X-MEN: LIBERATORS#4 - February 1999

Gifted Youngsters

Credits: Joe Harris (writer), Phil Jimenez & John Stokes (art), Shannon Blanchard (colors), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (letters)

Summary: Omega Red refuses to leave Province 13, knowing that the X-Men are nearby. Meanwhile, Nightcrawler and Colossus discover Wolverine recuperating in the nearby woods. They return to Province 13 and rescue Nanya, the telepathic girl who haunts Sergei’s thoughts. After Nightcrawler prevents Sergei from killing her, Sergei commits suicide. Nearby, Ariana is used as bait for her son, Nikolas. After Omega Red falls in battle, Nikolas comes face to face with his mother. She ends his suffering by slitting his throat. Soon, the Russian government shuts down Province 13, and Ariana takes in Nanya.

Review: Well, this one certainly took a grim turn. I’m still not sure what the blonde girl’s story is supposed to be, although Harris drops some more hints in the final issue. Her name is Nanya, Sergei resents her for never speaking to him (although he resents all of the kids in Province 13, anyway), and she was the first child brought to the facility. Perhaps the idea is that she’s autistic and can only express herself through telepathy, but I’m not sure why Harris establishes her as the facility’s original subject. It’s hard to judge Nikolas’ age since he’s a deformed monster, but the advanced age of his mother implies he can’t be too young. Is the idea that Nanya can’t age, which makes her existence even more disturbing for Sergei? Regardless, her story has one of the few happy endings in this mini. Pairing her off with Ariana is a predictable move, but the sentiment behind the scene is nice enough. Colossus also has a few sappy pages to say goodbye, reflecting on the loss of his family and the importance of the X-Men as his adopted family. Nothing groundbreaking here, but it helps to reinforce some of the themes that often felt lost during the ‘90s X-boom.

X-MEN: LIBERATORS#3 - January 1999

A Game of Hide and Seek!

Credits: Joseph Harris (writer), Phil Jimenez (breakdowns), Keith Aiken & John Stokes (finishes), Shannon Blanchard (colors), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (letters)

Summary: Colossus discovers that his former neighbor, Ariana, hates him because he grew up in peace with his mutant siblings, while her son Nikolas was taken away as an infant. They’re soon confronted by Omega Red, who’s hunting Ariana’s son, the missing mutant from Province 13. When Nikolas appears, Omega Red throws him and Colossus down a mountain. Meanwhile, Wolverine slowly recovers from Nokolas’ death-touch. Nightcrawler follows him to Province 13, and encounters some of the children living there. When Sergei receives word that Province 13 is closing down, he orders Wolverine buried in the woods.

Review: Some of the threads are coming together (although I’d still like to know why Omega Red was in the Savage Land), and it seems as if this mini is shaping up fairly well. Ariana had a memorable debut last issue, and while it’s predictable that she would be revealed as the missing mutant’s mother, Harris handles the flashbacks to Nikolas’ birth well, and makes her resentment of the Rasputins feel real. From a continuity purist’s point of view, it is a little unusual that three mutants would be born to the same mother, so the revelation that nuclear testing caused many of the kids in Colossus’ collective to be born mutants makes sense.

Three issues in to the mini, I’m still not sure what purpose the blonde girl with telepathic powers is meant to serve, but for some reason Harris feels the need to establish that she’s likely the only mutant still living at Province 13. (Apparently, the government just takes kids indiscriminately from this area, although I’m still not sure why the Rasputins were allowed to grow up at home.) Eh, maybe he’s going somewhere with this.

Nightcrawler’s scenes this issue emphasize the parallels between Xavier’s school and Province 13, stressing how lucky Nightcrawler was to be trained by a benevolent teacher, as opposed to a cold-hearted government agency. Of course, he only thought Xavier was a nice guy at this point. He didn’t know about the mental manipulation, enslaved alien entities, and secret dead X-Men from the past. Because, you know, those stories that played on old continuity just made perfect sense, as opposed to this ‘90s silliness.