Era #8, Part 02: Generation X #20-25

Grade: C+

The impact of Onslaught ripples through Generation X in this low key run that ends with an explosive revelation. Howard the Duck makes a special guest appearance in most of the issues adding to the fun.

Franklin Richard joins the antics of the often forgotten younger mutant students Artie and Leech. Franklin's parents (Reed and Sue Richards of the Fantastic Four) are gone after sacrificing themselves to stop Onslaught, so his grandfather, Nathaniel Richards, puts the powerful young boy in Banshee's care. The three little ones immediately find themselves an adventure of their own when they discover a stranger that needs their help in the Danger Grotto in Generation X #20.

Bastion begins to look into Emma Frost's finance which leads him to Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters and Generation X. He eventually makes his move in the chaos of Generation X #25.

Scott Lobdell continues to display an uncanny ability to capture the mood and feel of teenagers learning how to deal with growing up. While they appear stereotyped, they are deceptively complicated characters navigating their way through relationships, past decisions, and being different from both the world and each other.

M is especially interesting. She represents the "perfect mutant" but is secretly dealing with her own struggles. She is diagnosed with autism, and her recollections of her own past seem too good and idyllic to be true.

[3 Stars] Generation X #20 - "Bodies in Motion" The kids enjoy a picnic except for Skin and Chamber. They re on their way to LA.

[3 Stars] Generation X #21 - "To Live and Die and Molt in L.A." Beast arrives to administer a test to the students, but he notices that M has many of the signs of being autistic. Skin and Chamber reach LA with the help of Howard the Duck, and Skin is able to secretly see his family since his "death".

[3 Stars] Generation X #22 - "All Hallow's Eve" Banshee and Husk take Franklin, Artie, and Leech to Rutland, Vermont where the kids can enjoy the annual Halloween Parade without needing to hide their appearance. Emma Frost gets a visit and a warning from Nightmare.

[3 Stars] Generation X #23 - "For All This...We Give Thanks" Paige returns home to Kentucky to enjoy Thanksgiving with her family. Chamber accepts her invitation to join her, but his insecurities about his appearance are too big for him to overcome.

[3 Stars] Generation X #24 - "Home for the Holidays" It is an all girls issue as M, Husk, Jubilee, and Emma Frost stay up talking on Christmas Eve at M's Monaco home. They share their personal stories about when their mutant powers first manifested.

[3 Stars] Generation X #25 - 25th Anniversary Spectacular! Black Tom Cassidy is back, and he has had a mole within Generation X for months. After secretly observing the school, Banshee's twisted cousin launches an attack in this action-packed, double-sized issue that includes Howard the Duck, the Man-Thing, and Bastion.

NOTE: Franklin, Artie, Leech, Howard the Duck, Tana Nile, and Man-Thing are transported to the Nexus of All Realities and their own limited series call Daydreamers (that I did not collect or read).

Era #8, Part 01: Uncanny X-Men #338-#340 & X-Men (v2) #58-59

Grade: C

The X-Men are still feeling the impact of Onslaught. The Fantastic Four and Avengers are gone after sacrificing themselves at the end of Era #7, and Graydon Creed uses the increased fear of mutants to strengthen his bid to become the next President of the United States.

Graydon's pro-human campaign (and secret financial backing from the mysterious Bastion and Operation Zero Tolerance) is gaining substantial support from the public and the scrutiny of the media. Trish Tilby interviews him in X-Men (v2) #58, and Daily Bugle publisher J. Jonah Jameson starts his own investigation. Both reporters are very concerned about the level of fear-mongering and hatred coming from the dark horse candidate. Even the X-Men take the unusual move of placing two of their own (Cannonball and Iceman) undercover into the campaign. There is a potentially explosive secret that Bastion will do anything to keep hidden. Graydon Creed is the human son of mutant terrorists Sabretooth and Mystique.

This is a really interesting storyline that just doesn't come together well. Readers must buy both titles to keep up, and there are too many "wha...?" moments (like Gambit vs. Joseph, Cyclops vs. Havok, and Hercules’s goofy recruitment drive).

[3-Stars] Uncanny X-Men #338 - "A Hope Reborn a Past Reclaimed" Ozymandias watches as Archangel again transforms regaining his feathered wings, but is this part of Apocalypse's plan? Pyro appears at a church and accidentally sets it on fire. His powers are uncontrolled due to the Legacy Virus, but the X-Men are unable to figure out who send him there in the first place.

