Uncanny X-Periment # 33: "After the Fall"

Excalibur Special Edition, Uncanny X-Men # 228-238

With the world believing they're dead, the X-Men are on the move. But first . . .

The basic X-Men "leftovers" - Nightcrawler, Shadowcat and Rachel (Phoenix 2) - join forces with British mainstays Captain Brtian and Meggan to combat the evil Warwolves and the team called Technet. In the end, the gang joins together to form Excalibur.

Meanwhile, while a fan deals with the death of Dazzler, the X-Men take over an abandoned Australian town in the outback. To do this, they fight off the cybernetic Reavers. The Reavers are, in the end, little match for the X-Men and the team gains control of their elaborate town and underground complex. After a nice Christmas tale, the X-Men go on the offensive.

First stop is the Brood. Following up on the earlier Brood story (see "Uncanny X-Periment # 16: The Brood Saga"), the evil aliens attack the Earth and gain the bodies of Mutants. Now these Broods with powers take on the X-Men and eventually set their goals for an evangelist group (a good one, that is). The X-Men win the day. All the while, Maddie undergoes a vision quest that leads her to damnation.

After that, it's time for a Genosha. The X-Men inflitrate the island nation of Genosha after Maddie is cpatured and taken there and the truth of the island is revealed: that the island vast resources and wealth are built on Mutant slaves called Mutates. The X-Men do their best to start a revolution.

While Excalibur, the issues right after the X-Men's "death," and the Brood Saga (2), are all great stories, both well-plotted, character driven, and drawn very nicely, the Genosha story is muddled with inconsistency and confusion.

One thing I feel I need to address is the X-Men team at this time. It's an interesting team, far more different than really any previous one. You've got Storm, Wolverine, Longshot, Dazzler, Rogue, Colossus, and Psylocke - all quite formidable and, ultimately, much more action-oriented and intense than any other. If there ever was a team that would serve as a great "strike force," it would be this one. However, I feel I should note that I think it's very unfair not to reveal the X-Men's alive-ness to Magneto, the New Mutants, and Excalibur. While Illyana is contacted, I personally feel as though it's the wrong place for Storm to have the team.

Overall, it's an interesting, if not fairly unbalanced time in the X-Men's history.

~W~

~W~