313: New Mutants v3 # 25 - 32 (Fear Itself)
What’s Covered?
New Mutants v3 # 25 - 32, Generation Hope # 6 - 9
Roster Watch
Synopsis
New Mutants V3 25 - 28: Unfinished Business
Writer - Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning
Pencils - Leandro Fernandez, Michael Ryan,
New Mutants Vol. 3 #25: Unfinished Business
Writer: Dan Abnett and Andy LanningPencils: Leandro Fernandez
The New Mutants join Wolverine, Kitty, and Colossus to tear through Nimrod technology in an auto plant, and it gradually becomes clear that the people on this mission are the ones closest to Illyana. Meanwhile, Cyclops confronts Magik over the danger she put everyone in while trying to destroy the Elder Gods. Illyana calmly promises it will never happen again, but she does not seem especially sorry, and the final reveal shows that Scott brought enough X-Men to take her down if the conversation went badly.
Sam is still recovering after Age of X and admits that he may no longer be the leader the team needs; then he and Dani kiss, which, hell yes.
Cyclops keeps the team together, puts Dani in charge, and assigns them to clean up unfinished business, starting with Nate Grey.
New Mutants Vol. 3 #26: Unfinished Business
Writer: Dan Abnett and Andy LanningPencils: Leandro Fernandez
The search for Nate leads the team to Sugar Man, who has been modifying teenagers and sending them into alternate universes. He is using Nate’s powers to search for the Age of Apocalypse universe, treating both Nate and the kids as tools for his trip home. It is a nasty first assignment for Dani’s team, with a villain whose experiments make this much more than a simple rescue. After all that talk about unfinished business, Sugar Man is an appropriately unpleasant place to start.
New Mutants Vol. 3 #27: Unfinished Business
Writer: Dan Abnett and Andy LanningPencils: Leandro Fernandez
Sugar Man finally locates the universe he has been searching for, but Dani takes him down before he can enjoy the discovery. I love seeing her get a decisive win so early in her run as leader. Nate returns to Utopia, although Sugar Man’s machine has stripped away all his powers except telekinesis. That is awfully convenient for a character who could otherwise solve half the X-Men’s problems by himself, but I am glad to have him back in the mix.
New Mutants Vol. 3 #28: Unfinished Business
Writer: Dan Abnett and Andy LanningPencils: Michael Ryan
Dani brings in a Cheyenne therapist to help the team deal with everything they have been carrying. He identifies Sam’s PTSD and challenges him to return to the team, while also pushing Karma to recognize how caring for Face has allowed her to withdraw from everyone else. Shan is dealing with trauma of her own, including the loss of her leg, and I appreciate the issue giving that pain some room. Hope, meanwhile, is hesitant to approach Nate because of his connection to Cable. This is a quieter issue, but it makes Dani’s leadership feel like something more than giving orders in a fight.
Sam’s handoff to Dani still feels abrupt to me. Age of X seemed to be building him toward some enormous leadership role, and almost immediately after returning to reality, he steps aside. At least Dani is making a strong case for herself.
Generation Hope # 6 - 9: The Ward
Generation Hope #6: The Ward
Writer: Kieron GillenPencils: Salvador Espin
Scott asks Kitty to replace Rogue as Hope’s liaison and tells her she is the best of them, which is a pretty great endorsement. Hope’s team then travels to a hospital in Berlin, where an unborn mutant has put everyone to sleep and turned them into something resembling zombies. It is an unsettling premise because their newest “Light” has not even been born yet. The team has to figure out how to reach a frightened baby whose powers are already overwhelming everyone nearby.
Generation Hope #7: The Ward
Writer: Kieron GillenPencils: Salvador Espin
Everyone tries to calm the baby, with little success. Surprisingly, Teon is the one who gets through to him and convinces him to be born. I like that the solution comes from the teammate everyone tends to underestimate. It gives Teon a meaningful moment while resolving an especially strange mutant emergence.
