What’s Covered?
New Mutants # 74 - 76, 81
Annuals (Silver Surfer, Iron Man, Spider Man, Punisher, Uncanny X-Men # 13, Web of Spider-Man, Daredevil, Avengers, New Mutants Annual # 5, X-Factor Annual # 4, West Coast Avengers, Thor)
Roster Watch
My Connections
I'm breaking this post into two separate parts. The first part consists of 4 New Mutants issues focused on transitions. We spend some time directly after Inferno with baby Illyana, some demonic items lingering, and the integration with the X-Terminators. We say good bye to Gosaymer because who knows why she even stuck around after her dumb arc. And the biggest point of note is that the New Mutants will officially break with Magneto. This is more of a transition state while the team sort of stays with X-Factor before coming under Cable's wing and forming X-Force (can't wait!)
The second half of this article focuses on the Atlantis Attacks Event. This is the second year in a row where Marvel executed their event through the Annuals of their biggest series (The last event, Evolutionary War, was covered here). It's not a great event. It's not terrible either. I'll give a very brief synopsis.
Synopsis
NM # 74: Bye Gosymer
The issue begins with the team floating around putting an end to some possessed objects. For instance we see an attacking garbage can that just needs a quick jolt from Rusty before it reverts back to it's natural form.
The rest of the team is charged with keeping track of the 13 mutant babies that had been used to open up the portal between Limbo and Earth during Inferno. Taki, Artie, Leach, and Baby Illyana are all in tow.
This is ominous. Looks like Louise Simonson is really trying to leave the door open to revive Lila at some point.
Dani has been having headaches non-stop since just before Inferno. We'll find out more about those headaches when the New Mutants head to Asgard for their own way too long story that dragged out in 1989, just like we just covered with X-Factor. In this case, Dani's headaches come with visions of death which work well enough for us to get rid of Gosymer.
Gosymer claims that her nature is to grow old and destroy, so to have her friends that fate she will just leave and seek out a planet where she can learn to control her destiny. She makes out with Bobby, Ship gives her a little ship and she flies off. I'm pretty sure we'll never see her again and that's cool with me.
Checkin' in with Magneto
We get a little Magneto time before he gets the spotlight in #75.
Magneto and Shaw are sharing a mirror and bathroom in the Hellfire Club boys form while they start nit picking at each other. Shaw pretty much hates everyone, so here he's getting on Magneto's case about losing Illyana and not being able to control the New Mutants or the X-Men.
They get into an all out fight with their fists and Magnu's metal while debating whether economic control is the way to protect mutants.
Emma clearly chooses to support Magneto against Shaw.
Magneto officially decides that Shaw is unfit to lead.
NM# 75: Bye Maggie
The 4 remaining New Mutants try to go home, only to find the mansion destroyed (from Sinister).
Magneot and the Lords Cardinal of the Hellfire Club show up. Magneto is immediately trying to boss them around, throwing dirt on the memories of the X-Men and acting quite villainy.
Magneto puts the team in a protective bubble and is shocked to see baby Illyana.
Shaw starts talking smack.
A battle wages on.
Magneto wins.
Magneto claims that he will serve as the grey king, casting the vote for both white and black king (so basically becoming their dictator).
The New Mutants are all like "You meanie, we won't follow you any more. We'll fight you.!"
And even though Magneto is acting all villainy, he lets them leave.
NM # 81: Pointless Filler
I'm throwing this one in here because it was the only filler issue in a loooooong arc involving the New Mutants going back to Asgard. I'll cover that here with other one hit wonder's and leave the Asgard story nice and tight. I'm not even going to display any panels here as the comic itself says that this was written months before and is only being published because they can't meet their deadlines. Basically Amara (yes Amara who was written out months ago), meets Hercules and doesn't believe he is her God (because remember Amara is a Roman and Hercules is supposed to be the actual son of Zeus). Kind of weird that Marvel Hercules also stars in films but eventually he wins her over and that's about it.
NM # 76: Kicking off Atlantis Attacks:
In another boring issue, the team decides to go deep see diving off the coast of Ship.
They find an ancient horn and being a bunch of dumb teenagers, they decide to blow it.
This calls up a giant beast from below which attacks Ship.
Namor shows up and scolds them. He and the team work together to destroy the beast. And so begins the event, Atlantis Attacks!
Atlantis Attacks
The Silver Surfer Annual has more actual story than most of the other Annuals. The Surfer's board is acting up and it turns out that it has come into contact with the Deviant Ghaur. The Surfer fights him, but eventually he runs off back to Earth, having been awakened accidentally by our Silver friend. For those of you who don't know, the Eternals (yes the movie coming out soon) are a bunch of beautiful immortals and they are opposed by a group of ugly immortals called Deviants. Apparently Ghaur is one of their worst. I'm not sure if he has a history in the comics or was created for this.
I should have warned you that this is going to be a terrible synopsis. He ends up traveling undersea (apparently there are a bunch of underwater cultures, other than just Atlantis) and a woman named Ilyra agrees to join his cause. Ghaur and Ilyra spent the rest of the event trying to return the God Set, a giant serpent God who has been around since the beginning of time. The Iron Man Annual just barely interact with this story as Namor tries to warn Iron Man of things to come.
The X-Men annual is also pretty bad. Some dude named Mr. Jip threatens the X-Men (by body swapping Dazzler with some Diamondback chick) into finding a bunch of gems or something that Ghaur actually needs to bring back Set.
These 4 Annuals barely move the story along. Basically any villain who is snakelike comes out of the woodwork to threaten these heroes. There are lots of team-ups as She-Hulk works with Spider-Man, Moon Knight works with Punisher (one day I may do a blog following Moon Knight), Cloak and Dagger team up with Spidey, and Daredevil teams up with Dr. Strange.
In the Avengers Annual, Atlantis actually attacks! Namor is currently not King of Atlantis, but the dude sitting in his place is tricked by Ghaur to have Atlantis attack the mainland for him. A battle takes place but the Atlantians fail. In the New Mutants Annual, Namorita teams up with the New Mutants for some reason or another. (I may do a blog on the New Warriors one day, which is a group that Namorita will join and I always liked, but never read deeply). In X-Factor there is a tractor beam on Jean and Beast follows. Yadda Yadda, nothing big happens.
It turns out that Ghaur has been stealing powerful heroes (Sue Storm, Jean, Storm, Wanda, She-Hulk, etc) to be 7 potential brides. Spider-Man, Thor, and finally Fantastic Four defeat them. (I know this was a pitiful synopsis. If you are truly curious what happened, you can read it, lol. I'm staying focused on the X-World).
My Rating - 2/10
Next up, we'll check in our good pals Excalibur as they also spent all of 1989 in a draw out event called the Cross Time Caper. Ever want to see Nazi dopplegangers, a medieval Europe with boom boxes, or a planet full of super beings out of control? Well then this is the blog for you!
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