Era #8, Part 21: Liberators

Grade: F+

I started losing faith in X-Men limited series in this era. There was no real character development, and the stories were worse than mediocre. They felt like throw-away plots not good enough for the regular series. They are a cynical way to make a few easy bucks on low quality ideas. Each time I got suckered into buying one of these limited series, I felt cheated, but who could I blame since I knew they would be bad.

X-Men: Liberators gives us the returned of three long-time friends Colossus, Nightcrawler, and Wolverine. What an expected team-up! The trio had not been together since Era #4, so this promised to be a fun, modern tale for the nostalgic X-Fan. I was disappointed. There is nothing new here with all too familiar story elements and uninspired writing.

Colossus decides to finally return home to pay his respects after all the bad things that happened to his family (way back in Era #6). His best buddies tag along on what is expected to be an emotional personal journey (it is not). We learn that there is yet another secret military facility that detains and tests young mutants. Province 13 is a relic of the Soviet Union, and continued budget cuts and government disinterest threaten to close the nearly forgotten base. They somehow have enough authority and funds to sends troops to the Savage Land and bring back Omega Red.

[2-Stars] X-Men: Liberators #1 - "Book One: Old Friends" Colossus returns to Russia for a visit of his old home and pay his respect to his deceased family. Nightcrawler and Wolverine join him on his trip, but not too far away, a deformed mutant escapes a nearly forgotten Soviet era detention center dubbed Province 13.

[2-Stars] X-Men: Liberators #2 - "Book Two: Home Is Where the Heart Is" Colossus's small village is quickly occupied by soldiers searching for the deformed mutant that escaped Province 13.

[2-Stars] X-Men: Liberators #3 - "Book Three: A Game of Hide & Seek" The military director of Province 13 sends in Omega Red to recapture the escaped detainee while his science team studies Wolverine's fatal decay from his exposure to the deformed mutant's death touch.

[2-Stars] X-Men: Liberators #4 - "Book Four: Gifted Youngsters" Colossus and Nightcrawler infiltrate Province 13 to find Wolverine and save the mutant children held prisoner. They must first get passed Omega Red.