[2-Stars] X-Men #58 - "Testament" Gambit versus Joseph over Rogue.

[3-Stars] Uncanny X-Men #339 - "Fight and Flight" Cyclops versus Havok over the Atlantic Ocean with a passenger plane full of innocent people.

[2-Stars] X-Men #59 - "Touched" Hercules is forming a new Avengers team. He arrives at the X-Mansion to ask Beast and Quicksilver to join him.

[3-Stars] Uncanny X-Men #340 - "Relativity" Iceman's bigoted father publically defends mutants at a Gradyon Creed for President and is nearly beaten to death by campaign's men.

Starting Era #8: Reassembled

Meanwhile, back in the "normal" X-Men continuity.... :)

Era #8 runs from October 1996 through March 1999. I completed my second tour in Augsburg, Germany, and I selected a joint duty assignment at Naval Security Group Activity Northwest in Chesapeake, Virginia. I worked my way from the operations floor to running the management center (or "day shop").

Samantha and I continued to look for as much stability as we could get on an E-5 paycheck. We found a small two-bedroom place at Waterfront Apartments in Virginia Beach, and Samantha started working at the 7-11 across the street. The girls were still very young, but Tori began here education at Christopher Farms Elementary School.

I was unable to find a favorite comic shop. I bounced around from Trilogy Comics to Comic Kings and eventually Fantasy Escapes. I spent a lot of time learning how to create, manipulate, and manage relational databases. This helped me a lot with my job and with my growing hobby of organizing my growing comic collection. It was from here that I attended my first actual comic convention: Heroes Convention (HeroesCon) in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The X-Men stories saw a big transition in this era. Scott Lobdell and Fabian Nicieza leave. They are replaced with Steven Seagle and Joe Kelly.

Part 01: Uncanny X-Men (1981) #338-340 & X-Men (1991) #58-59
Part 02: Generation X (1994) #20-25
Part 03: X-Men (1991) #60-61
Part 04: X-Force #59-66
Part 05: Beast Limited Series
Part 06: New Mutants: Truth or Death Limited Series
Part 07: X-Men Unlimited #13-16
Part 08: The Trial of Gambit (Part 1)
Extra: Flashback
Part 09: Operation Zero Tolerance (X-Force)
Part 10: Operation Zero Tolerance (X-Men)
Part 11: Operation Zero Tolerance (Generation X)
Part 12: The Trial of Gambit (Part 2)
Part 13: Uncanny X-Men (1981) #351-355 & X-Men (1991) #71-75
Part 14: X-Force (1991) #71-81
Part 15: X-Force (1991) #82-86
Part 16: Generation X (1994) #32-40
Part 17: Generation X (1994) #41-45
Part 18: X-Men Unlimited (1993) #18-20
Part 19: Uncanny X-Men (1981) #356-359 & X-Men (1991) #76-79
Part 20: The Hunt for Xavier (Part 1)
Part 21: X-Men: Liberators Limited Series
Part 22: The Hunt for Xavier (Part 2)

Ending Alt 295: Age of Apocalypse

Alt 295: A

It all ends with X-Men: Omega. Each of the storylines come together as the X-Men confront Apocalypse in a final, epic battle while the human's nuclear armada approaches.

Several characters escape the Age of Apocalypse making their way into the "normal" reality.

• Beast: The psychopathic Beast returns to our continuity, and we learn that he has been playing a much bigger behind-the-scenes role in the X-Men mythos. In addition to his successful attempt assume the real Beast's life for a time, we discover his involvement with the Morlocks and the infamous Mutant Massacre. To distinguish between the two Beasts, the AoA Beast is often referred to Dark Beast. 
• Bishop: Already displaced in time, Bishop returns with locked memories of his time in AoA slowly revealed later.
• Holocaust: Found in space by the Acolytes in X-Men (1991) #42. He was not used as much as I thought he might've been. 
• Sugar Man: I was surprised to see this unusual character make the leap into the normal continuity. We later learn that the Sugar Man has also been a player in the Genoshian shadows for 20 years responsible for the mutate bonding process.  
• X-Man: X-Man (1995) is the only series to continue after the events of X-Men: Omega.  

