Operation Zero Tolerance - 26 Years Later Part 2
The Calm Before
The X books wasted no time reminding readers of the additional threats they had been building when Onslaught ended. Uncanny X-Men 337 and X-Men 57 serve as epilogues for the major event that had just concluded while at the same time turning up the heat on the storylines leading to Operation: Zero Tolerance.
That said, Bastion's development and exploration in many of these issues is vague at best--likewise Operation: Zero Tolerance as an organization. Several of Bastion’s appearances at this point are somewhat tortured, as though the writers were undecided about whether to follow the character before the event started or to ignore him entirely. Add to that a significant departure from Bastion's established characterization in his biggest appearance and the long build-up proves to be somewhat rocky with some good appearances and...some less good appearance.
What is truly most impressive in these issues, though, is seeing two people we least expect taking——for once——the responsible, even morally correct, position.
The following includes spoilers for multiple X and non-X books, most significantly Uncanny X-Men 337, X-Men 57, and Onslaught: Epilogue. But everything beyond those three specified issues are skippable if you're not a completionist.
Owning It
The major thread running through both X-Men books the month after Onslaught ends is Xavier's remorse, anger, and guilt. He's not ready for absolution. He knows what led him to this point. Charles Xavier has never been a saint, nor will he be one going forward. He has often cloaked mistakes and misjudgments in arrogance. Something entirely different happens here, though.
The X-Men are gathering at Scott and Jean's house for breakfast. It's a dark rainy morning and Xavier has chosen to sit alone in a wrecked, roofless part of the mansion and stew in self-doubt and self-recrimination. Wolverine is with him, trying to head off Xavier's seemingly inevitable dark night of the soul but having no success. Xavier knows Onslaught exists because in a moment of profound anger and arrogance he used his powers to wipe Magneto's mind. He's left considering that he may have done more to damage the fight he led for mutant/human peace and equality than any of the enemies the X-Men have faced, and he wonders if he was ever really the leader and champion he was made out to be.
Lobdell's script for these scenes is already effective--he accomplishes a great deal in only six pages--but the art catapults the emotion to a whole new level. Madureira always delivers expressive characters, and this issue is no different. The anguish on Xavier's face is palpable. Coupled with heavier inks from Townsend and Russell along with a dark, somewhat dismal color palette, we get one of the series' best soul searching Xavier scenes.
This setup in Uncanny X-Men 337 is critical for what happens in X-Men 57. It's a week after Onslaught's assault on New York, and Valerie Cooper has come looking for Charles Xavier, intending to put him in protective custody "for his own sake...as well as the safety of the rest of the world." Some of the X-Men--Cyclops, Wolverine, and Bishop among them--leap to Xavier's defense only to find others, such as Storm and Jean, siding with Val. But the debate is made irrelevant when Xavier voluntarily turns himself in.
Xavier (in a move that will seem progressively more out of character as the years pass) recognizes that the power mutants have——the power he has——must come with accountability. He makes no attempt to blame all his actions of Onslaught; rather, he accepts that he must answer for his actions in the recent months.
It's almost unbelievable to think of the current portrayal of Charles Xavier saying anything like this. This is the kind of moment that justifies the faith characters have in Xavier and his dream. He makes a lot of bad decisions, but he tries not to pursue his goals by any and all means. And that thinking is reinforced by the events of Onslaught. Ironically, Xavier doing the right thing will make both him and the X-Men vulnerable at one of the worst possible times.
Keeping 'Em Honest
Graydon Creed wastes no time taking full advantage of Onslaught's attack and the apparent deaths of the Avengers and Fantastic Four. At the same time Wolverine is telling Xavier that Onslaught isn't his fault and he needs to find a way to move on, Creed is standing in the wreckage of Central Park, dripping wet from that same rain Xavier is sitting in, and grandstanding like only a politician can. His refrain is much the same as before Onslaught, but now it's backed up by the deaths of all the heroes at mutant hands.
The upside to Creed's popularity is that he becomes a big enough media attraction to get J. Jonah Jameson's attention. Jameson senses that Creed isn't just saying what people want to hear and that his hate isn't garden variety anti-mutant bigotry, so Jameson——managing to be an actual journalist——starts digging into Creed.
Bastion, meanwhile, is keeping a close eye on Creed's campaign and in X-Men 57 the connection between the two is revealed. Having caught wind of Jameson's investigation Bastion meets with him and tries to intimidate the newspaperman, dissuading him from looking into Creed further. Jameson, bringing to bear that fortitude he usually reserves for complaining about Spider-Man, not only shoots Bastion down but lets him know that he knows about Bastion and Operation: Zero Tolerance. This sets the stage for a Jameson subplot that will run through Creed's campaign and all the way to Operation: Zero Tolerance.
Jameson looks good in both of these issues. For two artists who don't work with the character on a regular basis, Madureira and Kubert nail his drive and intensity when he homes in on Creed and his anger in the face of Bastion's pressure.
Bits and Pieces
Jameson and Xavier’s choices are the biggest plot developments in these two issues, but there are a few other moments of note. Bastion appears with his assistant Harper in both issues--the same Harper who earlier gave money to Creed's campaign in X-Factor 123. Harper has as yet unexplained morphing abilities so in all three appearances he looks different.
