NEW X-MEN #117-120 (2001-2002): “Germ Free Generation;” 1st appearances of Morrison’s extended cast

The school has new students.

Beak is the only one named in issue #117, but crowd shots establish Glob and several others.

Beast discovers that Cassandra Nova, who is being held in stasis in the Institute’s basement, is Xavier’s genetic twin, knocks Beast out with a psychic blast, and then gets Beak to beat him with a bat.

Because, we now know, Xavier is the one in stasis–Nova has taken over his body and put his mind in her body. Beast is left in a coma, so he can’t reveal what he learned.

Last issue, Xavier “came out” to the world, and now there are protesters outside. theschool. Emma Frost causes them all to have orgasms and fall asleep.

Seriously. Talk about humane crowd control!

There’s quite a bit of sex in this story. Jean and Scott haven’t been getting along, and she thinks he’s been cheating on her. When she asks if she slept with Emma, Scott says, “No, she kept me awake all night.”

Wow.

Wolverine goes to rescue the new mutant Angel from some U-Men.

And they end up bickering in a diner for most of this arc. It’s great dialogue, and a nice break from the rest of this arc, which is much less about character and much more about big ideas and plotpoints.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Scott and Emma confront the genetic engineer Sublime and he uses a brain in a jar named Martha to capture them, and then decides to harvest their organs for his U-Men project.

They escape, and Emma kills Sublime.

…And Cyclops apparently kills Martha. Note that Emma says Sublime committed suicide–she did not intentionally drop him.

While the main X-Men are out on these missions, Jean is alone at the mansion–and the U-Men attack.

When she defends the students, she appears to become Phoenix again.

And then, at the very end, Beast wakes up and tells the gang what’s going on.

There is a LOT going on in every issue of this comic.