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| Quite the coloring job, Marvel. Was "pitch black" too difficult? |
Published May 1983
Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciller: Bob McLeod
Inker: Mike Gustovich
What's Going On?
Dani's having nightmares about the creature that attacked her in the Danger Room last issue, to the point where her screams wake the entire house. "It's okay," the other New Mutants assure her, "It's just a dream..." except for the fact that the knife she stabbed the creature with in her dream is covered with blood! Gasp! Dani takes the knife to present as proof that she is not crazy to Professor Xavier, but he is already on the phone with Moira MacTaggert, explaining how crazy Dani is, and how he doesn't know what deep, dank hole to put her in. For whatever reason, Dani dismisses her own proof to the contrary and decides that she must be nuts. But maybe she's not! Dani gathers the New Mutants together to help her decide if she's nuts, when their entire world goes topsy-turvy. The evil Brood creature appears and attacks the team, but when they fight back, the creature vanishes! The entire grounds of Xavier's school transform into a nightmarish landscape, where the New Mutants don't know what is real and what is not. That is because the Brood creature is using Dani's powers against the entire team, without her knowledge. Eventually, Dani realizes that her powers are the key to defeating the monster and has Sam knock her unconscious. This wins the day, and the New Mutants are left wondering what happened to them that day...until Magnum, PI is on TV, which heals all wounds.
Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots!
- Banshee witnesses Illyana singing a song of tribute to missing friends; he assumes she is referring to the X-Men, but she is really singing her tribute to the friends she lost in Belasco's dimension --- the story of which has not been told yet, because her limited series hasn't been written yet.
- Cannonball still has trouble making sharp turns when he's "blasting." At what point will that stop being the defining factor with his powers? (Best guess? After Chris Claremont leaves the title.)
- Is that Sunspot holding Wolfsbane's hand I see? Woo-woo! Romance on the horizon! Or not...
Writing!
The further I get into this series, the less impressed I am with the writing. Why? Because this issue is obviously crap. Let's ignore the fact that this issue takes place chronologically between two much better issues of Uncanny X-Men that have already been published. On its own merits, this is still a poorly written comic.
Let's start with Dani's dream; I am okay with the "death" scenes she imagines for her friends, but the actual nightmare creature was just...boring. The fact that is was a bear wearing a mask just made it seem ridiculous instead of scary. Worse than that is how Brood Xavier handled the New Mutants. I can understand the Broodling wanting to get rid of Dani, since she has psionic abilities. I do not understand why she was the sole target, when Karma also has psionic powers. I also don't understand why the Brood Xavier ever made a physical appearance when attacking the team; it is apparent that the Broodling is forcing the New Mutants to fight apparitions. What is less obvious is the fact that sometimes --- especially when Dani stabs the Brood when she is dreaming --- the Brood is actually fighting and getting injured. If it has access to Xavier's mental abilities and Dani's illusion abilities, why would the Broodling ever need to put itself in danger?
Worst of all: this issue does not actually ever explain what is going on! I get it; Xavier has become possessed by a Brood that is using his mental powers. But if I was just reading this title, I would definitely not know any of that. New Mutants has not explained that Xavier has been possessed by an alien, it has not explained what the hell a Brood is, and it sure as hell didn't explain that Brood Xavier was manipulating Dani's powers in this issue; there's a hint at the end of the issue, but not enough to satisfy readers that aren't keeping up with the X-Men. Did that all need to be spelled out? Not necessarily, but this comic isn't making it easy to be a casual reader.
Art!
I'm sure that this is just me seeing a trend where there really isn't one, but there seems to be an awful lot of dudes beating on women in these first few issues of New Mutants. The first issue has Roberto giving Xi'an a full forehand smack, and here he is, using his super-strength against her ribcage:
And how does the issue climax? With Sam rocketing his fist into Dani's face!
Keep in mind that this comic is probably aimed at an audience younger than that of the X-Men.
Retrospectively Amusing:
- Apparently, a Demon Bear "murdered" Dani's parents. In case the word "Demon" didn't clue you in that this is an unusual bear, the fact that she uses "murdered" instead of "killed" is a nice hint. Also, how hilarious is it that the monster in her dream was wearing a mask, revealing a bear's head underneath?
- Dani takes the blood-stained knife to Xavier as proof that she's not crazy, and yet none of the artwork after that first scene supports her claim. Yay, Comics Code! The lack of blood on the knife doesn't at all make her look batshit crazy when she contemplates suicide a few panels later...
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| That's right...Dani shouldn't be allowed to live and we shouldn't be allowed to see blood |
- When Dani screams herself awake from her nightmare, Sam and Roberto are immediately at her door. That implies that their rooms are next to hers. That seems like a poor arrangement on Xavier's part; I'm not saying that these are not well-behaved kids, but that's an awful lot of faith to put into horny teens not trying to have sex in the middle of the night.
- Moira MacTaggert does not want to have children with former X-Man Banshee, because her last child turned out to be a murdering bastard. Good point.
- Sam brings up an excellent point; why doesn't Xavier just expel Dani, if the Brood Xavier is that worried about her? Does there need to be a solid reason for him to get rid of her? Hell, Illyana went to Europe with Moria MacTaggert because...um...reasons. Why couldn't Dani get shuffled off in a similar fashion? This entire issue is a waste of time!
- Karma tries to possess Brood Xavier in this issue and is defeated by Brood Xavier's mental ickiness. Thank goodness she tries the exact same thing, minutes later, in Uncanny X-Men #167. Just because she's the oldest doesn't mean she's the smartest.
- According to Brood Xavier, it is well within Dani's abilities to turn her psychic projections into physical apparitions...if only she had trained more! Wah-wah! Too bad this is never mentioned again.
Worth Noting:
- The first page of this issue helpfully points out that this story takes place between Uncanny X-Men #166 and #167.
- This is the first mention of the Demon Bear.
- For all intents and purposes, this is the end of the first story arc of New Mutants. This is the 80s, of course, so this wasn't being written for the trade, but this is the effective end of the storyline that led to the formation of this team. The New Mutants were gathered because Xavier has lost the X-Men, and has decided to teach a new generation of mutants. Now that the X-Men have returned (in-between this and the next issue), the theoretic dynamic will shift. Theoretically, there should be less pressure on the New Mutants to
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