Wednesday, November 07, 2007

UXP # 135: "Decimation # 2: Human and Mutant"

X-Men: 198 # 1-5, Generation M # 1-5, X-Factor # 1-6, Sentinel Squad ONE # 1-5

Quite suddenly, the X-Men have 198 Mutants living on their grounds. With the damage done to the dorms, they all have to live in tents outside. Poor Muties. This includes the emotional distraught Magma and her former lover/manipulator Empath; the mysterious Mr. M; Toad; and various others such as Leech, Caliban, Erg, Jazz, Outlaw, Peepers, Sack, Johnny D, and loads more. The group is having some serious trouble with Sentinel Squad ONE hanging around. This includes them being tagged when they want to leave to visit Salem Center. Thanks to rising tension from Johnny D (who killed Jazz using his Mutant voodoo-doll powers), there's a riot on the X-Men's hands. Mr. M leads the 198 off the estate, where Johnny D (now joined with General Lazer) manages to kill Mr. M. The 198 returns to the estate then.

Sally Floyd, journalist for the very liberal newspaper “The Alternative,” struggles with depression and alcoholism while interviewing ex-Mutants. We see what’s happened to Stacey (a full-blown prostitute); Marrow (living with Morlocks, protecting them); Chamber (comatose with a hole in his chest and face); Jubilee (a political activist); Blob (a thug with diseases); and Dani (taking some time away). As she is doing this, she is being stalked by a crazy Mutant named the Ghoul. This leads to the X-Men using Sally as bait, then managing to take down the Ghoul.

X-Factor investigations is now completely active in Mutant Town (aka District X) and now consists of Maddrox, Wolfsbane, Guido (man, I just want to call him Strong Guy!), Syrin, and M – with Richter then joining after a failed suicide attempt. X-Factor gets involved with a human whose sister was killed by an actor who was being protected by Singularity Investigations. Layla Millar eventually joins the gang, telling everyone that “She knows stuff” and manages to save Richter from an SI agent. After solving the case, Syrin is kidnapped by a former Mutant, and then rescued by Richter. Finally, Layla is taken away, only to have run away and rejoins the team.

Six months ago, Sentinel Squad ONE was a bunch of cadets consisting of (mainly) Alexander “Lex” Lexington, Briggs, Rajani, a Mutant named Melt, and a guy named Skylark. They and a bunch of others go through some exercises – including stopping a Hydra assassination plot, cyber-dinosaurs in the Savage Land, and Wild Sentinels in South America.

Overall, this is a nice and much-needed catch-up with the various Mutant characters we’ve seen over the years. The 198 and Generation M, especially, serve as strong points here with a nice look at all sorts of crazy Mutants. I’m not exactly satisfied with where Stacey has ended up, but I’m pleased with the fates of many of the others. As a Generation X fan, it’s nice to see that M has ended up with the “big boys” in X-Factor.

The 198 made for a good read. The art was touch and go. Sometimes, it was perfect; others, it was an odd fit. I don’t understand why the X-Men have had so much trouble rebuilding the dorms and why the poor masses had to sleep in tents. Surely, the X-Men could have cleared out the cafeteria and set up some cots. And some of those Mutants just surprised me in terms of how “evil” they are. I mean, Toad and Mammomax, I can understand as they’re pretty low on the list and I don’t think they’ve actually killed anyone. But, some of the Marauders are there, as well as Gene Nation. These aren’t good guys. They’ve killed innocents.

The government-is-evil is a pretty overused concept, if you ask me, and it’s done so again here. However, it’s mainly because GENERAL LAZER IS EVIL. Val Cooper and Colonel Reyes aren’t, but GENERAL LAZER IS PURE EVIL. What? You didn’t know that?

Over in Generation M . . . I like Sally Floyd. I don’t anymore since she became stupid in “Civil War: Frontline,” but I like her here. She makes for a nice character and I liked looking through her eyes at the post-Decimation events. Sally been a little retconed into the X-Men’s history, but I can deal with that.

X-Factor is another good book here. It’s far more internal than the original Peter David run and that’s the major highlight. Taking a firm look at Decimation and dealing with its major aftermath and impact on Mutant Town was a wise decision. Nice flow, very moody, and some great characterization are what holds this comic together

Finally, we have Sentinel Squad ONE, which is, for the most part, a little on the bland side. I thought their various adventures weren’t all that strong. That being said, it’s nice to have a face to the names and each character was certainly well-realized. What I really liked about this book, though, is what is said in the beginning of issue one in regards to Sentinel Squad ONE’s existence. It’s there in case everything else falls apart and there are no super-heroes. Say . . . if there was a ban on super-heroes or something, right?

Again, it’s nice to see the fall-out of “House of M” and M-Day dealt with in a way that works. These all made for some good and interesting stories, though some were a little boring at times. A definite improvement.

~W~

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