1994's "Generation X" showed the harder side of being a mutant
Word Balloons 1199: This X-Men spin-off featured some mutants who couldn’t just hide their differences from humanity
With an X-Men reboot on the horizon, I’ve been thinking about other fresh starts and new teams of mutants that have been rolled out over the years at Marvel Comics.
Some have really caught on, others less so, but each provides an interesting twist on the mutant metaphor. In this week’s column, Dean Compton of theunspokendecade.com and I looked back at the 1994 launch of “Generation X,” featuring a new team of mutants being taught by former X-Man Banshee and former Hellions headmistress Emma Frost.
For purposes of this review, we read “Generation X” #1 by Scott Lobdell and Chris Bachalo with inking by Mark Buckingham. Letters are Starkings & Comicraft; colors are Buccellato & Electric Crayon. The book is cover-dated November 1994.
Lobdell and Bachalo stayed on the book until 1997; the series ran 75 issues, ending in 2001.
In the aftermath of the Phalanx Covenant crossover, a team of new mutants is established at Frost's Massachusetts Academy.
Matt: This is a great first issue, I think. One of the best Scott Lobdell comics of his career?
Dean: This is a very fun read. I'd rate it right at 85/100. Bachalo and Buckingham were made to work together. I am not a Scott Lobdell fan at all, but he does great work here.
Matt: Chris Bachalo redefines young mutants for the 1990s here. Each generation sort of has its own mutant “class,” and for many folks, it was the Gen X kids. Bachalo was bringing a creativity in paneling and also a very fluid, detailed styling to both the characters and the world. Bachalo’s art helped provide key, unique visuals for new characters Chamber and Skin, especially.
Dean: The characters are all different, but you never lose sight of the fact that they are mostly teenagers. I am currently reading some 70s/80s X-Men, so it is also really cool to see White Queen and Banshee here, and think about how different they are portrayed here versus when the "all-new all-different X-Men" were finding their way to the top of the comic book charts.
Matt: This issue is a key point in the Emma Frost face turn.
Dean: White Queen's face turn is effective because she really does not change a lot.
Matt: Chris Bachalo's art is great for these quirky characters who are dealing with, not to put too fine a point on it, grosser powers than what many previous generations had dealt with.
Husk tears off layers of her skin. Chamber has psionic energy escaping from a hole in his chest that obliterates the lower part of his face.
Dean: Chamber's look is nothing short of astonishing, as we had never seen much like this prior. Emplate does little for me as a villain and is the sole drawback of the book to me. He is very moustache-twirly and mysterious in an over-the-top fashion that makes it hard for me to take him seriously, although he does look cool, if a bit too much like Blackheart for my tastes.
Matt: This is about as handsome as Banshee ever is drawn (contrast his first appearance). Which is an interesting contrast to the more oddly drawn teens. But I think that metaphorically meant something.
These characters have been hit or miss in their use since 2001, though Jubilee was likely the best-known character going in and the most-used since. Husk was part of Chuck Austen’s X-Men; Skin was killed in Chuck Austen’s X-Men. Synch has been a key part of the Krakoa run. Chamber appeared in the “New Mutants” during Krakoa as well. I hope the uniqueness of these characters allows for their return in future X-Men tales.
Matthew Price, matthew@matthewLprice.com, has written about the comics industry for more than two decades. He is the co-owner of Speeding Bullet Comics in Norman.