] 262 - "Scary Monsters" Banshee and Forge reach the Xavier Mansion (still in ruins from Inferno) in their search for the X-Men and missing Callisto. They find a bizarre group of Morlocks hunting X-Factor's Marvel Girl.

[3-Stars] 263 - "The Lower Depths" Forge recalls his time in Vietnam leading up to the death of his comrades while he mounts a rescue mission to save Marvel Girl, Banshee and Callisto from Masque's twisted Morlocks.

[3-Stars] 264 - "Hot Pursuit" The Genoshan Magistrates continue their illegal incursion into the United States as they hunt for Phillip Moreau and Jennifer Ransome. Officer Charlotte Jones, who makes her first appearance in X-Factor, reluctantly joins Beast, Marvel Girl, Forge and Banshee in a battle on the streets of New York City.

Era #5, Part 05: Psylocke

Grade: A+

This short run brings us two big firsts.  Jim Lee debuted with the X-Men in Uncanny X-Men #248, but his sophomore appearance gives us a glimpse into the style that will make him a comic superstar. In this Acts of Vengeance story, Jim Lee transforms Psylocke into a completely different (and much more popular) character that we know today.

Psylocke is back from her trip into the Siege Perilous with no memory and in the clutches of the Hand. The new leader of the infamous ninja order, Matsu'o Tsurayaba, sets in motion a plan to change the mutant sister of Britain's most iconic superhero into an Asian assassin for the long-time Iron Man villain, the Mandarin.

[4-Stars] 256 - "The Key That Breaks the Locke" With the secret, undetected influence of Mojo and Spiral, Matsu'o Tsurayaba and the Hand use sensory deprivation and psionic conditioning to mold an amnesiac Psylocke into Lady Mandarin, a deadly servant for the notorious crime lord, Mandarin.

[4-Stars] 257 - "I am Lady Mandarin" Wolverine and Jubilee reach Hong Kong looking for a place to recover and hide from the Reavers. They draw the attention of the criminal underworld and its new enforcer, Lady Mandarin. 

[4-Stars] 258 - "Broken Chains" Wolverine and Jubilee versus the Mandarin, the Hand and Psylocke!