X-MEN #51-52 (1996): 1st Bastion

A train is infected with a mutating virus. Some of the team go inside to face the mutated people.

Outside, Gambit and Bishop use their powers to stop it. Gambit uses the kinetic energy generated by the moving train to charge the train up and then Bishop absorbs all that energy, stopping the train. Interesting partnership. Also, the X-Men crash another vehicle!

But the effort knocks out the whole team of X-Men who are actually aboard the train, and they’re captured by Mister Sinister.

They escape.

While imprisoned, Dark Beast observes a connection between Bishop and Sinister. Mister Sinister knows that Bishop is a thorn in his side in an alternate future.

Investigating the train crash is a mysterious dude in a trenchcoat disguise named Bastion.

He’ll be a constant pain the collective asses of all mutants.

This story is the first of Mark Waid’s run on X-Men. I love Mark Waid, but it was mid-’90s X-Men. There was only so much good he could do here.

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