I recently heard complaints about comics being written by "committee". I think they can be entertaining when telling a big tale with so many moving parts. The Age of Apocalypse was a comprehensive story that required the coordination and collaboration of the entire team.

• Astonishing X-Men (A+): Scott Lobdell & Joe Madureira
• X-Calibre (B): Warren Ellis & Ken Lashley
• Factor X (B): John Francis Moore & Steve Epting
• Generation Next (A+): Scott Lobdell & Chris Bachalo
• Amazing X-Men (A+): Fabian Nicieza & Andy Kubert
• Weapon X (A-): Larry Hama & Adam Kubert
• X-Man (A-): Jeph Loeb & Steve Skroce
• X-Universe (B): Terry Kavanagh & Carlos Pacheco

They created a completely immersive reality using familiar characters, and it was popular enough to spawn more stories. We will return to the Age of Apocalypse two more times. The first will encompass the various stand-alone books and series (mostly prequel) from 1996 to the 10 Year Anniversary in 2005. The second will be AoA after Apocalypse as told in the ongoing series Age of Apocalypse (2012).

The Age of Apocalypse really is one of my favorite X-Men events. It describes a horrifying possibility in which the oppressed wrest the power from their oppressors and choose to repay cruelty with even more cruelty. More importantly, it reaffirms that the dream of harmony is not single-sided but rather represents equality regardless of who is in power.  

Alt 295, Part 10: X-Men Chronicles

Grade: A+

The Age of Apocalypse starts in the middle of the story. Apocalypse has taken over Western Hemisphere, and the X-Men have emerged to stop him. X-Men Chronicles takes us back in time and tells us about two key events in the X-Men's history.

We will see more history later with follow-on issues like the Tales from the Age of Apocalypse (1996 & 1997). This helps flesh out the characters and creates a more complete and immersive atmosphere.

[4 Stars] X-Men Chronicles #1 - "Origins" Magneto has been training his X-Men: Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Iceman, Colossus, Storm, Jean Grey, and the new addition Weapon X. Mystique brings Rogue to Magneto. Rogue is a troubled mutant with no control over her power and troubled after permanently absorbing Polaris's magnetic power.

Apocalypse makes his first move. He leads his Horsemen (Sabretooth, Gideon, Candra, and Death) to take the nuclear arsenal at Cape Citadel. The X-Men arrive to stop them in an alternate version of the original X-Men #1 (Sep 1963) in which the original X-Men must stop Magneto and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants at Cape Citadel.

Scarlet Witch and Rogue stay behind at the Wundagore base. They are attacked by another agent of Apocalypse named Nemesis (later to become Holocaust).

[4 Stars] X-Men Chronicles #2 - "Shattered Dreams" This issue captures one of the tumultuous times in the X-Men's history. It starts with Weapon X and Jean Grey leave the team after the X-Men's refusal to save Jean. Weapon X did it himself off panel loosing his hand in the process. That leaves the roster with Colossus, Gambit, Iceman, Magneto, Quicksilver, Rogue, Sabretooth, and Storm.

Gambit wants to confess his love to Rogue, but he can't find the right time. Holocaust sends Wolverine (not Logan) after the X-Men. During the battle, Gambit learns that Rogue has chosen Magneto over him, and also leave the team.

Alt 295, Part 09: X-Universe

Grade: B

The Age of Apocalypse focuses on mutant domination of the world under Apocalypse's rule, but what happened to the rest of Marvel's heroes? We learn in Weapon X that the humans centralized their strength in Europe under the Human High Council. In this two part series, we learn that they have their own band of heroes that include Gwen Stacy, Clint Barton (Hawkeye), Tony Stark (Iron Man), Don Blake (Thor), Ben Grimm (Thing), Sue Storm (Invisible Woman), Victor Von Doom (Dr. Doom), Bruce Banner (Hulk), and Thunderbolt Ross.

Mikhail Rasputin arrives in Europe offering peace with the humans. He is the fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse, and he has a much more sinister plan in mind. It involves amplifying and using Empath's mutant power to manipulate the emotions of the humans. Matt Murdock (Daredevil) is part of Mikhail's entourage as an altered human tragically in service of Apocalypse.

[3 Stars] X-Universe #1 - "Last Stand" Members of the Human Resistance attempt to save as many people from Wakanda from Mauraders. The Mauraders are normal humans in service of Apocalypse and include Arcade, Dirigible (Kingpin), Owl, Red (Norman Osborne). In Europe, the fourth Horseman Mikhail arrives with an unexpected peace offering.

