Generation X (1st series) #20

Issue Date: 
October 1996
Story Title: 
Bodies In Motion
Staff: 

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

Brief Description: 

Emma and Sean throw the kids a party to help them cope with the recent traumas. Emma receives a mysterious visit from Nightmare, and Penance starts to brave the group a bit more. Emma manages to reach M more than ever before and Nathaniel Richards leaves Franklin Richards in the care of the school after the deaths of the Fantastic Four. Skin and Chamber end up hitchhiking with Howard the Duck, while Leech, Artie and Franklin find the alien Tana Nile in the Biosphere. Bastion and the forces of Operation: Zero Tolerance begin to take intrest in some members of Generation X.

Full Summary: 

Bastion and his aide, Daria, are watching CCTV footage of Generation X's first encounter with Emplate at Logan Airport. He seems most interested in Chamber, and despite Operation: Zero Tolerance's resources, knows nothing about Emplate. He orders Daria to find out as much as she can.

In Massachussetts, Sean and Emma are holding a barbecue party for the kids in the Biosphere, a way of letting the kids relax after the previous events regarding Onslaught. Leech, Artie, Jubilee and Synch are playing in the lake and Sean comments on how well the kids are coping. Emma tells him Paige isn't doing so well, and he should go and talk to her, as she probably doesn't trust her right now. Sean finds Paige sitting on her own fretting about how the Onslaught incident will make things even harder for mutants now.

As Emma is wishing she could reach out to people as well as Sean does, her salad starts moving and forms into Nightmare. He tells her that she should be quiet because this is between the two of them. She looks confused and he tells her he'll see her later - in her sleep. She falls off her chair and Mondo catches her, asking if she's ok. Emma asks Mondo if he saw the salad attack her, but he says no and Emma goes for a walk, feeling a bit confused. Sean's cellphone rings, and its Skin who tells Sean that he and Chamber are both fine and to not worry before he hangs up. Before Sean can worry about that little mystery, the others discover Penance, sitting in the barbecue and eating all the food. Her skin has become softer and she has scratches all over her face, but as she realises everone is watching her, she bolts and runs back into the undergrowth.

Back at Operation: Zero Tolerance HQ, Daria goes to tell Bastion that the infomation he required is ready. He attacks her though telling her never to sneak up on him and that people who work underneath him only ever get one chance. Daria apologizes and leaves the room.

At the school, M is levitating on the roof and Emma goes up to see her. M tells her to go away, but Emma stays and tells her that after the Canada/Onslaught incident, she doubts anyone will trust her again. M tells her she sort of knows how she feels - with everyone discovering that Emplate was her brother and all. Emma tells her that she never had a best friend, but by opening up to the kids, she could be very surprised with how much she likes them. M is not sure whether Emma is talking about her or about herself when M notices a bright flash in the Biosphere. Emma tells her not to worry as she was expecting visitors and offers M some ice cream. M accepts.

Nearby in Boston, Chevy is talking with his dad over how he took the job at Xavier's, but so far he's only met one person and he left. His dad, covered in shadows, tells him its his only chance to escape jail for murder, so he must go back.

In California, Chamber and Skin are hitchhiking and Chamber is feeling a lot better now that Onslaught has been defeated. They get picked up by none other that Howard the Duck. He tells them he's headed for L.A. and they jump aboard.

In the Biosphere, Nathaniel Richards, (whom M spotted teleporting in) is having a heated discussion with Banshee over his grandson, Franklin Richards. As Franklin's next of kin, Nathaniel has decided to leave Franklin at Xavier's to best monitor and deal with the boy‘s powers. It is unkown how Onslaught's tampering has affected Franklin and Sean tells him he won't be sorry. Nathaniel tells Sean that if anything happens to Franklin, he will kill him. Franklin instantly bonds with Leech and Artie and they run off into the Biosphere to show Franklin the treehouse. On their way, they encounter Tana Nile, an injured alien lying in the undergrowth.

At Operation : Zero Tolerance, Daria has discovered Chamber's true identity through his passport records. Bastion finds that Frost Enterprises paid for his ticket from London and orders Daria to get as much info on Frost Enterprises as possible.

Characters Involved: 

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

Nathaniel Richards

Howard the Duck

Tana Nile

Chevy, the new groundsman
Chevy's father (not confirmed)

Bastion, Daria (both Operation: Zero Tolerance)
Nightmare

Story Notes: 

Operation : Zero Tolerance is a government splinter agency concerned with neutralising the mutant threat for good. It first appeared in issues of X-Men before Onslaught. Bastion is the fanatical leader of O:ZT, and Daria (first appearance in this issue) seems to be one of his closest aides.

Nathaniel Richards is the time travelling, world conquering, future warlord father of Reed Richards, aka Mr. Fantastic of the Fantastic Four. Franklin Richards is the son of Mr. Fantastic and Susan Richards, aka The Invisible Woman. Both were believed killed (alongside the rest of the Fantastic Four, virtually the entire roster of the Avengers and scores of other super humans) in Onslaught : Marvel Universe. (they were all residing in a duplicate world created by Franklin Richards)

Nightmare's appearance to Emma is explained in upcoming issues.

The mystery of who Chevy's 'father' is is never revealed as this storyline is never touched upon again.

Howard the Duck is an alien who has been trapped on Earth for many years.

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