306: NMV3 # 15 - 21 (Fall of the New Mutants)
- 7 hours ago
- 4 min read
What’s Covered?
New Mutants V3 # 15 - 21
Roster Watch
Synopsis
NM # 15 - 21: Fall of the New Mutants
Writer - Zeb Wells
Pencils - Leonard Kirk, Andrew Currie
A group of soldiers who were trapped in Limbo for decades are finally back, and their first order of business is hunting down Magik. Sam tries to tell Cyclops that he’s not ready to lead this team, but Cyclops basically tells him he’s wrong and needs to handle it anyway. Magik tries to get help from Pixie, but Pixie is on vacation and very much wants no part of Illyana’s problems. Meanwhile, Warlock is struggling with the fact that he had to kill, so Sam takes the team on vacation to drink beer, decompress, and laugh about the insanity of their recent adventures. That breather does not last long because the demon-grafted soldiers attack Pixie and steal her soul dagger.
We find out that General Ulysses harvested DNA from the babies who opened a gate to Limbo during Inferno, which is absolutely as disturbing as it sounds. Captain Ulysses and his men were sent through that gate for what was supposed to be two years, but thanks to Limbo nonsense, it was twenty-six years for them. In the present, Ulysses kills his superior and unveils the Limbo mutant children, now grown up with powers and demon parts grafted onto them. We also learn that Witchfire attacked the soldiers while they were trapped, which only makes this whole Project Purgatory nightmare even messier.
The Sam and Dani make-out mystery gets cleared up in the funniest possible way. Sam was talking trash about Lila Cheney being a bad kisser, Dani blamed him, and Sam decided the only logical response was to prove her wrong. While the team is still dealing with that weird little romantic detour, Magik senses that Pixie has been taken and immediately drags the New Mutants toward Limbo. She sends Warlock back to warn the X-Men, partly because he does not want to fight and partly because Illyana does not want him infecting Limbo all over again. It’s classic Magik, where the plan might be right, but the way she handles people still feels shady as hell.
Once the New Mutants reach Limbo, everything turns into a full-scale brawl against the Limbo mutants. The team is immediately thrown into a nightmare of demon-grafted enemies, hostile terrain, and all the emotional baggage that comes with following Illyana into her old hell dimension. Sam is trying to lead a team that is already fraying, while Magik continues acting like she knows exactly how this is supposed to play out. The fight has that perfect New Mutants energy where everyone is terrified, exhausted, and still somehow throwing themselves into the worst possible situation.
The Limbo mutants begin torturing Dani, Illyana, and Shan, which raises the stakes from chaotic battle to full-on horror show. Shan manages to communicate with Face, who responds by incinerating several mutants and soldiers in one of the nastier moments of the arc. Meanwhile, the soldiers use Pixie’s new bloodstone as part of a ritual to summon the Elder Gods. That makes everything snap into focus, because this is not just revenge against Magik anymore. It’s a desperate, insane plan to use stolen soul magic and Limbo trauma to unleash something even worse.
Magik gets Pixie and Shan back to Earth, which seems like it should be a win, but then she impales Shan with the Soulsword for reasons that are not exactly comforting in the moment. The demons begin closing in on everyone, turning the situation into a complete disaster on both sides of the portal. While the team is scrambling, one of the mutants succeeds in summoning the Elder Gods. At this point, it feels like every bad decision from Inferno, Limbo, and Magik’s entire history has come crashing down at once. Illyana still acts like she has a plan, but nobody in their right mind should feel good about that.
Shan reaches the real Legion, which turns out to be the key to stopping this whole disaster. Dani, despite a broken arm, is the one who frees Sam, Amara, and Roberto, because powerless Dani is still somehow one of the toughest people in the room. Roberto believes he is going to die with Amara and chooses to stay because he loves her, though the X-Men arrive before that sacrifice can fully play out. Legion kills the Elder Gods (ish) and sets reality back in order, while Magik claims this was all according to plan. Karma accuses Illyana of freeing Legion from the beginning just so she could use him as a weapon against the Elder Gods, and honestly, that accusation lands pretty hard.
The arc ends with Magik and Pixie getting their bloodstones back, but the victory feels extremely uncomfortable. Illyana technically saves the day, but she does it in the most Magik way possible, by manipulating friends, enemies, and cosmic monsters until everyone else is left wondering how much of this was planned from the start. Sam’s leadership is tested hard, Dani proves again that powers or no powers she is never useless, and Karma sees through Illyana’s act better than almost anyone. This is a brutal finale to Zeb Wells’ run, and it leaves Magik looking both heroic and terrifying.
My Connections and Creators
Boring or Great?
Holy shit guys, Sam and Dani were making out. I didn't realize how badly I needed this until it happened. Other than that, this arc was lame. I wish I had more analysis, but that's all I got!
Thoughts on Art
Leonard Kirk’s art fits this arc really well because he can handle the casual team hangout scenes and the gross Limbo horror without either side feeling out of place. The demon grafts, Limbo mutants, and Elder Gods material all look appropriately nasty, which helps sell Project Purgatory as something more disturbing than just another anti-mutant military group. Andrew Currie joining in the final stretch keeps the action clear, even as the story explodes into demons, soul magic, and cosmic nightmare fuel.
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