New Mutants (Vol. 1) #8

"The Road to...Rome?"
Published October 1983
Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciller: Sal Buscema
Inker: Bob McLeod


What's Going On?
The team continues its Brazilian vacation with Nina DaCosta, exploring an uncharted tributary of the Amazon River.  During one of their shore excursions, they encounter a group of aggressive female Native Brazilians and decide to capture one.  When Nina tries to interrogate the captured girl, Amara, she gets a lot of conflicting information; the girl does not appear to speak any recognizable language, some of her weapons are from far away lands, and one of them is surprisingly modern.  Meanwhile, Sebastian Shaw and Emmanuel DaCosta have a crew member on the boat that has been charged with ruining the expedition.  He does this by knocking out the New Mutants, Amara, and Nina; he apparently kills the rest of the crew and steers the boat down a waterfall.  After the boat crashes, the New Mutants all make it to shore, but Roberto's mother is missing.  Amara also survived, but it turns out that she was not really an indigenous person; she was a white blonde that was disguised as a Native. 

 

And then, on the shore, the survivors are confronted by the Roman Legionnaires, who decide to enslave them.  

Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots!
- Cannonball has learned how to make turns while blasting.  It apparently happened off-panel between issue 5 (when he last lamented his skills) and now.  So much for that sub-plot.  I don't think it ever really comes up again.

- Speaking of the team's continuing development, Psyche has developed the ability to project specific thoughts instead of just someone's fears.  Here, she uses Rahne's memory of snow to cool her down.

- Professor Xavier is still teaching Team America?!?  I am 99% certain this is the last time this is mentioned in any X-book.

- Professor Xavier continues to encourage the team to assume that Karma is dead.

- Rahne is still sensitive about people's reaction to her mutant power.  She pours her heart out to Amara, assuming that she does not understand English.  When she learns otherwise, she is pretty upset.

Writing!
The poor writing continues with this issue.  Even ignoring the bizarre choice to have Sam and Dani capture Amara, or the completely illogical decisions made by Shaw's saboteur, this is an issue that ends with the Roman Legion showing up in the middle of the Amazonian rain forest.  There is no payoff on Earth that will make this ridiculous moment worthwhile.

Art!
The saving grace of the art in this issue is, once again, Bob McLeod's inks.   The action isn't too impressive in this issue, but there are some solid character moments.

Retrospectively Amusing:
- So this issue's action hinges on the choice to kidnap a Native Brazilian that was minding her own business, until Cannonball and Psyche ran into her.   Sure, they fought, but she was basically defending herself.  It's an odd choice for teenagers to make, but it's even weirder that none of the adults on the ship are shocked or tell them this is a terrible idea.

- Emmanuel DaCosta has a super-villanesque hidden map behind a wall in his home.  I love that this revelation receives zero comments from Sebastian Shaw.

- Sebastian Shaw's operative that is trying to ruin the expedition makes some bizarre choices.  First, he knowingly risks Psyche's life by attracting piranhas to the boat while she was swimming.  Then, he sticks up for the New Mutants when the rest of the crew considers mutiny when they realize there are mutants on their boat.  After that, he tries to beat information (what information?) out of Amara.  Later, he causes the shipwreck and murders some of the crew members...but not everyone. 

Worth Noting:
- As far as I can tell, this is Team America's last appearance for a while.  According to the Marvel Wikia, they next pop up in The Thing #27, almost two years after this issue.

- This is the first appearance of Amara, AKA Magma, AKA the girl who was apparently wearing body paint and hair dye to pass herself off as a Native Brazilian.

- It looks like Rahne will fall victim to the ongoing "beat the women easily" trend in this title, but she recovers nicely:

 

It's not exactly empowerment, but it is one of the better instances of a female character holding her own in battle in The New Mutants.

New Mutants (Vol. 1) #6

"Road Warriors!"
Published August 1983
Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciller: Sal Buscema
Inkers: Armando Gil, John Tartaglione
Cover: Bob McLeod

What's Going On?
Picking up from where last issue left off, Team America learns to work together as a team, en route to the AIM facility that Viper wants them to steal something from.  Professor Xavier coaches them, telepathically, from afar.  They manage to steal the McGuffin, but it doesn't really matter, since the New Mutants have taken the fight to Viper.

