Review - New Mutants Classic Volume 1

With the X-Men seemingly dead after a mission in space, Professor Xavier recruits a new generation of mutants to carry on in their absence. Together these five teenagers must learn to control their unpredictable abilities while also coping with a world that fears and hates them.

New Mutants Classic Volume 1 collects Marvel Graphic Novel #4, New Mutants #1-7, and Uncanny X-Men #167, written by Chris Claremont and with art by Sal Buscema, Bob McLoed, and Paul Smith.

As the very first spin-off from the X-Men, New Mutants is notable for its diverse cast and its back to basics approach to storytelling in the x-verse. Its premise follows the original X-Men series rather closely – Xavier recruits five teenagers with special gifts for the purpose of teaching them how to control these uncanny abilities. This time around, Xavier’s intention is to help these children transition into leading normal lives rather than operating as soldiers in a war against the humans that hate them and evil mutants. Of course, trouble still manages to find its way into their lives. Before they’re even assembled as a team, they must face off against Donald Pierce and a rebel faction of the Hellfire Club as he attempts to recruit his own band of teen mutants. Then, the New Mutants must defeat a new generation of Sentinels while out shopping at a mall before coming home to a Brood-infected Professor Xavier. Finally, the team defies their mentor’s orders and lead their own search for their teammate Danielle Moonstar after she is kidnapped by the nefarious Viper and Silver Samurai.

The narratives of the stories collected here feel familiar. They’re all reminiscent of events that would occur in the pages of Uncanny X-Men. What feels different is the overall tone set forth by the cast of characters. They’re younger than the X-Men and are much more rebellious, to the point where they often question and act against Professor Xavier’s authority (which is great). Danielle Moonstar, arguably the lead in the series at this point, is strong-willed and speaks her mind. She refuses to assimilate into the team by embellishing her uniform with elements that point to her Cheyenne heritage. Her refusal to conform enrages Xavier, but she stands firm and says she’ll leave if he doesn’t bend to her will. This is in part what really establishes Moonstar as a standout. The other part is that she’s a truly layered character who is both tougher than her teammates and also the most vulnerable. She’s haunted by her abilities and feels guilty over using them, even against villains. While she projects a steely façade, she scares easily. During a Danger Room exercise where her teammates are each felled by the tasks assigned to them, Moonstar is unable to set foot into the Danger Room and instead runs away. We later see her face her fears head on, which shows her growth and tenacity. Karma and Sunspot are other standouts. The former is the oldest member of the New Mutants and acts as their field leader. She’s capable and confident, though she’s clearly suffering from PTSD as a result of traumatic events from her past. The latter often comes across as the one-dimensional team flirt, but he’s a character who has had to deal with intense racism in his native Brazil and whose home life is torn asunder by parents who cannot see eye-to-eye. He’s the most affected by a tragic event that occurs later on in this collection, which shows how deeply he feels for others. As for Cannonball and Wolfsbane, the creative team doesn’t devote much time to developing them within these first few issues. They’re less clearly defined and are used mostly for their abilities, especially Wolfsbane as her tracking abilities prove very useful in several instances.

Bob McLoed serves as the penciller for the first handful of issues from this series. His art is incredibly expressive, both in moments where characters interact with one another and in explosive action sequences. It creates a very dynamic reading experience. His work is also notable for how much effort he puts into differentiating the characters from one another. The members of the main cast are all different heights, builds, and have distinctive features. From Cannonball’s over-sized ears to Wolfsbane’s fuzzy hair, he gives them visual cues that help them to stand out. He also seems to put effort into ensuring that the characters of colour read as such. Sunspot, for instance, is drawn with larger lips, high cheekbones and a wide nose to denote his heritage as Afro-Brazilian. At times, McLoed’s work does veer a little into caricature territory, especially when it comes to Karma. There are panels where she looks a little too much like she popped off the pages of a Yellow Peril comic. When Sal Buscema takes over in issue four, these aspects are alleviated. Sunspot, Moonstar, and Karma are still obviously drawn to reflect their backgrounds, but aren’t quite as cartoonish in their depictions. Buscema’s work isn’t quite as moody as McLoed’s, but it’s just as energetic and maintains the overall high quality of the series.

New Mutants Classic Volume 1 is an effective introduction to the brand-new generation of mutants that surfaced in the early 1980s. The characters are vibrant and (mostly) multi-dimensional with powers that are admittedly more creative than the X-Men at that time. The pacing can be a bit slow at times and suffers a bit in the latter half due to the inclusion of the motorcycle-riding Team America for a couple of issues. However, the cast helps to carry the book and really manage to make you love them due to their spirit and cohesion as a team unit.

RATING: B

Review: X-Men - Mutant Genesis

A recently reformed Magneto returns to villainy in order to exact his revenge on humanity after learning that his rehabilitation may have been a manipulation. His first order of business? Kidnap and brainwash the X-Men into being his faithful servants. Then, Wolverine’s past comes back to haunt him when a mysterious assassin named Omega Red comes to hunt him down.