[3 Stars] X-Universe #2 - "Dying Breath" Not all the members of the Human High Council trust Mikhail's good intentions for peace with Apocalypse. They send in a team to investigate.

Alt 295, Part 08: X-Man

Grade: A-

One of the biggest reveals in the Age of Apocalypse was that Sinister was developing an ultimate weapon to defeat Apocalypse (which stands to reason he was doing the same in our own reality). Here, he was finally successful in using his genetic breeding program to create Nate Grey -- the X-Man. Unlike Cable, Nate does not have the techno-organic virus to keep in check nor does he have the Askani training to temper him. He is a young adult with untapped power, full of post-adolescent rage, and a desire to prove himself.

Nate escaped Sinister's pins (with the secret help of Cyclops) and raised by Forge. The former member of Magneto's X-Men formed his own resistance group posing theatre performers. The Outcasts include Soaron (Sauron), Toad, Brute (Sunder), Mastermind, and Sonique (Siryn).

[4 Stars] X-Man #1 - "Breaking Away" Nate finds refuge with the Outcasts but chafes at Forge's rules. During a battle with an Infinite patrol, Nate uses his powers despite his mentor's warnings. Unbeknownst to him, it draws the attention of Apocalypse who sends his best hunters to recruit or kill the powerful mutant.

[4 Stars] X-Man #2 - "Choosing Sides" Forge reluctantly agrees to allow the mysterious Essex join the troupe, but the guest proves to be a negative influence on Nate. Apocalypse's assassins Domino, Grizzly, and Caliban close in on their prey.

[4 Stars] X-Man #3 - "Turning Point" Nate, Forge and the Outcast defend themselves against Domino and her hunters, but the real threat is revealed from within.

[4 Stars] X-Man #4 - "The Art of War" Nate learns the truth about his origins and decides to take on Apocalypse himself after he deals with Sinister.

Alt 295, Part 07: Weapon X

Grade: A-

Wolverine (still called Weapon X) and Jean Grey left the X-Men (briefly explained in X-Men Chronicles #2), but they are still fighting Apocalypse on their own terms. They eventually aligned themselves with the Human High Council in Europe who have their own plan to deal with Apocalypse.

• Weapon X: Deeply in love with Jean Grey, Logan is driven to destroy Apocalypse by any means necessary. He lost his hand in a battle against Cyclops. It was the same battle  Cyclops lost is eye to Weapon X.
• Jean Grey: As X-Man, Jean was captured by Apocalypse's forces and held in Sinister's breeding pits. Logan saved her, but we later discover that Cyclops also secretly contributed to her escape. She has been loyal to Logan ever sense, but she does not agree with the Human High Council's plan to end the war.
• Human High Council: Moria and Bolivar Trask, Emma Frost (lobotomized), Brian Braddock, and Mariko Yashida.
• Gateway: The Aboriginal mutant was taken to the Berkley. He eventually finds his way to Wundagore where he stays in seclusion absorbing as much knowledge as he can from every media source possible. He is protected by Carol Danvers. 

[4 Stars] Weapon X #1 - "Unforgiven Trespasses" Weapon X and Jean use a Sentinel to breach the Mid-Atlantic sea wall. This allows for the mass infiltration of Sentinels needed for the human evacuation in Amazing X-Men. There is little time to celebrate. The Human High Council is attacked by Apocalypse's agent Magma, and it is the final act that convinces the humans to agree on a final solution to deal with the mutant despot.

[4 Stars] Weapon X #2 - "Fire in the Sky" Weapon X stops an attack from mutants Box and Copycat posing as humans saved in the mass evacuation. Donald Pierce and his altered human Reavers also slip into Europe as refugees.  Jean decides to return to America and warn her friends of the Human High Council's plan to use nuclear weapons to destroy Apocalypse's empire.

[4 Stars] Weapon X #3 - "The Common Right of Toads and Men" Weapon X travels to Wundagore Mountain to convince Gateway to help the humans in their last desperate strike against Apocalypse.

[4 Stars] Weapon X #4 - "Into the Maelstrom!" Weapon X and Gateway lead the nuclear armada into Apocalypse's empire, but they must first pass through Donald Pierce.