Generation X (1st series) #18

Issue Date: 
August 1996
Story Title: 
For The Sake Of The Children
Staff: 

Scott Lobdell (writer), Chris Bachalo (penciler), Mark Buckingham (inker), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (letters), Steve Buccellato (colors), Malibu (enhancement), Bob Harras (editor, editor in chief)

Brief Description: 

On the flight back to Boston, Emma begins to be influenced by the Onslaught entity in New York. Going on a sort of auto pilot where she must protect the kids at all costs, she uses her powers to re-route the plane and get rid of Banshee by having him step out of the plane. They land in Canada, where the kids confront her, but she mentally takes control of them and takes them to an old mansion where she tells them they will all live for the foreseeable future. Toad is watching from the wings of the mansion. Banshee manages to shake off Emma’s influence and lands in Montreal desperate to find the kids as he thinks Emma’s turned evil again. Skin and Chamber continue their road trip to New York to save Jono’s life, Mondo starts talking an evil tree and Penance watches as Chevy, the new groundsman starts to work.

Full Summary: 

Husk, M, Synch, Jubilee, Banshee and Emma are on a private jet from Frost Enterprises traveling back to the school from St Louis. Husk is writing a letter to her brother, Sam, describing the last 24 hours and all the revelations and battles that have taken place. She now understands how he managed to fit so many adventures in whilst he was with the New Mutants. She describes Banshee, and how he reminds her of their father, and M and how she is so perfect, then she’ll just zone out. She describes Jubilee and Synch as decent, brave kids - but kids at heart. She then remarks how Banshee must enjoy being with all the kids as he missed his own daughter growing up, and how she’d do him proud. She’ll be the future leader of the X-Men.

Then Banshee psionically asks Emma how well she knows the pilots. She says she trusts them implicitly, but Sean tells her that he’s been flying for years and this plane is not headed for Snow Valley. He tells her it’s headed north, to Canada. Not looking too bothered, she tells him maybe he should go check it out. Trying not to alarm the kids, he pretends he needs to strech his legs and asks the kids if they want anything from outside.

Jubilee, who has tied Synch’s jacket around his head and tied his arms up for a laugh says no, while M just sits there in her own world, peeling the styrofoam of a coke bottle. Emma continues to apply her make up as Sean heads for the door, and only Husk notices he’s about to step out of a plane 30,000 feet in the air. She tries to stop him, but her belt is locked and screams for someone to grab the door as everthing is sucked out of the cabin.

Synch is sucked out of the door as he is still tied up, and Jubilee screams. Emma and Monet continue to take no notice, whilst Husk rips her skin off to reveal a stretchy tar like form. She elongates her arm and grabs Synch, but dosn’t have enough control over this form to reel him in. She screams Monet’s name, but M only snaps out of it because she is finished with peeling off the styrofoam. Realizing what’s going on, she grabs Synch and closes the door. She tells them if they needed her help they should have asked sooner. Asking why the door was open, Husk tells her it was Banshee. M thinks she should go after him, but Emma tells her he will be hundreds of miles away now and he can make his own way home. They will sort it all out once they get back to the school. The kids look at each other not sure what to say.

Sean is singing to himself when he finally lands and comes to. Wondering whats happened to the kids and his mind, he comes to the conclusion that Emma must be up to her old tricks. He vows to take her down.

Back at the school, Chevy has started his first day as groundsman. He is muttering to himself about how his dad fixed it for him to get the job in Massachussetts to get away from home after he killed a mutant. He’s moaning because he’s hardly seen anyone since he’s been there, when a newsflash comes on about the murder of Dennis Hogan and how the police have arrested one of the suspects. Chevy looks sad, and apologises to Dennis. He’s sorry for what he did. Penance is watching him from behind.

In the Biosphere, Leech is telling Artie not to be scared because all the others are away, when Mondo is talking to a tree asking if its time. The tree says not yet.

At interstate 1-84, Skin steals a trucker’s lunch because he is so hungry. Chamber tells him he shouldn’t have stolen it, and Skin tells him its easy for him to say, because he dosen’t have to eat. Chamber tells him there‘s something major happening on the psionic plane, and it all started after he did or didn’t meet Onslaught - He reckons it something to do with this Onslaught. Chamber tells Skin to leave him, this dosen’t concern him, but Skin tells him he couldn’t leave him to die and Chamber tells him he’s a good man.

The plane eventually lands and the kids get off. Jubilee notices that they aren’t in Boston, and M notes that given the star formations and flight duration they arn’t even in the United States any more. Jubilee confronts Emma who replies there has been a change of plans and they can talk about it on the way. Jubilee stands up to her and says no, but Emma tells Jubilee she is not known for her patience and they can do this two ways. Jubilee tells her that‘s just what she wanted to hear and Ev syncs into her power and they both attack Emma with pyrokinetics. Emma laughs and enters the kids minds and makes the powers backfire on them. Husk is watching her friends being attacked by their own powers and decides she has to risk husking so soon after the last time to save them. She begins to rip off her skin to reveal - nothing but the same. Emma is in Paige’s head. Monet tells Emma she expected more from her and Emma suddenly fires a massive psionic lighning bolt into M’s body leaving her unconcious. She informs her chauffeurs to take the kids to her car while Paige is getting more and more confused why her power isn’t working.

Back at the truck stop, Skin has devised an ingenious way to hitch hike. He has used his extra skin to tie himself and Jono to the undercarriage of a lorry.

In Montreal, Banshee has hacked into the flight computers of the Lanville Airport to try and figure out where Emma’s taken the kids. Finding nothing, he decides he’s gonna have to recruit some local help.

Emma takes the kids to an old mansion and tells them this is going to be their new home for a very long time. When Jubilee asks why, Emma wonders herself. She knows something major is happening in the world, and she’ll protect these kids with her life. She is not prepared to lose any others. The kids start running round and playing, like 12 year olds due to Emma’s mental influence on them. She tells them to all go to bed. Watching from high above in the mansion is the Toad, who is plotting something.

Characters Involved: 

Chamber, Husk, Jubilee, M, Mondo’s double, Penance, Skin, Synch (all Generation X)
Banshee, Emma Frost (Generation X‘s teachers and tutors)
Artie Maddicks and Leech (as Generation X’s wards)

Chevy, the new groundsman
Emma’s two chauffeurs

Toad
Evil Tree / Black Tom Cassidy

Story Notes: 

Emma hasn’t returned to her evil ways. She is being subtly influenced by the emergence of Onslaught. She is taking the kids as far away as she can to protect them from him.

Husk’s brother is Sam Guthrie, aka Cannonball who was an X-Man at the time. Before he hjad been a member of the New Mutants (Gen X’s predecessors) and X-Force.

Banshee’s daughter is Siryn, a former member of X-Force. He didn’t even know of her existence until she was in her late teens.

Chevy is one of the humans who beat the mutant Dennis Hogan to death as he was trying to reach Xavier‘s mansion in X-Men : Prime. He has joined the staff at the Academy not knowing its a school for mutants after his father sent him away to prevent him getting caught by the police and sent to jail for murder.

Mondo’s double talking to the evil tree (actually Black Tom Cassidy) is explained in Generation X (1st series) #25.

The Toad is one of the X-Men’s oldest foes. He last was leading his own incarnation of the Brotherhood, but apparently things turned not out like he wanted.

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