Welcome to the land of "reality", where scientific experiments, accidents, genetic heritage, and alien influences affect the lives of ordinary mortals. Join me as I observe the superhumans of planet earth and their struggles against equally powerful foes.
This review does not represent the opinions of the general public. It reflects my personal thoughts and opinions on the book.
That said, on to the review!
Generation X is one of the newer mutant teams to appear in the Marvel Universe, which already has a number of mutant teams in operation, both good and evil: the X-Men, X-Factor, Excalibur, X-Force, Alpha Flight, the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, the Mutant Liberation Front, Freedom Force, and others. Still, they're hardly innocents when it comes to fighting for their lives and the lives of others. How can they be with experienced adventurers like Banshee (formerly of the X-Men) and the White Queen teaching them, and Jubilee (once a sort of junior member of the X-Men, but more like Wolverine's sidekick) and Skin (once a streetwise barrio punk) to clue the others in with their more worldly knowledge? But what makes this team stand out is that for the most part their powers are mostly unique. Well, invulnerability and flight (M's domain) isn't all that new (Rogue of the X-Men pops to mind), and Jubilee's been around for awhile (staying with the X-Men). But Chamber's bionuclear/psionice-based powers are something different, as is Synch's--er--synchronicity power (he can temporarily acquire/copy another mutant's abilities). Skin reminds me a little of Mr. Fantastic, except that his powers come from his mutant gene instead of cosmic rays. Husk does an interesting take on shapeshifting, except that in her first appearances (in X-Force and New Warriors, the first series) she could do more with them than just shedding her skin. But all in all, they are a unique team. I might not feel that way if I'd followed the New Mutants series from the beginning, but I didn't, so there.
Perhaps what I liked best about this book is the introduction of Walter Nowland, code-named "Statis" after his ability to generate electrical charges like static electricity. Here was a character who had lost everything (even his life, since the Legacy Virus was slowly killing him) he could have had, yet he was determined to spend his last days living them to the fullest. Of course, I don't think he intended to spend his first days at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters fighting an evil being from another dimensional plane, but that's life, isn't it? The only problem I have with these Marvel-authorized books introducing new characters is that as a reader you know that most of them won't last out the book simply because they don't exist in the comics. And those that do survive go off in other directions, never to be heard from again. It's too bad, really. I liked Statis and his determination to persevere despite the mountainous obstacles thrown in his path. He would have made a good team leader. Oh, well.
Generation X as a comic follows the adventures of up and coming mutant adventurers trying to learn both a regular education and one tailored to train them in mastering their powers. This book provides a glimpse into an entirely plausible adventure. And don't worry if you've never met Generation X before: everything you need to know is in here!
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