While it barely registers these days, back in 1982, a spin-off X-Men was big news. The monthly comic had earned the rank of one of Marvel Comics’ top-selling titles and Editorial was anxious to cash in on that success. Claremont teamed up with Bob McLeod to develop a new team of students that would take over after the current team of X-Men were believed killed in deep space. The result was the New Mutants, a series that started with a lushly illustrated graphic novel and a hit ongoing series. The monthly comic had its highs with McLeod and later Bill Sienkewicz, and its lows with a Team America cross-over (don’t ask).
Each member of the team was rife with character in the typical Chris Claremont fashion. Awkward and lanky Sam Guthrie could not be harmed when he flew as Cannonball, but could also barely control his flight. Brash Roberto DeCosta was incredibly strong as Sunspot, but used up his strength quickly. Rhaine Sinclaire could turn into a wolf but deeply feared the loss of her humanity. Dani Moonstar was a skilled hunter and able to make anyone’s deepest fears manifest themselves, but was haunted by her own demons. Later additions included Magma, Cypher, Warlock and of course Colossus’s sister Magik.
New Mutants developed a strong cult following, but it finally folded with the arrival of Rob Liefeld and his creation, Cable. This lead to the cancellation of New Mutants and the start of X-Force as the series embraced the sturdy shoulder pads of the 1990’s.
Next week, the old guard returns once again, written by Zeb Welles (of Robot Chicken and Amazing Spider-Man braintrust fame).
New Mutants #1 (2009)
I should point out that the New Mutants title has not exactly disappeared from the shelves in the interim since 1989. In 2002, a new series entitled New Mutants debuted following the exploits of teenagers enrolled at the Xavier Institute with guest-starring appearances from the original members. The recent Young X-Men also starred a mixture of new and original members before its untimely cancellation.
Magik from the first issue of New Mutants (2009)
So what is the appeal? Whereas X-Men was once a series that mirrored the awkwardness of adolescence through its characters today it is closer to a soap opera. With the revival of New Mutants, there is a chance to once again tell that story of teenagers struggling to cope with their abilities in a world that does not understand them. This could be why creators keep re-creating this series and why readers keep coming back. But this is the first attempt at an honest-to-goodness return of the original team members and that is bound to attract the nostalgia-happy comic collectors out there.
The New Mutants appeared in the X-Men: Evolution series as an influx of new students that threatened to destroy the school as they learned to cope with their abilities. While they also appeared briefly in the previous X-Men 1990’s series, I thought that they were true to their initial characters in the Evolution cartoon. I have hopes that they will also re-emerge in the latest animated series Wolverine and the X-Men airing on Nicktoons.
In the popular X-Men feature films, the third movie ended with much of the surviving main cast looking more like elder statesmen rather than action heroes, making it look like a New Mutants film featuring the younger students as the stars was a no-brainer. So far, no luck on that idea.
For those looking to bone up on their New Mutants history in time for the first issue next week, Marvel is producing in-depth character analysis on their official website.
Recommended:
New Mutants Classic, Vol. 1
New Mutants Classic, Vol. 2
New Mutants Classic, Vol. 3
New Mutants Classic, Vol. 4