The issue begins with the New Mutants breaking into the home of Nguyen Ngoc Coy, the self-styled kingpin of the San Francisco underworld and uncle to Karma.  The idea is to force General Coy to give them information on Viper, which will help them rescue Dani.  Unfortunately, the General realized that the New Mutants wouldn't actually kill him; instead, he offers the information they seek for a price --- Karma must work for him for a year.  With this knowledge, the team attacks Viper's base.  Just when victory seems to be within their reach, though, the Silver Samurai and Viper teleport away.  While the team applauds themselves on a job well done (assuming that Wolfsbane's injuries are not serious, that is), Viper instructs the Silver Samurai to hit the self-destruct button for the compound.  The building explodes, with the New Mutants inside!  Cliffhanger!

Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots!
- While in captivity, Dani laments how often her mutant powers seem useless.

- Karma agrees to serve her uncle, in a criminal capacity.  No mention is made of her two younger siblings, who depend on her.  This is the same job she risked her life to avoid taking, back in her first appearance (Marvel Team-Up #100).

- Silver Samurai is upset that his father, Shingen Yashida, has died and left him without an inheritance.  Why he is bringing this up, abruptly, roughly ten weeks after his father's death, I do not know.  Nevertheless, he and Viper agree to attack Mariko Yashida and her fiance, Wolverine, as soon as they are done with this mission.  This is picked up in Uncanny X-Men #172. 

- Xavier suffers a crippling psychic attack while monitoring Team America.  Its source is unknown, although Xavier is somehow able to identify that it came from a mutant, one he believes is just manifesting its ability.  UPDATE 05/25/2016: I stumbled across some info on SuperMegaMonkey that provides some insight into this scene.  According to a fanzine (Amazing Heroes #39, the 1984 preview issue that I cannot find any screenshots of), Claremont was planning a second New Mutants graphic novel with Bob McLeod, and the mutant Xavier sensed here was supposed to show up in the graphic novel. 

- During and after the attack on Viper's stronghold, Karma is taunted by a malevolent psychic voice.  It claims that it will possess her, body and soul, and use her as a weapon against Xavier. 

Writing!
I hope you don't like  logic, because this issue is completely devoid of it.  Remember that time when Xavier decided that the New Mutants shouldn't try to attack a terrorist, and instead should wait for the X-Men to arrive to save the day?  And to buy the X-Men time, Xavier helps Team America steal the thing that the terrorist wants?  Yeah, that was last issue.  Now, Xavier is well-aware of the New Mutants' plan to attack Viper's base --- in fact, he's planning on it!  The X-Men aren't mentioned once in this issue, so I guess waiting for them (Where are they, anyway?  It can't be Japan, because the Silver Samurai is there when they arrive, and that story takes place after this one.  Maybe they were busy packing for Japan?) was forgotten about.  Now, if the New Mutants are going to be attacking Viper's base, it makes Team America's task --- which was essentially just a stall for more time --- completely irrelevant.  Sure, you can argue that the New Mutants were supposed to check-in with Xavier before attacking (but after infiltrating?  Um, okay, sure.  Whatever), but that ignores the fact that they were there in the first place.  Were they supposed to wait until Team America delivered the McGuffin, and attack only if Viper didn't free Dani?  Then why get in place hours before Team America could have shown up?  Ugh.  I hope the stories get better, now that this Team America tie-in is over.

Art!
Woof.  This is an ugly issue.  I'm not a big fan of Sal Buscema in general, but this issue obviously needed more TLC.  On the bright side, the characters are all very expressive.  On the other hand, those expressions were all pretty ugly, and their expressions don't always match up with the dialogue.  Check out the first panel here, where the team is getting berated, but everyone is all smiles:

The fact that this is there are multiple inkers credited implies that this issue had to be rushed to meet its deadline.  That doesn't make it pretty, though.

Retrospectively Amusing:
- Looks like Team America doesn't rate a mention on the cover, for the second straight month.  BEST.  GUEST APPEARANCE.  EVER.

- I love how the team breaks into General Coy's penthouse.  Sunspot could have easily just forced the door open, but instead he shatters the door to splinters while Cannonball breaks through the ceiling.

