New Mutants #1: Teenagers No More…

Hey, everyone… Welcome once again to the weekly (or more) review of your friendly X-titles. This week we have the long awaited (at least by me) return of the New Mutants complete with double-sized cover. So without further ado, let’s begin…

New Mutants #1 cover

New Mutants #1 (preview)
Writer: Zeb Wells
Penciler: Diogenes Neves

NOTE: This issue does not contain Wolverine

SPOILERS BELOW…

RECAP: The issue starts with Shan attempting to help an unknown mutant child and being caught inside of her mind. We then flash to an injured Magik arriving at the school and being met with an angry group of the Young X-Men. She is rescued by Sam and Roberto and taken to Beast. She tells the others that she has come from the future at the behest of a dying Amara to try and save Dani and Shan’s lives.

We get a brief scene with Amara and Empath before finding out that Illyana is telling the truth and healing very quickly. Sam goes to Cyclops and requests permission to take Roberto, Amara, and Illyana to try and rescue Dani and Shan. When he gets permission, they take one of the jump jets to Colorado where they had been sent to dispel rumors of a new mutant emerging. We get a couple more good character interactions in the jet on the way.

They arrive and go into town incognito, heading for the first bar they find. Illyana, acting on her future knowledge, takes Amara to the house of a missing girl to look for her friends. Meanwhile Roberto and Sam get into a bar fight with the locals who seem to know the boys are mutants. Both groups find Shan. The boys discover her comatose body in a backroom and the girls hear her voice from a box in the missing girl’s basement. But when the box is opened, the person that steps out is Legion.

MY TAKE: For those that do not know, the New Mutants was the second monthly X-title and consisted of a group of young mutants. The first students were Sam, Rahne, Dani, Shan and Roberto but they were joined by Amara, Doug, and eventually Warlock. This series has all of the New Mutants expect for Doug who was killed, Warlock who has been missing and Rahne who is in X-Force currently. I have been waiting for this series for many many years. I loved the original series and we never really got that same dynamic again. The original X-Force had its moments but it never felt like the same team.

It has one been one issue but I am ready to say that the New Mutants are back and I am very glad they are. The series has already managed to get a good feel for the past while keeping things in the current status. The personalities feel more genuine then I have seen in a decade but they have obviously grown and matured. Well, maybe not Roberto, but you cannot expect him to really grow up. I loved the interactions; you could feel the personalities come through especially with their conversations with each other.

The scene showing the Young X-Men members and Illyana was a nice nod to the current situation but I was especially impressed with Amara and Empath’s scene. So few people remember or acknowledge that they had a quasi-relationship during the New Mutants run. In fact there were a lot of these little nuggets that had me nodding and smiling as I read the issue.

There was not a lot of plot; the whole comic was basically an excuse to get the team together and to reintroduce an old villain. I was alright with that though because the characterizations were so strong. I was not a huge fan of the art style but I generally will overlook that if I enjoy the story. The time travel plot is admittedly weak and way overdone but I was personally glad to see this part of Illyana’s power reemerge. Besides that, considering the foe they are up against they will need any advantage they can get.

Normally I do not really like first issues. I feel that it takes the creative teams a while to find their stride and get the stories cohesive and the characters established. This was an exception to this rule. I already cannot wait for issue number two.

Thanks for reading my review for Wolverine Files. I will be keeping to this format for the most part but please keep the comments coming and I will see everyone again next week if not before.

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