X-GEN: The Unknown Generation

Let's get the obvious out of the way.  X-Gen (The Unknown Generation) was a very blatant knock-off of the X-Men.  There's no getting around it.  Written and drawn by Gilbert Monsanto, it debuted on May 14, 1995 in the first issue of Dragonboy Z Komiks, a magazine whose main feature was a knock-off of Dragon Ball Z.  It was published by Infinity Publishing Inc., which was of course known for its Street Fighter-knock off (inventive though it may be), Kick Fighter Komiks.

Anyway, X-Gen is a team of mutant heroes, products of genetic experimentation, who are gathered together by one Dr. Joselito Javier, the scientist who developed  the X-Genetics process that created them.

DR. JOSELITO JAVIER
I guess they would have called him Dr. J, but they never did.  The leader and father figure of the "X-Gen-ers," he creates the team to combat the evil mutants created from his stolen research.  Like Professor X, he possesses vast psychic powers.  Unlike Professor X, he is not crippled and has a full set of head and facial hair.

ALAMID

Named after the Asian palm civet or the toddy cat.  After eating food contaminated with a mutagenic chemical, scientist Tony Berg was transformed into a mutant berserker with razor sharp claws and the ability to heal rapidly from any injury.  He also wears a symbiotic costume which can repair any damage that it sustains, though I suspect the reason for that is so the artist wouldn't have to redraw his torn up costume from the previous issue. 

 Gotta give some credit, at least they tried to make Alamid's back story as far as they possibly could from Wolverine (never mind that he basically got his powers via food poisoning).  Also, that's a pretty cool costume redesign, which kind of resembles the Ultimate Wolverine look that would appear years later.

  CYCLON
The field commander.  Fires powerful blasts from his eyes.

  
STEEL

The team powerhouse, Steel has superhuman strength and can turn his body into--well, steel.

RAJA

She has super strength and the power of flight.  Doesn't seem to have Rogue's absorption powers.

PSI-LOCK

Gee, I wonder who she's supposed to be?  A female ninja with psionic abilities.

  

HAMOK

Cyclon's brother, a secret agent who can generate devastating waves of energy from his hands.

SERAPH

Born with six wings on his back, the boy named Serapio was abandoned as a baby and raised by Alamid's sister, Lanie.  Aside from the ability to fly, he can also create powerful winds by flapping his wings.

VILLAINS

MAGNO 

Dr. Javier's evil twin brother, who gains his powers from his sibling's stolen research.  He possesses powerful psychic abilities and can produce destructive energy blasts.

 SAURUS

A human pterodactyl with hypnotic powers.  Formerly Alamid's rival scientist, Saurus was responsible for spiking his food with the chemicals that mutated him.

GIGANTO

Saurus' cousin, the "executioner" of their family.  Born with "super-flexed muscles" which give him his enormous size and strength.

KADYO

Short for Arcadio, a crooked "showmaster" who uses a carnival as a front for his kidnapping operation.  Has access to an alternate dimension where cartoons become real.

  

DOK BOOM & VOLTAR

Dok Boom (man, they're not even trying with these names) is an armored crime lord who teams up with Versus' electric-powered villain Voltar.

  

SHADOW CREEP

A mutant who worshiped a "dark being" in order to attain more power.  He has the ability to possess other people and transform himself into a giant shadow creature.

HOJO

Reality-altering being from another dimension who challenges the X-Gen to appear in his movie (really, I should just say based on Mojo and you'd get the picture).  Appears at the end of the strip's second run in Kick Fighter III Komiks which we will look at later on.

TARI

Hojo's sharp-clawed (and probably saber-toothed) henchman, leader of his team of enforcers, the Ravagers.

SPECIAL GUEST STARS

BLADES AND BULLETS

 Kick Fighter heroes Biotrog, Angel and Jolas Zuares (starring at the time in Kick Figther II Komiks' Blades and Bullets) team up with Alamid and Psi-Lock against Dok Boom and Voltar.

THE DRAGONBOY Z CAST

The team meets Vigita and other characters of their magazine's co-feature in Kadyo's cartoon dimension.

 X-GEN: APOCALYPSE

X-Gen's original run lasted until Dragonboy Z Komiks #17 (September 3, 1995), the magazine's final issue.  But the series returned in the pages of Kick Fighter III Komiks early in 1996.  Dar Medina took over as writer with Jim Jimenez as artist.

The revived series departed drastically  from the previous one, recasting the X-Gen as genetically-engineered youths placed in cryogenic suspension and awakened years later to a post-apocalyptic world.  It would seem that the new writer wasn't all that familiar with the original strip, so he just decided to change the premise from scratch.  In fact, aside from Alamid, the rest of the characters suddenly had their names changed.  For instance, the Colossus knock-off was now Bagul (whatever that means), Havok was now Javoc (which is about as clever as "Psi-Lock"), and Rogue became Rougue (how do you even pronounce that?).

