New Mutants: Truth or Death

New Mutants: Truth or Death #1-3

by Benjamin Raab, Bernard Chang (Illustrator)

Some years in the past, during a Danger Room session, a hooded stranger appears to Magik, warning her of a horrible fate. After a talk, Kitty Pryde suggests to the frightened Illyana that she teleport into the future to find out herself. Illyana manipulates the other New Mutants into a bet, where they teleport a few years into the future. In the present, the original five New Mutants, along with stowaway Douglock, are having a class reunion, when they run into their younger versions from the past.

Collects New Mutants: Truth or Death #s 1-3.

Genres: X Men

100 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 1998

About the author

Benjamin Raab (New York City, New York) is an American comic book writer and editor and tv writer and producer. He has written stories for Marvel Comics, DC Comics, WildStorm, Moonstone Books, Malibu Comics, Harris Publications and Ludovico Technique LLC.

Reviews

[Baba · Rating 3 out of 5]

After seven years off the shelves the New Mutants reunited, only to have to face off against their past selves, on a mission to... save Illyana from her future death! Guesting Douglock, and a X-books' villain from the past. Although an outstanding outcome, the large (duoble-sized) cast left little room for decent characterisations, although Ben Raab did capture the spirit of the old team pretty well :) - 7/12
[image error]

[Jameson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, but I don’t like the retcon that Magik’s brother infected her with the Legacy Virus. This reunion between 80s and 90s New Mutants needed more space and a better story. The end is very “well, that’s over” without any satisfaction.

I’ve never been big on Raab’s x-titles work (is anyone?) and this mini doesn’t persuade me to change my mind. His voices for the characters is always slightly off and his plots are always also-ran material. But he does have his moments. His Douglock made a few Data-esque jokes that landed and he does get the spirit of the NM down but not to a tee.

(It also irked that Raab kept using “bogart” incorrectly. At least where I come from to bogart meant to hog. Mostly, joints. A bogart was someone who was bogarting a joint.)

[Tim B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rahne is on leave from Excalibur (so too is Douglock) in order to go to a New Mutants reunion. This story has time travel, family, friends, and difficult decisions. It was really neat to see how the New Mutants have grown and learn more about Colossus’s family.

[Ferzem Khan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite the Mikhail Rasputin and time travel techno nonsense of it all, the character interactions are absolutely fantastic and serve as a love letter that highlights the best parts of the New Mutants, served by Bernard Chang’s art invoking the 80s to great effect.