Era #8, Part 20: Hunt for Xavier (Part 1)

Grade: C+

Steve Seagle and Joe Harris assemble a new roster with some familiar faces. Archangel, Beast, Iceman and newcomers Maggott and Cecilia Reyes are gone while Colossus, Nightcrawler, Kitty Pryde, and Gambit are back! It is essentially the classic X-Men of my youth (yay) -- plus Marrow (meh).

This run is the first part of the Hunt for Xavier collection. It starts with Professor X leading a completely new X-Men team. He isn't acting like himself, and he is leading his new students against the real X-Men. I would list these strange new mutants, but they don't last long enough to care.

The remaining issues continue the normal, regular comic stories that marked Steve and Joe's time. 

[3-Stars] Uncanny X-Men #360 - "Children of the Atom" A controversial rocket launch at Cape Citadel (the site of the X-Men's first appearance battling Magneto) attracts even more attention when longtime X-Men ally Dr. Peter Corbeau is kidnapped.  A much colder Professor X forms a new team of X-Men, and he sends them on their first mission is to bring him Kitty Pryde. These new X-Men attack a cruise liner where Kitty, Nightcrawler, and Colossus are relaxing after Excalibur's disbanding. The unwanted public attention has again cast the actual X-Men as criminals for the kidnapping and the unwarranted destruction of a luxury ship. Valerie Cooper secretly provides them with transportation to Cape Citadel to stop the fake X-Men.

[3-Stars] X-Men (v2) #80 - "Children of Atom" Professor X needs Kitty's help eliminating a computer virus that is somehow limiting his ability to function effectively. She is concerned something has happened to her mentor, and she doesn't trust his new X-Men. Her fears are realized when she discovers that they kidnapped Dr. Corbeau. With Nightcrawler and Colossus back on their team, the actual X-Men confront their fake counterparts.

[3-Stars] Uncanny X-Men #361 - "Thieves in the Temple" Storm and Kitty Pryde reluctantly agree to help Black Tom Cassidy retrieve the Crimson Gem Cytorrak for Juggernaut. They travel to Seoul, Korea and find Gambit. He is back from his exile in the Antarctica and working again as a thief. He was also hired to retrieve the mystical gem. The three work together and track the missing artifact in the temple of a Cheju-do cult who plan to use it to wreak havok on the world.

[3-Stars] X-Men (v2) #81 - "Jack of Hearts, Queen of Death" The X-Men attempt to get their lives back to normal with the addition of Colossus, Nightcrawler, Shadowcat, and Gambit, but tensions from the new team dynamics  quickly surface during a Danger Room exercise session. Gambit and Rogue's attempt to reconcile is cut short when the "Goddess" Kali attacks them.

[3-Stars] X-Men Unlimited #22 - "Cat & Mouse" Marrow often spends her nights roaming the tunnels under Manhattan where she noticed Flash-Smasher leading a terrorist group known as Ultimatum. The X-Men go to investigate.

Era #8, Part 19: Uncanny X-Men #356-359 & X-Men (v2) #76-79

Grade: C

Steve Seagle and Joe Harris stay on a little longer as the scribes for Uncanny X-Men and X-Men (v2) respectively, but this runs ends their experiment with a new line-up of unknown mutants. There is nothing especially noteworthy here with the possible exception of the Shadow King's elaborate (and well executed) trap in Psi-War (X-Men (v2) #77-78). Ironically, my least favorite story here is with the original X-Men. It wasn't a bad read, but I am ready to move on.

[2-Stars] Uncanny X-Men #356 - "Reunion" Cyclops and Jean Grey invite Beast, Iceman, and Angel to their home in Anchorage. The original X-Men reminisce and discuss if it is time to reassess Professor X's dream and replace it with their own. The visit is interrupted by a group of Inuit protesters and a shaman warning that the "Crow God" is coming.

[2-Stars] Uncanny X-Men #357 - "The Sky Is Falling" The original X-Men join the local sheriff to protect their small hamlet outside Anchorage from a swarm of angry crows.

[3-Stars] X-Men (v2) #76 - "A Boykie and His Dinges" Maggott reveals his origins.

[3-Stars] X-Men (v2) #77 - "Stormfront" Storm leads the X-Men to her home in Kenya to answer a distress call from her adoptive mother, Ainet. They find the entire village under the thrall of a powerful god by the name of Ananasi.

[3-Stars] X-Men (v2) #78 - "Stormfront Part 2" Ananasi reveals himself to be the Shadow King, and he lured the X-Men into an intricate trap that will give him access to every mind on planet.