X-GEN: THE LAST STAND

The last two installments of the series appeared in KFIII#26-27 (July 15-22, 1996), written by Jay Jimenez and illustrated by original artist Gilbert Monsanto, ending the strip on a familiar note.

COVERS

  

 

JOLAS ZUARES: SECRET AGENT -- and POPE-KILLER?!!

Jolas Zuares: Secret Agent first appeared in Kick Fighter Komiks #1 (published by Infinity Publishing Inc.) on February 1993.  The original series lasted up to 1995, written by Galo Ador, Jr. and illustrated throughout its run by various artists such as Mhel R. Almeda, Bong Mercado, Ronald James Amatos, Lando Inolino, Gilbert Monsanto, and Jim Jimenez.

ORIGIN

Jolas Smith Zuares was the half-Filipino son of American businessman John Miller Zuares (it's confusing enough that they have different middle names, but apparently the American side of Jolas' lineage has a Filipino-sounding surname).  After his father was gunned-down by terrorists, young Jolas vows to avenge his murder.

Jolas trains in the martial arts, becoming an expert in various fighting techniques.  He is eventually recruited by his father's friend, the Colonel, to work for the government as a secret agent.

POWERS AND ABILITIES

As a secret agent, Jolas is proficient in the use of various firearms and is an expert sharpshooter.  As a martial artist, he is trained in several forms of unarmed combat, such as Karate, Kung-Fu, and Taekwondo.  He has also mastered a special technique, the Greatest Punch, which allows him to charge-up his fist with superhuman force.  In later stories, he is given the ability to expel "hadoken"-type energy blasts from his hands.

NOTHING IS SACRED

Such is Jolas' dedication to his mission that he will not let anything get in his way, even if it means playing dirty.  He is seen on a number of occasions to bend the rules in order to uphold the law, dispensing his uncompromising (and often lethal) brand of justice.  He is commited to combating corruption wherever it may appear, be it in the halls of the government itself or, in the case below, the Vatican.

WITH ENEMIES LIKE THESE...

Jolas doesn't have that many recurring foes (not many live to fight another day), and what few arch-enemies he did have turned out to be more than they appeared.  In fact, perhaps a more correct term for them would be arch-frenemies.

SHAOLIN NINJA

A mysterious ninja assassin under the employ of corrupt Senator Celada and his criminal front, the Zodiac Corporation.  He turns out to be Jolas' friend Frank, constantly torn between his friendship to the agent and his loyalty to the syndicate.

ROY YURO

The Shaolin Ninja would later be eliminated and replaced by this guy.  In his debut appearance, Roy Yuro was described as "a Filipino-American-Russian martial arts expert with knowledge of mystical old Chinese art of combat at sumailalim sa turo ng pitong ermitanyo ng Asya ("and underwent training by the seven hermits of Asia")."  When the Kick Fighter people decided to make him a Ryu-knockoff, they settled with him being just Chinese instead.

Roy Yuro was an orphan whose father was murdered by policemen, fostering a lifelong hatred for the law.  He was adopted by one Master Tsao, the brother and bitter rival of Jolas' mentor Master Tsang, with whom he fought over a girl.  Tsao trains Roy in the martial arts, teaching him a special technique of projecting fireballs from his hands.

Utilizing his fighting skills as a criminal enforcer and assassin-for-hire, Roy sets out to get revenge on Tsang on behalf of his master.  Upon learning that Tsang had long been dead, he decides to target his student instead.

This feud would go on for several issues, until one night, while Jolas suffered depression over his inability to avenge his father, Yuro broke into his arch-foe's bedroom and offered to bury the hatchet.

Jolas and Yuro make peace and immediately become partners in crimefighting.

Now, here's my problem with this scenario.  Bear in mind that Roy Yuro was not just some guy with a grudge.  He was a ruthless hitman, who has worked with various criminal organizations all over the world, and had a strong vendetta against law-enforcers.  And now, he just walks into his arch-nemesis' room to apologize, and not only does Jolas buy it, but it's also enough for the government to clear him and give him a job?  Really?

Well, I guess Jolas must be big on forgiveness, even if the person in question had been trying to kill him for months.  In fact, he trusts Yuro so much that he's even willing to sleep in the same bed with him.
 

Sleeping with the frenemy

Not to imply that there's anything more than platonic between these two.  Although, Yuro did used to dress like a woman...


Dude looks like a lady.

Anyway, after Roy eventually leaves him for a stripper (I'm not kidding), Jolas would start teaming-up with masked cyborg vigilante Biotrog; a more lasting partnership that would develop through the course of two series: Blades and Bullets and Omni Powers.  But that's a story for another time.

COVERS