X-Men: Mutant Genesis collects X-Men #1-7, with story and art by Chris Claremont and Jim Lee. Additional dialogue is written by John Byrne and Scott Lobdell.

Mutant Genesis collects the first few issues of the blockbuster relaunch of the X-Men from 1991. This series was a turning point for the X-Men, as they’d been previously split apart and fractured. The original X-Men had formed the splinter group X-Factor, while the remaining members of the X-Men had been living in Australia for the latter part of the 1980s. The original and current X-Men were thus reunited during preceding storylines, which brought back plenty of familiar faces back into the fold. Despite being a relaunch, Mutant Genesis isn’t entirely new reader friendly. Anyone expecting to pick this collection up and understand everything that’s going on is going to be disappointed. Both arcs collected in this volume build upon concepts, characters and narratives that were previously established during Chris Claremont’s legendary run on the X-Men.

The first storyline present in Mutant Genesis is a three-parter that serves as Claremont’s farewell to the X-Men. In it, the titular team of superheroes faces off against Magneto high above the Earth on the villain’s satellite base Asteroid M. It’s a splashy and action-packed story featuring a plethora of mutants, which makes the story feel important and gives it a larger scale. Artist Jim Lee, who joins Claremont as co-plotter, helps to enhance the overall feel of the narrative. His art is fresh and dynamic, contributing some of the most iconic depictions of the X-Men of all-time. His then-new designs for the characters brought colour and life back into the world of Marvel’s Merry Mutants. These first three issues illustrate a synergy between Claremont and Lee, but also a slight schism. Lee’s art is so lively, yet it’s bogged down by Claremont’s habit of character grandstanding through dialogue. Gorgeously drawn panels are thus marred by massive blocks of text.

The question remains, does Mutant Genesis serve as an explosive finale to Claremont’s tenure on the X-Men? Yes and no. When you take away the quality of Jim Lee’s work, the story itself fails to match the depth and scale that became synonymous with the X-Men in the 1980s. This had been a continued problem with Claremont in general, as the quality of his stories declined sharply around 1989 when the Outback era reached its conclusion. The great thing about Mutant Genesis is that Claremont makes good use of his large cast and helps to pen yet another fantastic Magneto vs. the X-Men story. Unfortunately, it just doesn’t stand up very well to the test of time. Much of the conflict hinges upon a minor event that occurred several years before, which can be troublesome for people less familiar with Claremont’s oeuvre. It’s a bittersweet finale, of course, particularly because we know that Claremont left prematurely and likely would have ended things a bit more differently.

The rest of Mutant Genesis consists of a Wolverine-centric story conceived by Jim Lee, with dialogue written by John Byrne and Scott Lobdell. It features Wolverine being kidnapped by Omega Red at the behest of a new group of villains known as the Upstarts. The X-Men must then find and rescue their teammate before he outlives his usefulness to the Upstarts. As far as the story is confirmed, Lee’s first foray into being the sole plotter for the X-Men wasn’t half bad. Despite the rather large cast of characters he’s dealing with, he juggles them well and keeps things intimate by keeping the focus on Wolverine. He gives us glimpses into Wolverine’s past and even brings in Sabretooth. He also gives us a number of panels of Psylocke displaying just how badass she is. Nevertheless, there’s nothing too remarkable about the narrative that stands out. It’s solid, but lacks a sense of gravity. In other words, it’s filler and seems to be there only to give us a preview of what we can further expect from this series.

There are also a number of issues with Lee’s art in the final four issues in this collection. It doesn’t look quite as polished, particularly when it comes to their faces. His distinctive style isn’t as noticeable here, which is rather unfortunate. This also means that the flaws you’d normally overlook because of the beautifully drawn characters are all the more glaring. He’s clearly not the best artist when it comes to rendering backgrounds, nor does he seem to know quite how to edit his panels so they’re not too busy. More often than not, transitions seem abrupt and it’s often hard to follow the dialogue as a result of this.

There’s no denying the legacy of X-Men: Mutant Genesis. It has gone through multiple reprints and exists as one of the most iconic moments in the X-Men’s illustrious history. It doesn’t have the same critical acclaim that the Dark Phoenix Saga has, but the nostalgia factor is high on this one for those of us who were ‘90s (or even ’80s) babies. The stories presented here are great. They’re fun and they’re very much what you’d expect from a ‘90s comic. The art, however, is the real star here. Lee’s pencils are why this collection has been reprinted and collected (and sold out) so many times. That said, this volume feels incomplete. Since there’s a subplot involving Dazzler and Longshot in Mojoworld, ending the collection on issue 7 feels abrupt. This storyline wouldn’t be resolved until issue 11, so a larger collection would be nice to see in the future.

RATING: B