Era #10, Part 26: Here Comes Tomorrow (New X-Men)

Grade: C+

The Phoenix is dead, and the future will not be the same. When Scott Summers refuses to reopen the Xavier Institute after the death of his wife, he creates an alternate timeline. In 150 years, the remanents of the X-Men, now led by Cassandra Nova, recover the Phoenix Egg from the Proud People. They are unsuccessful in protecting it from the Beast and his minions of Crawlers giving him the total power of a reborn Phoenix.  

This run was so confusing! The fun thing about alternate futures is that they often reveal hints about the current timeline, and this one has a few that I was supposed to understand (I didn't). It attempts to explain Sublime, the creator of the U-Men, and Kick, the addictive mutant drug, but it didn't make a lot of sense to me. The same can be said for the Cassandra Nova / No-Girl / Martha Johansson connection. All of these dangling plot points are implied, so it is hard to figure out what I was supposed to pick up. I needed to use online resources.

The story also reused a similar concept that started in Age of Apocalypse -- using the Multiple Man to create an evil army. At least this one merged Multiple Man with Nightcrawler to create the Crawlers (each of whom is further merged with another mutant). It was cool to see them, but it was not so original.

Seeing Marc Silvestri back, however, was fantastic. I am a fan of his work, and this was no exception.

[6-Stars] New X-Men (2001) #151

[5-Stars] New X-Men (2001) #152

[5-Stars] New X-Men (2001) #153

[5-Stars] New X-Men (2001) #154

Collected in New X-Men (Vol. 7): Here Comes Tomorrow

Era #10, Part 25: Prisoner of Fire (X-Treme X-Men)

Grade: D

Elias Bogan's henchman ambush Bishop leaving, and it is up to Cannonball, Gambit, Rogue, Sage, Storm, Sunspot, Magma, Lila Cheney, Skids, and Shadowcat to save their teammate in a final showdown. Bludgeon, Cudgel, Manacle, Revenant, and Rolling Thunder are joined by a mysterious telepath with surprising ties to the X-Men.  

Chris Claremont ends the X-Treme X-Men with a mixed bag. It does not help that I am not a fan of the Elias Bogan storyline. His goals were never clear to me, and I still do not understand his enmity towards Sage. I may not be thrilled with his antagonist, but I am glad that Claremont provides closure. What really saves this run for me, however, is that it is essentially a New Mutants reunion. It might have been an unnecessarily large cast, but at least they were characters I love.

[4-Stars] X-Treme X-Men (2001) #40

[4-Stars] X-Treme X-Men (2001) #41

[4-Stars] X-Treme X-Men (2001) #42

[4-Stars] X-Treme X-Men (2001) #43

[4-Stars] X-Treme X-Men (2001) #44

[4-Stars] X-Treme X-Men (2001) #45

[4-Stars] X-Treme X-Men (2001) #46

Collected in  X-Treme X-Men (Vol 8): Prisoner of Fire

Era #10, Part 24: Planet X (New X-Men)

Grade: B+

Magneto is back! The X-Men's oldest foe had been hiding and recovering inside the school as one of the newest teachers, Xorn. While masquerading as the mysterious pacifist, Magneto was building an army from the disenchanted students. When he strikes, it is a decisive blow by separating the team leaving them unable to protect Professor X or stop a brutal attack on New York City.

Once you get past the fact that this is another "return of Magneto" story (and a couple of other overused tropes), this is a good read. Despite executing a masterful strategy to bring down the X-Men from within their own ranks, he could not surround himself with any substantial allies to capitalize on his initial victory. Because he needs to do more to compensate for that limited support, Magneto takes the performance-enhancing drug Kick which makes him more erratic and out of control. As a result, his growing mob of followers quickly waiver in their commitment to the mutant revolution.

My only complaint is that I think that the conclusion is way too confusing and relies on another overused X-Men plot devise.

 

[7-Stars] New X-Men (2001) #146

[7-Stars] New X-Men (2001) #147

[7-Stars] New X-Men (2001) #148

[7-Stars] New X-Men (2001) #149

[5-Stars] New X-Men (2001) #150

Collected in New X-Men (Vol. 6): Planet X