[3-Stars] Uncanny X-Men #358 - "Lost in Space" Bishop realizes that Deathbird has been keeping him in her care against his will (and away from the X-Men), but he reluctantly agrees to work with her when their spacecraft crashed on a planet raided by the savage Chnitt. They are joined by a local warrior named Karel who is searching for a deadly weapon to liberate the planet from the invaders.

[3-Stars] Uncanny X-Men #359 - "Power Play" Rogue agrees to a medical procedure that will remove her mutant powers. Unbeknownst to her, Dr. Agee has been funded by the US Government through Senator Brickman and Special Agent Peter Henry Gyrich both of whom are secretly overseeing the session. Mystique infiltrates the viewing as Senator Brickman's wife ready to expose the truth behind this miracle "cure".

[3-Stars] X-Men (v2) #79 - "Little Morlock Lost" Callisto is leaving Marrow in the X-Men's care, but Marrow doesn't take the news well. She runs away, and in her anger, she terrorizes a few innocent people. Callisto and the X-Men search for her before she does any real damage, and to let her know that she has a home.

[2-Stars] X-Men Unlimited #21 - "Devil's Haircut" Strong Guy returns to Earth and recruits Beast, Wolfsbane, and Jamie Madrox (Multiple Man) to help him stop an alien invasion. They find an inter-dimensional vortex growing over a country club in Vermont which is hosting both a wedding and a Halloween costume party. Disgruntled video-clerk Melvin J. Weals opened the demonic gateway with the powerful Hell Toupee.

Era #8, Part 18: X-Men Unlimited #18-20

Grade: D

X-Men Unlimited started as a good idea for die-hard X-Fans. Provide stand-alone X-Men tales that loosely tie back to the main storyline. I discovered that many of the early issues provided eagle-eyed readers with additional insights and Easter Eggs. By this point, however, the title is an anthology series that feels forced to meet deadlines. In this run, we have a set of regular comic stories with a Spider-Man villain, another twisted Nightcrawler family soap-opera, and a group of misunderstood monsters hunted by fearful townsfolk. It is a collection of unimaginative repeats that do not seems worth the $2.99 cover price.

[2-Stars] X-Men Unlimited #18 - "Once an X-Man....." Gambit is back from the Antarctic still haunted by his past working for Mister Sinister. Rather than go back to the X-Men, Remy returns to his roots as a master thief, but his most recent job pits him against Hydro-Man.

[2-Stars] X-Men Unlimited #19 - "Unforgiven"  Nightcrawler must team-up with his foster sister (and former lover) Amanda Sefton (Daytripper) to save his adoptive mother, Margali Szardos, from Belasco. It is a trip to Limbo that reveals some dark family secrets.

[2-Stars] X-Men Unlimited #20 - "Where the Wild Things Were" Generation X discover three Asgardian trolls living in the mountains of Massachusetts inadvertently terrorizing the local townsfolk (at yet another travelling circus). 

Era #8, Part 17: Generation X #41-45

Grade: C-

Larry Hama concludes his time with Generation X with another odd story. It is no surprise that Emma Frost made a lot of enemies both as a member of the Hellfire Club's Inner Circle and in the boardroom as a cutthroat businesswoman. It was during her hostile takeover of a vulnerable research company that Emma made an enemy of Bianca LaNeige. It is actually a great set-up but the story execution gets a little unclear from there. Bianca ends up in space with some undefined powers that allows her to turn aliens into dwarfs in order to highjack their spacecraft and get revenge. At least Larry closes his 12 issue run by nicely wrapping up things that he started.

[2-Stars] Generation X #41 - "Massachusetts Chain Saw Massacre" The students spend some downtime watching a horror movie marathon. Despite her bravado, it gives Jubilee a nightmare that seems too lifelike. It is an homage to classic films such as Psycho, Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, and Friday the 13th with past Generation X villains playing the lead roles.

[2-Stars] Generation X #42 - "She Came from the Stars" Emma Frost takes the students to a miniature golf course where they are secretly being watched by Bianca LaNeige. Bianca has an old grudge to settle with Emma. She turned seven space-faring aliens into enslaved dwarfs she names Brainy, Greasy, Spikey, Stinky, Warpy, and Windy in order to get to Earth. Generation X ends the day no wiser to the threat, but they do find Gaia.

NOTE: The psychic plan was disrupted in the Psi-War storyline in the X-Men (v2) title.  Don't worry, we will cover it soon, but it worth mentioning here since psi-sensitives to loose their telepathic powers. It has a pretty big impact on Generation X to include Emma Frost, Chamber, Gaia, and M.

[2-Stars] Generation X #43 - "An Eye for an Eye" Bianca and her "dwarfs" crash their spacecraft into the Biosphere and strike at Emma Frost and Generation X while the team is in a training session on how to fight without their powers.