Generation Hope #8: The Ward
Writer: Kieron GillenPencils: Salvador Espin
Teon’s family wants him back, raising the question of whether he can really choose to stay with Hope’s team. He takes the stand at a hearing and suddenly speaks with polished intellectual clarity to explain that he is happy where he is. Honestly, that reveal feels a little dumb to me, even if it settles the conflict. The team also adopts codenames: Gabriel becomes Velocidad, Kenji becomes Zero, Laurie becomes Transonic, Teon becomes Primal, and Idie becomes Oya. Giving everyone a name makes this group feel a little more like an actual X-team.
Generation Hope #9: The Ward
Writer: Kieron GillenPencils: Jamie McKelvie
This issue steps away from the regular team to follow a college student developing mutant powers. His body turns to slime, and he dies before he has any chance to understand what is happening to him. It is a grim reminder that a new mutant manifestation is not automatically the beginning of a heroic origin story. Hope’s team has been racing to find and stabilize these kids, and this one-off shows what can happen when there is no happy ending waiting for them.
NMV3 # 29 - 32: Fear Itself
New Mutants Vol. 3 #29: Fear Itself
Writer: Dan Abnett and Andy LanningPencils: David Lafuente
With Hela under attack during Fear Itself, Dani heads to Las Vegas to find her and see whether she can stop the crisis at its source. Doug learns a death spell from Magik to help the team reach her realm. Unfortunately, he botches it and sends everyone to Mephisto’s Hell instead. That is quite a detour, even by New Mutants standards.
New Mutants Vol. 3 #30: Fear Itself
Writer: Dan Abnett and Andy LanningPencils: David Lafuente
Mephisto offers the team a way to Hel, but his price is a date with Amara. She agrees, which is both funny and deeply concerning given who is asking. Once they reach Hela’s realm, Dani fights the dream monsters threatening it. Her connection to Hela gives this tie-in a reason to involve the New Mutants, even as the trip through Hell gets increasingly weird.
New Mutants Vol. 3 #31: Fear Itself
Writer: Dan Abnett and Andy LanningPencils: David Lafuente
Dani’s battle with the monsters takes a turn when one of them eats her. Naturally, that does not keep her down for long, and she fights her way back out. I enjoy watching Dani tackle a mythological problem that belongs specifically to her corner of the X-Men universe. The threat is huge and surreal, but her determination remains the most recognizable part of the story.
New Mutants Vol. 3 #32: Fear Itself
Writer: Dan Abnett and Andy LanningPencils: David Lafuente and Robbi Rodriguez
The team discovers that the monsters are afraid of Warlock, which gives them an unexpected advantage. Then they see Nate Grey’s past and are obliterated by what they find there. I know Nate has lived through some horrific stuff, but that resolution is pretty dumb. Still, between Warlock terrifying monsters and Nate’s history becoming a weapon, this is unmistakably a New Mutants way to end the adventure.
My Connections and Creators
Boring or Great?
There's not enough Magik, but it might be worth it due to that amazing scene where Cyclops brings an army to potentially bring her down. How awesome was that! And how fun is it to see Dani and Sam making out. It's not like this was hinted at or a long time coming, but now that it's here, it just feels so right. Oh, you want me to comment on the actual stories?
Let's see. There's some very cool action. I liked that. But I hate Sugar Man, so no bueno there. The Hela/Fear Itself storyline was a little boring to me. The Hope stories were pretty good, but then again, I always dig them.
Thoughts on Art
Leandro Fernandez gives the Sugar Man arc an appropriately grim feel, while Michael Ryan’s issue lets the quieter conversations carry the story. David Lafuente’s more energetic style suits the increasingly bizarre trip through Hell and Hel. Jamie McKelvie’s Generation Hope one-off also helps its tragic, everyday premise stand apart from the larger team adventures.
Larger Impacts & Things to keep an eye on
How long will Magik stay locked up!?
Ok, Sam's been on the sideline long enough, can we bring him back please?
When does Dani get her powers back?
When is Sunspot going to start getting drawn better. Where's Leifeld?
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