Alt 4935, Part 3: Askani'Son

Grade: C

The success of the 1994 limited series The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix led to a sequel in 1996, but Scott Lobdell and Gene Ha were unable to rekindle the magic.

With his "parents" Slym and Redd returned to their own time, Nate is left to travel a new world with his best friend, Tetherblood. Apocalypse has been defeated leaving a power vacuum filled by ruthless mutants called the New Canaanites. The despotic regime renews the search to find and destroy what is left of the Askani Sisterhood.

This follow-on story is not as deep as its predecessor, but it does explain the final pieces of the Askani lore (New Canaanites, Clan Chosen, etc). I am still not sure how the sentient being know as the "Professor" finds its way into Nate, but everything else (mostly) makes sense in a boring, expected way.

[3-Stars] 1 - "The Shadow Lengthens" Nate is an angry young man unable to show much restraint. He openly disrespects an Askani teacher, known as the Fossil, in front of a growing congregation looking for hope. Nate also draws the unwanted attention of the ambitious Straitor Umbridge who arrests the rebellious youth. While in New Canaanite custody, Nate's techno virus threatens to consume him again, but he receives assistance from a longtime Askani follower. Blaquesmith instructs Nate to find the last Askani cloister.

[3-Stars] 2 - "A Tiny Spark" Nate and Tetherblood continue to create problems for the New Canaanites, but Blaquesmith returns to sternly remind Nate that he needs to find the last Askani in Ebonshire. Straitor Umbridge covertly joins a pirate ship to find Ebonshire and lead a final assault on the hidden cloister. Stryfe also makes his way to find and destroy the Askani.

[3-Stars] 3 - "An Ember Glows..." Nate reaches Ebonshire but stop his quest when he finds a wreckage of a pirate ship. Its sole survivor is attacked by the dangerous Daegon. Straitor Umbridge continues her ruse as a pirate not revealing that she is a rising member of the New Canaanites. A young Askani novitiate Aliya assumes Nate is also a pirate but helps him and Umbridge taking them to the Askani's slightly insane leader, Madame Sanctity.

[3-Stars] 4 - "A Bright and Shining Light" Madame Sanctity proclaims Nate as the Askani'Son, but he is not interested in being a messiah. He wants to learn how to use his powers, and it is Blaquesmith who reveals that it is Aliya that will be his mentor. New Canaanites and Stryfe attack the last Askani cloister in this limited series ender that brings together the Clan Chosen.