- General Coy's bodyguards are very...intimidating.  They don't at all look like disco prostitutes.

- When stealing the McGuffin from the AIM facility, a member of Team America says this:

What is he holding them off with?  I don't see a gun.

- When the AIM facility explodes, two members of Team America are inside it.  Neither is injured, and the only explanation given is that the McGuffin they stole must have protected them; this is never brought up again.  Um.  Okay.  I guess that's better than "the artist and writer were not on the same page."

- Yet again, a female member if the team is beaten by a man, with ease.  This time, it is Wolfsbane (again), and she has once again been dispatched, off-panel.

- The entire Team America subplot winds up being irrelevant.  Their search for a McGuffin never plays an important part in this story, aside from keeping Xavier from preventing Xi'an from promisng to work for her evil uncle.  Hell, even that subplot winds up being irrelevant after next issue.  Good writing, Claremont.

Worth Noting:
- Karma's mutant powers seem to have become more powerful.  She is seen possessing multiple people multiple times in this issue.

- Wolfsbane apparently has a healing ability.  I guess it's supposed to be a side-effect of her lupine abilities (why would a wolf or a werewolf heal faster than normal people?), but it apparently is still effective when she is in human form.

"Good, now we can stop caring!"

New Mutants (Vol. 1) #5

"Heroes"
Published July 1983
Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciller: Sal Buscema
Inker: Bob McLeod
Cover: Armando Gil

What's Going On?
The New Mutants go on a trip to the town fair with Stevie Hunter, which has typical fair stuff: cotton candy, a Ferris wheel, target practice, airplane rides (?), and a peep show (?!?!).  At the fair, the kids watch Team America perform sweet-ass dirt bike stunts for the crowd.  Unfortunately, the show is interrupted by armed thugs that attack Team America, because that is the sort of thing that happens to stunt bike riders.  Not being ones to sit out a fight, the New Mutants do what they can to even the odds; they do pretty well, until the Silver Samurai steps in and kicks ass.

All this trouble leads to the appearance of the mysterious Dark Rider --- exactly as the bad guys have planned.  The Silver Samurai destroys the Dark Rider's motorcycle and captures the Rider, who turns out to be...Danielle Moonstar?!?  When Dani awakens, she finds herself in the clutches of the Silver Samurai and his evil mistress, Viper.  Apparently, Viper wants the Dark Rider and Team America to steal something for her, and if Dani can't do it, Viper will use her as a hostage to force Team America to do the deed.  Professor Xavier helps convince Team America to help Viper, as it will buy time for the X-Men to arrive and rescue Dani.  The members of Team America are mutants whose abilities are unusual; when around each other, the team are a "projecting gestalt," which possesses someone and gives them the sum talents and abilities of Team America --- the Dark Rider, in other words.  Team America are untrained, though, and their projecting gestalt possesses innocent bystanders, like Dani.  Since Team America is a dangerous loose cannon, Xavier opts to give them a crash training course in controlling their mutant power.  Meanwhile, the New Mutants decide to take their own actions to save Dani.

Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots!
- Professor Xavier is still having trouble walking.  Lilandra suggests that the pain is not psychosomatic, but the idea dies there.  While Xavier is in pain, he loses his psychic powers, which means that he is not in psychic contact with the New Mutants at the fair.

Above: Xavier the pirate

That's a nice picture of Jean Grey on the wall.  I wonder where Thunderbird's picture is?

- Cannonball is frustrated with his difficulty learning to turn.  Sure, he made a successful turn last issue.  No, turning had nothing to do with the Silver Samurai beating him up in this issue.  That's just how Sam feels.  Deal with it.

Writing!
This is truly awful stuff.  It's bad enough that the New Mutants are relegated to spectator status in this issue, but to play second fiddle to Team America?  That's rough.  If you are unfamiliar with Team America, join the club.  If you're curious as to their origins, click here.  Otherwise, suffice to say that they were a toy line that Marvel was under contract to make a comic book about.  If nothing else, this issue makes two things clear.  The first is that the New Mutants was selling pretty well; normally, guest stars this early in a series would be featured prominently on the cover, to draw fans to the new title.  Instead, Team America is given the "backdoor pilot" treatment, as New Mutants fans were given an introduction to the stunt-riding group (and why bother?  The Team America comic was cancelled earlier in 1983).  The second thing made crystal clear by the inclusion of Team America is that Chris Claremont had absolutely no direction in mind when this series started.  After the initial Xavier-recruits-mutants-because-he's-possessed-by-an-alien arc wrapped, we had last issue's Very Special abuse story and now the beginning of a two-part Team America crossover!?!  It's bizarre to see this series floundering with its writing and art, especially since its sister title, Uncanny, was doing so well at the same time.


