Era #11, Part 08: The Cruelest Cut (Uncanny X-Men)

Grade: C

Chris Claremont continues his XSE storyline that he started back in X-Treme X-Men. Bishop, Marvel Girl, Nightcrawler, Sage, Storm, and Wolverine are the internationally sanctioned (?) police force of the mutant population. This collection covers two cases.

The first takes them to District X searching for a missing human. She is the daughter of a notorious crime boss ready to take justice into his own hands, the X-Men have only a few hours to uncover the truth before things get worse. Things get more complicated when they learn that the attacker's signature closely mirrors Wolverine creating some uncertainty about what they may be facing.  

The second sends Sage back into the Hellfire Club. The White Queen joins the team as they confront familiar threats. A larger conspiracy that includes Robert DaCosta (New Mutant's Sunspot), the Black King Sebastian Shaw, the Black Queen Selene, Donald Pierce, Courtney Ross, and Viper. The X-Men enter the fray to stop the mutant slave trade and determine where Sage's loyalty really lies. 

There are a lot of common and overly familiar themes from Claremont in this run. The first tale is a very obvious and traditional superhero trope: the misunderstood actions of a new hero. On the positive side, this is X-23's first introduction to a core X-Men title. The second tale is a retelling of a relatively recent Claremont story regarding the mutant slave trade by the rich and powerful. This time, however, I enjoyed the return of the Hellfire Club Lords Cardinal in this version.

[5-Stars] Uncanny X-Men (1963) #450

[5-Stars] Uncanny X-Men (1963) #451

[5-Stars] Uncanny X-Men (1963) #452

[5-Stars] Uncanny X-Men (1963) #453

[5-Stars] Uncanny X-Men (1963) #454

Collected in Uncanny X-Men: The New Age (Vol. 2): The Cruelest Cut

Era #11, Part 07: Heroes and Villains (X-Men)

Grade: D+

What a hot mess! I regularly read reviews bashing Chuck Austen and wonder if people are just afraid of somebody challenging the status quo. I prefer to look at his run as a bold experiment, but I am just not sure that I can give him a pass after reading this run. 

Exodus forms a new Brotherhood of Mutants (Avalanche, Black Tom Cassidy, Mammomax, Nocture, and Sabretooth), but this new t eam realizes that the X-Men are always one step ahead of them. Their ingenious plan is to attack the X-Men at their home and decide to rely on their secret weapon (and spy inside) -- the Juggernaut. The assault is the final straw for Annie who leaves Havok and the Institute to keep her son, Carter, safe.

Motivations (and even character names) seem much more fluid than normal and not so grounded on the stable characterizations that we've come to expect from X-Men books. The story is incredibly thin. It utilizes common tropes with no real imagination (another Brotherhood inspired by a dead Magneto decides to assault the X-Men at home?).

The Juggernaut subplot was an interesting bright spot. He must face the consequences of his actions even if those actions are for the better good. The conclusion of his arc with Squidboy is completely heartbreaking. It is an unflinching reminder that we are always being watched. 

[4-Stars] X-Men (1991) #161

[5-Stars] X-Men (1991) #162

[4-Stars] X-Men (1991) #163

[4-Stars] X-Men (1991) #164

[4-Stars] X-Men (1991) #165

Collected in X-Men: Day of the Atom