Era #5, Part 13: A Force to be Reckoned With

Grade: B+

With Cable as the new headmaster, the New Mutants began to shift from students to soldiers. That transformation is complete now that Rob Liefeld is at the helm. He removes any remaining pretense of this title being the junior X-Men team. He instead creates a paramilitary squad that doesn't apologize for taking extreme (and sometimes final) measures to protect mutants from a war they believe has already started.

We already started seeing the departure of most of the New Mutants -- Rusty and Skids (New Mutants #87), Mirage (New Mutants #87), and Wolfsbane (X-Factor #62) as well as the sad death of Warlock (New Mutants #95). That downward trend finishes here with the loss of Rictor (New Mutants #98) and Sunspot (New Mutants #99). Only Cannonball and Boom Boom remain.

There is a new lineup with the new name. The additions include the first appearances Domino in New Mutants #98 and both Feral and Shatterstar in New Mutants #99. James Proustar joins in New Mutants #99 changing his codename from Thunderbird to Warpath, and Siryn arrives in X-Force #3.

The plots and back stories are unoriginal at best. The dialog is cheesy and full of pseudo-military cliches, but I still really enjoyed this run. It is a new completely new direction that has our heroes acting anything but heroic to deal with a new type of threat.

[4-Stars] New Mutants #98 - "The Beginning of the End, Part 1" This issue marks the first appearance of Domino, Gideon and the mercenary Deadpool (who will become very popular). Gideon secretly orchestrates the murder of Sunspot's father to recruit the young wealthy heir away from the New Mutants to study under him. Domino arrives in time to help the New Mutants take down the attacking (and extremely talkative) Deadpool on assignment for the enigmatic Tolliver. Rictor leaves to find a way to convince Wolfsbane to return home from Genosha.

[4-Stars] New Mutants #99 - "The Beginning of the End, Part 2" More first appearances. The Morlock named Feral finds sufficient hiding space within the crawlspaces of the New Mutants' base under the X-Mansion's ruins. She is on the run from Masque. Shatterstar appears in the Danger Room. Hailing from Mojoworld, this trained arena fighter for the public entertainment is being hunted by members of the Imperial Protectorate. James Proudstar leaves the Hellions to return home only to find the reservation destroyed and everybody dead at the hands of the Hellfire Club.

[4-Stars] New Mutants #100 - "The End of the Beginning" A new team is formed as Feral, Shatterstar and Warpath (Proudstar) agree to join in exchange for the team helping them resolve their respective problems. They leave the X-Mansion to begin their training as X-Force.

[4-Stars] X-Force #1 - "A Force to be Reckoned With" X-Force is ready for their first mission. They find and assault MLF's base of operation prepared to finally put an end to Stryfe and his terrorist band of mutants. It has also attracted the attention of S.H.I.E.L.D. Commander G.W. Bridge (first appearance).

[3-Stars] X-Force #2 - "The Blood Hunters" Canadian agent Kane of Department K confronts Deadpool in an effort to stop another Tolliver plot. G.W. Bridge arrives to offer Kane a position on a task force to bring Cable into custody. Both have a past with Cable, but Kane declines the offer. Meanwhile, X-Force trains in the woods surrounding their new headquarters at the abandoned Trask base in the Adirondacks. Feral takes the exercise too far nearly killing one of her teammates.

[4-Stars] X-Force #3 - "Battlecry" Gideon and Sunspot are hostages in the World Trade Center when the Arianna Jankos goes to extreme measures to protect her company from being bought out. She hires Black Tom Cassidy to help her in exchange for using her advanced technology to bring back the Juggernaut. Both X-Force and Siryn arrive to bring an end to the standoff.

Spider-Man #16 - "Sabotage, Part 1" Spider-Man arrives in time to watch Black Tom's explosives destroy part of the World Trade Center. The wall-crawler joins X-Force in an attempt to stop the unstoppable Juggernaut while Cable hunts for Black Tom. It is a special side-ways issue which I really don't like.

[3-Stars] X-Force #4 - "Sabotage, Part 2" Spider-Man and X-Force vs Black Tom Cassidy and the Juggernaut. This is also a special side-ways issue. I still don't like it.

Era #5, Part 12: X-Factor #63-68

Grade: A+

This is perhaps my favorite run of X-Factor. Louise Simonson's long tenure ends in a bang marking the beginning of the end the original X-Factor team. These two final stories have a much different feel due in large part to the influences of Jim Lee and Whilce Portacio (whose art is fantastic). In the first story, Iceman's girlfriend, Opal Tanaka is kidnapped and taken to Japan. The second story sees the return of Apocalypse who has finally come for his ship -- and baby Nathan.

[4-Stars] 63 - "Family" Opal is kidnapped by cyber enhanced yakuza soldiers of the the Tatsu'o Clan. She is the granddaughter of the Dragon Lord who recently discovered that his sole heir was adopted by a distant cousin in the United States to keep her hidden from him. Marvel Girl accompanies Iceman to Japan where they team up with Mariko and Clan Yashida to save Opal from being forced to marry one of her enhanced captors.

[4-Stars] 64 - "The Price" Iceman, Marvel Girl and Mariko's Clan Yashida storm the Tatsu'o Clan's stronghold to rescue Opal. It is a fierce battle, but the Dragon Lord's favored cyberpunk, Hiro, begins to question his humanity. It is nice to see Iceman out of his element in a more serious role.

[4-Stars] 65 - "Endgame Part 1: Malign Influences" Ship has been an unwitting victim of an infiltration hack by his previous master.  Apocalypse is now ready to take back his traitorous vessel sending his newest team, the Riders of the Storm (or Dark Riders), to ram Ship and eliminate X-Factor.

[4-Stars] 66 - "Endgame Part 2: Heroic Effort" Apocalypse's ramming vessel infects Ship with a deadly virus. Ship is unable to stop itself from destroying New York City or from attacking X-Factor. A new figure arrives from the future. She is Askani, and she has come to protect Nathan from Apocalypse.

[4-Stars] 67 - "Endgame Part 3: Lunar Opposition" Apocalypse is on Blue Side of the Moon recruiting some Inhumans to serve him as his Riders of the Storm and imprisoning others. The Royal Family join X-Factor in an assault Apocalypse's base to find and save Nathan.

[4-Stars] 68 - "Endgame Part 4: Finale" The allies split up. The Royal Family race to save the Inhumans from their captivity while X-Factor confronts Apocalypse in a final showdown. Askani returns offering hope to save Nathan from a deadly virus, but it will require Cyclops to make a difficult sacrifice.