Xavier uses Cerebro to confirm what Onslaught told him before his defeat--that his telepathic powers are gone. Cerebro doesn't detect Xavier as a mutant.
Bobby and Sam are watching Creed's television appearances when Val arrives at the mansion. Though it's not addressed here, this will serve as foreshadowing for the upcoming subplot where the two X-Men infiltrate Creed's campaign.
The Token Bastion
Lobdell wastes no time reminding readers of the danger Bastion poses in the two X-Men series as soon as Onslaught ends. Bastion makes numerous X book cameos as the writers try to build him up as a major threat. Unfortunately, beyond Uncanny X-Men 337 and X-Men 57, most of these add very little.
Wolverine Annual '96Â sees Wolverine traveling to Japan where he rescues Sunfire who is being held by the Japanese government after losing control of his powers. This prompts the release of the Red Ronin, a Japanese sentinel. The plot comes off as a rebuke to Japanese leadership which, in an early scene, refuses to join Bastion's Operation: Zero Tolerance because they think they can control any mutant problems they might have on their own.
Bastion then pops up in X-Man 22 on a single page where he's observing Nate Grey. These kinds of appearances, where Bastion appears on a page or two doing nothing but observing an X character, will make up the bulk of his pre-Operation: Zero Tolerance appearances. They usually make for completely flat scenes that add nothing to his character.
By far the weirdest and least impactful tie-in to the developing story, though, is Silver Surfer 123. Bastion's scene in X-Man 22 reads in part as a set-up for Silver Surfer——an attempt to point X readers to an issue that serves as a soft relaunch of the Surfer's series. But despite what X-Man 22 suggests, Bastion doesn't actually appear in the Silver Surfer issue. He is name checked as the authority to examine a being (eventually revealed to be the Surfer) entering Earth's atmosphere. The story never justifies why he's in charge of this aspect of the military, and it's obvious that this reference along with a two panel cameo by the X-Men is an attempt to bring in X readers by dangling connections between the characters (something also done in X-Men Unlimited 13 where Silver Surfer guest starred).
Bastion vs. Xavier
Onslaught: Epilogue might be the strangest prologue issue there is which is unfortunate because it's also the one where Bastion features most prominently. After a series of appearances featuring a measured, somewhat dispassionate attitude, he is written here as a full on emotionally uncontrolled fanatic bordering on lunacy.
Charles Xavier, after surrendering himself to Val Cooper in X-Men 57, was handed over to Bastion. Most of the issue is focused on Xavier being interrogated. All that Bastion knows (or at least all he says he knows) is that Xavier claims to know something about Onslaught. There are many weird moments throughout the issue, though, where Bastion suggests he knows more about Xavier than he's saying and Xavier comes very close to revealing he was responsible for Onslaught.
Bastion is a crazed man when he interrogates Xavier. He screams. He threatens. He throws Xavier around. His conduct outside of his interactions with Xavier is not much better; Bastion takes his frustration out on everyone he possibly can.
The best description for Bastion's portrayal here might be "bizarre". Even during Operation: Zero Tolerance proper Bastion doesn't get this over the top. He's a far more measured character, a ruthless and analytical scalpel rather than an overly emotional cudgel. I'm not sure what Larry Hama was thinking when he wrote this script, but it reads like he and Scott Lobdell never spoke because this Bastion doesn't resemble the character Lobdell created and built up.
Does it Get Any Better Than This?
Would it surprise you to be told that these issues do more for J. Jonah Jameson than the next big X-Men villain?
It’s unclear at exactly what point Bastion was transitioned from Lobdell’s new ongoing nemesis for the X-Men to headlining the next big event. It was almost certainly during this period, though. His minor cameo appearances feel extraneous in all cases and are never referenced during the event itself. Most peculiar is that after these issues of Uncanny X-Men and X-Men, none of Bastion’s setup will take place in the primary X books. It will eventually transition into Generation X.
But Lobdell’s introduction of Bastion prior to Onslaught (largely in Uncanny X-Men 333 and X-Men Unlimited 11) actually gives more weight to these cameos than they otherwise deserve. The groundwork that Lobdell laid to made Bastion a credible recurring villain ultimately made the build-up to Operation: Zero Tolerance work because, as we’ll see, the event will rest on very little else.
<— Part 1: The Pro-Pro-Prologue
The first hints for the event were planted before Onslaught when Scott Lobdell and Pascual Ferry created Bastion. Lobdell's original plan for the character was to have him attack the X-Men immediately in the wake of Onslaught, destroy the mansion, and send the team on the run for an unspecified amount of time. He was supposed to become a powerful foe for the X-Men, a character as significant as Magneto. Unfortunately editorial liked Bastion and his underlying motivation a little too much and decided to turn it into the next year's line wide X event.
Part 3: Creed for America —>
X-Men has never shied away from including a political component to their stories, so an anti-mutant presidential candidate makes a lot of sense. On its own this storyline probably wouldn't have any more punch than the average Senator Kelly screed. But combined with the promise of genocide (Creed actually uses the term "final solution" at one point) it takes on greater import. Alternate timelines have depicted horrible fates for mutants many times but at long last the threat is real.
Return to the Introduction here. Follow along with an issue-by-issue commentary at @theronscomics #XMenOZT.
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