[3-Stars] Generation X #44 - "Comings & Goings" This is Larry Hama's last issue, and I am grateful that he closes many of his running subplots. Skins, Jubilee, and Husk deal with the young thief that stole their deeply personal (and very private) mementos. Sync gives money to the bullies who beat him when they need a new car rather than continue the cycle of hate and revenge. Husk and Chamber finally talk about their feelings and find a way to move forward. Emma forces Bianca LaNeige and her "dwarfs" to repair the damage they did to the Biosphere, but the entire building (along with the villains) completely disappears.

[3-Stars] Generation X #45 - "Lost & Found" Emma, Chamber, Gaia, and even M deal with the loss of their telepathy.

Era #8, Part 16: Generation X #32-40

Grade: D

This is may be my least favorite run of the entire Generation X series. I've heard a lot of good stuff about Larry Hama of GI Joe fame, but I found his work on Wolverine to be hard too weird and hard to follow. He strayed far from the X-Men mythos into some truly strange areas. He brings some of the same off-kilter storytelling (often with the same characters) to Generation X. He also uses his unique narrative style to give us the true origin of M and Penance -- which is good, I guess.

[3 Stars] Generation X #32 - "A Day at the Circus!" With the Circus of Crime on the cover, I often confuse this story as a fill-in. I keep forgetting that it actually does advance the overall story. Banshee takes M and Penance to Muir Island for a thorough examination in hopes to understand more about how the three St. Croix sisters share two bodies. Husk convinces the rest of the team to take some time to relax at a local travelling circus show after all they've been through. There is, of course, trouble (because what travelling circus isn't really a cover for some nefarious plot to rob the local population?).

[2 Stars] Generation X #33 - "Thieves in the Night" Larry Hama starts his tenure with local bullies hassling the Generation X students, a robbery of the school grounds in which very personal items were stolen, and Emplate finds new allies in Chimera, Dirtnap, and the Plasma Wraiths (all villains from the Wolverine series).

[2 Stars] Generation X #34 - "Guilty Secrets" Banshee returns with answers to the mutant relationship between the three St. Croix sisters (M and Penance), but things get more complicated with their evil brother, Emplate, arrives. Skin, Jubilee, and Husk must reveal their deep secrets to the young thief who stole their personal mementos.

[2 Stars] Generation X #35 - "Pool of Tears" The St. Croix siblings (M, Penance, and Emplate) have merged into a single powerful mutant calling her/himself M-Plate. The ensuing battle with the new threat includes Generation X, Chimera, and the Plasma Wraiths. The situation gets more complicated as Skin, Jubilee, and Husk try to "show" their school to their young blackmailer without revealing their true nature as mutants-in-training -- or the raging conflict with super-powered villains.

[2 Stars] Generation X #36 - "Strange Doings" After last issue's big fight, Generation X begins to look for the escaped M-Plate, the kidnapped Sync, and the missing young thief/blackmailer. They stumble into Elwood the Pooka who leads them to another dimension via Landau, Luckman & Lake (another addition from Wolverine). Emma is left in the Biosphere to deal with a magical creature called a Token who appears to have taken the young blackmailer, Artie and Leech captive in the tree-house. What has been a bizarre storyline so far has turned towards silliness from here.

[2 Stars] Generation X #37 - "In Dark Woods, the Right Road Lost" Generation X races (in a train through an outlandish dimension) to the Citadel of the Universal Amalgamator with the help of Elwood the Pooka. M-Plate plans to force the Amalgamator's Guardian, Gaia, to use ancient artifact to merge all sentient consciousnesses together. In the Biosphere, Emma finally gets to the bottom of the Token's recent arrival.

[2 Stars] Generation X #38 - "Mystery Train" Gaia has no intention of activating the Universal Amalgamator for M-Plate which is why Sync was brought. M-Plate plans to use his mutant power to access Gaia's powers. Generation X continues their journey to the Citadel with Emma joining them in the oddball dimension thanks to some help from the Token.

[2 Stars] Generation X #39 - "Return from Forever" Generation X versus M-Plate at the Citadel of the Universal Amalgamator.

[2 Stars] Generation X #40 - "Pride & Penance!" Gaia and Sync return from the other dimension in the hands the two bullies first introduced in Generation X #33. Gaia runs away while Everett is beaten badly. His teammates find him in the hospital, but Everett refuses to snitch. He instead chooses to break the cycle of hate. Everett convinces the St. Croix sisters to finally explain their secret origin and the true tie between M and Penance. It is a big reveal that doesn't feel very satisfying or track with the clues we've been given over the years.