"Suffer the Children" (1997/03/01) from Generation X 25 (March 1977)

Summary: Black Tom Cassidy, using bizarre new powers that make him part plant, attacks the Banshee and the kids of Generation X.

Appearances from Emma Frost the White Queen, Jubilee, the Daydreamers (Franklin Richards, Howard the Duck, Leech, Artie Maddox, Tana Nile, Man-Thing), Penance, Gateway, Husk, Synch, Chamber, Skin, and Form. And, no, I have no idea who most of those people are.

Continuity: The only connection between this story and the Thunderbolts is a bizarre editing error. A footnote in "I, Monster" (Smithers/Next), states that Gen X battled Plantman in this story. They did not; while Black Tom's new powers are somewhat similar to Plantman's, there is no evidence that Smithers has anything whatsoever to do with this adventure.

However, the "I, Monster" dialogue refers to something that happened at about this time. So we must assume an undocumented encounter between Plantman and Generation X occurred, in which the kids emerged victorious and poked fun at Plantman's lily-mask costume. Well, who wouldn't?

Comments: Whenever I crack open an X book I feel like I've gone through the looking glass. It's a whole different world, full of characters and significant events that are rarely referenced in Marvel's non-mutant comics. I know so few of the characters or motivations that it is difficult to make much sense of this story. I recognize the Banshee, at least, since he made his debut in a Thunderbolts story ("The Wail of the Banshee", 1967/01/01) thirty years earlier.

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This page was revised on July 18, 2004