The logic in this plot is also baffling.  Viper wants to capture the Dark Rider to steal a MacGuffin.  When that fails, she just blackmails Team America to steal it.  Since her pitch to Team America is essentially "I have a hostage that I won't identify and won't give proof exists --- do my bidding," it seems like there is a wasted step there.  The end of the issue is worse.  There are two missions: save Dani and help Team America steal the MacGuffin.  Xavier choosing to train Team America instead of working to free Dani, who is in deadly danger, goes against the past year of character development; after months of mourning the X-Men, he has a new team that he wants to keep out of danger (like when he wouldn't let the X-Men borrow Wolfsbane).  Now, he is willing to spend time training a group on a time-wasting mission instead of saving one of his students?  That might have worked when he was possessed by the Brood, but not now.  Also, the entire reason Team America is going through with their mission is because they need to buy time to summon the X-Men to save Dani.  Where are the X-Men?  That is never mentioned, oddly enough.  Naturally, the New Mutants --- who did not do well against the Silver Samurai --- are going to take matters into their own hands and try to rescue Dani on their own.  After all, waiting for help might mean waiting too long and Dani may get hurt.  Xavier seems to be aware of their plan, though, and doesn't confront them about it.  Seriously, fuck this issue.

The few character moments in this issue aren't any better than the big picture.  Dani is, once again, pretty worthless in this issue.  Karma gets to be this month's example of a female character being helpless against any physical force.  Sunspot hero worships Wolf on Team America because...why the hell not?  Someone has to try and convince readers that Team America is worth talking about.  Karma does step up and lead the team at the end of the issue, so at least that's a positive development.  Still, this was wretched writing.

Art!
The art is not a whole lot better than the writing.  This is Bob McLeod's last interior work on the monthly New Mutants title (he would later do some covers and an annual), and you can tell that he did not turn in his best work.  Check out this panel from the beginning of the issue:

McLeod's softer, more expressive inking is clearly on display here.  Toward the end of the issue, though, his inking became less expressive and more like tracing:

Both panels were drawn by Sal Buscema and inked by Bob McLeod, but it is obvious that less time was spent on the second half of the issue.  I'm generally not a fan of Buscema's work, but seeing what McLeod did with Buscema's pencils (at least in part of the issue) impresses the hell out of me.  I normally don't give a second thought to inkers, unless they are extremely expressive, but McLeod did a great job here...for part of an issue.

Retrospectively Amusing:
- This is the second issue of The New Mutants that Tom Corsi has appeared in.  He doesn't really need to appear in either issue, but what's weird about this appearance is that the only characters in the extended X-Family that have a history with him are Wolverine and Carol Danvers...and yet, we haven't even been shown that they know he's alive!

- When the Silver Samurai is fighting off the New Mutants and Team America, his prowess is ridiculously overstated.  Not only does he throw a shuriken at a gun to make it explode with near-lethal force (which makes that gun seem poorly designed, to say the least), but he does something no one has ever done to Cannonball.  He swats Cannonball, mid-blast, and this actually diverts Sam's path; until now, he has been like a runaway train when blasting.  Not only does he change Cannonball's direction (something Cannonball has trouble doing on his own), but Sam is knocked unconscious --- despite being invulnerable when he uses his powers.  So...either the Silver Samurai is a total bad-ass, or Cannonball is written inconsistently. 

- Team America seems astonished to discover that they are mutants...even though they learned that in their own series.

- Team America is a group of mutants who, together, can make one superhero.  They're like a dirt bike version of Captain Planet!

Worth Noting:
- The Silver Samurai got his teleportation ring from John Belushi in an issue of Marvel Team-Up.  In case you were wondering.

Everything 80s:
Here's a photo of the Team America toy line:

For a closer examination of the ridiculous Team America story, click here.