Era #9, Part 21: Dream's End

Grade: C-

It is pretty unfair of me to rate this, but it is part of the collection. I never picked the other two issues in this storyline. Reading the bookend issues hasn't changed my opinion that was yet another mediocre crossover. 

Senator Robert Kelly is running for President on a platform to deal with the mutant threat, and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants plan to assassinate him before he can get into office. The X-Men realize how real the threat is to Senator Kelly and secretly plant Cable into the campaign as a bodyguard. The X-Men's investigation into Mystique's plan, however, reveals a much more sinister plot to unleash a mutation of the Legacy Virus on the human race. 

The elements of past stories are all blatantly visible. An anti-mutant presidential nominee being secretly protected by the X-Men in order to (unsuccessfully) prevent an assassination. Mystique and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants attempting to murder Senator Robert Kelly. The Legacy Virus used as a weapon. 

Unoriginal, uninspiring, and unexpected from the great Chris Claremont.

[4-Stars] Uncanny X-Men (1963) #388 

[Missing] Cable (1st series) #87

[Missing] Bishop: The Last X-Man #16

[5-Stars] X-Men (1991) #108 

Era #9, Part 20: Maximum Security (X-Men)

Grade: C

Company-wide crossovers can play havoc with creators trying to tell their own stories. It is clear that Chris Claremont was going in a specific direction with his Revolution arc, but this set doesn't seem to really fit. Maximum Security is such a big event that it is a little hard to follow if you didn't read the many different issues. The X-Men had only three tie-in issues.

In short, most of the alien civilizations that have previously interacted with Earth join forces to prevent humans from interfering further with galactic affairs. To accomplish this, they designate Earth as a penal colony. 

Uncanny X-Men (106) #387 is the most interesting of the set. Four former members of the Shi'ar Imperial Guard are expelled and imprisoned on Earth for unknown treasonous activities. They agree to help Starhammer get his revenge on Jean Grey for the Phoenix' genocide of the D'Bari people. It is a reminder of what she did, and I liked the unexpected ending.

Professor X and his Skrull mutants (called Cadre K) are back, and they have a plan to return Bishop to the X-Men. It is a little unclear why they need to do this (or what happens to the Cadre K in the aftermath). I imagine the answers are in other issues that I don't have. As a stand-alone read, X-Men (1991) #107 and X-Men Unlimited (1993) #29 simply mark the return of Bishop and Professor X. 

[6-Stars] Uncanny X-Men (1963) #387 

[5-Stars] X-Men (1991) #107 

[4-Stars] X-Men Unlimited (1993) #29

Collected in X-Men: Revolution by Chris Claremont