The New Mutants Classic, Vol. 1

The New Mutants Classic

by Chris Claremont, Bob McLeod

Cannonball. Sunspot. Moonstar. Karma. Rahne. Teenagers, thrown together by the one thing they had in common -- the X-Factor in their genes that made them different, made them mutants. Relive the adventures of the team that will come to be known as X-Force... if they survive. Collects Marvel Graphic Novel #4, New Mutants #1-7 and Uncanny X-Men #167.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel, X Men, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics, Comic Book

240 pages, Paperback

First published May 3, 2006

About the author

Chris Claremont is a writer of American comic books, best known for his 16-year (1975-1991) stint on Uncanny X-Men, during which the series became one of the comic book industry's most successful properties.

Claremont has written many stories for other publishers including the Star Trek Debt of Honor graphic novel, his creator-owned Sovereign Seven for DC Comics and Aliens vs Predator for Dark Horse Comics. He also wrote a few issues of the series WildC.A.T.s (volume 1, issues #10-13) at Image Comics, which introduced his creator-owned character, Huntsman.

Outside of comics, Claremont co-wrote the Chronicles of the Shadow War trilogy, Shadow Moon (1995), Shadow Dawn (1996), and Shadow Star (1999), with George Lucas. This trilogy continues the story of Elora Danan from the movie Willow. In the 1980s, he also wrote a science fiction trilogy about female starship pilot Nicole Shea, consisting of First Flight (1987), Grounded! (1991), and Sundowner (1994). Claremont was also a contributor to the Wild Cards anthology series.

Reviews

[Baba · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cannonball, Sunspot, Danielle Moonstar, Karma, Rahne brought together by Xavier while under an evil influence, but then retained. The (in hindsight) innocent early days of the the first ever additional X-Men team comic book! 6 out of 12, Three Star read.
Collecting New Mutants Graphic Novel, New Mutants #1 to #7 and X-Men #167.

At the time I don't think anyone realised that this was the beginning of an entire secondary Marvel universe, the X-books, X-Men universe! More importantly on a personal note my all-time favourite Marvel character, over 40 years in print and never had a romantic storyline... boom! That's Magik!

2017, 2014 and 2010 read

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This volume was so fantastic!

New Mutants Classic Volume 1 includes the introduction of the New Mutants characters that influence the X-Men series for many years. This book also has the epic finale to the Brood Saga (in New Mutants 1-3 and Uncanny X-Men 167). The overlap with the Uncanny X-Men made it easier to see where they fit in the greater Marvel comics universe.

Claremont is a genius when it comes to writing characters who are just learning their powers and getting hold of their self confidence.

As much as I love these issues, Volume 2 includes more new members (Including Magik...my favorite) and Volume 3 has the great Demon Bear Saga.
So, Claremont and X-Men fans...this is a must read from 1983.

[Stephen · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 to 2.0 stars. While an okay book series in its own right, I think this can be best described as the "the mutant titles are so popular that we have to figure out a way to milk this cow dry with another series about mutants" series. The characters are B (or C list), the story-line is ho hum and the art is average. Overall, okay (but just barely).

[Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a good start for Claremont's first take at the new generation of mutants at Xavier's, there's a lot of charm, but it's not quite good yet. I love these characters, it's just the art and stories are average for 80s superhero comics (although the first appearance stands out).

There is the Brood, a great X-Men issue crossover, Sentinels etc. But then a bad crossover with the forgettable Team America bikers and Silver Samurai of all characters.

Still, really worth reading for meeting Canonball and Sunspot and Wolfsbane et. al

[Anna Quilter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Includes....Marvel Graphic Novel #4 (1982)
and the series #1/7 of New Mutants (1983)

The first spin off from the main X Men comic.the series makes an up/down start..but will and does get better.

#1...gives glimpses of potential storylines...not all of which were returned to by #7.

Highlights/Weirdness:

* Team America!

* Lilandra tickles Charles...that wouldn't happen in X Men.

* Stevie finds herself stalked by an abused teenager..kind of icky.

* Viper (Madame Hydra with a makeover) and Silver Samurai..pretty cool.

Not a great fan of this original team..but I know the stories get better....

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Back in the day I had absolutely no interest in the New Mutants. Didn't really know any of them, and at the time I grew aware of comics they were already X-Force, and I was kinda confused as to how all the other X-Titles worked. Heck, I was confused by there being two X-Men titles. Well many years later when I went through the Essentials for the Uncanny series I found myself really enjoying whenever the New Mutants would show up. And even later I read Peter David's run of X-Factor and I really enjoyed Rahne's character. I have read some of the original X-Force books here and there, can't say I really liked what I did read, but I just put the blanket of blame on Liefield, cause that's what he's good for. I will actually try and give him fairer judgment this run-through if I get all that far into his ending of New Mutants and X-Force. So anyways, all that to say I was really looking forward to finally giving this series a go.

To begin with, Bob Mcleod's art looks like an Indie comic and not the good kind. I noticed his name as the inker for a lot of Dave Cockrum's run of X-Men around this time. I don't know if this was his first foray into penciling in the mainstream level, but it was certainly awkward. The one thing he did that I always appreciate though is he made the characters look unique. Not just, change their hair and their clothes so you can tell them apart, they actually physically look different. His rough art really shows up in the Graphic Novel beginning. This collection gets finished off by Sal Buscema however. He looks quite a bit like John Buscema's art in the ongoing Wolverine series a few years later, though a tad cleaner. John was probably cleaner at this point in time as well. It is good stuff. I can't complain.

As for the characters:
Psyche/Danielle Moonstar: starts out sounding like Thunderbird II. Thankfully Claremont starts giving her some dimension and a better reason for her edge. She's the tortured character of the bunch and my interest is growing. I would also say she is kinda becoming the main character.

Cannonball/Sam Guthrie: I was predisposed to liking him. He's not the brightest but he means well, and will jump right in if needed. He just needs to learn to turn...

Wolfsbane/Rahne Sinclair: Again, predisposed. But she is actually a fun character. Hopefully I won't have to wait for Peter David before she finally starts getting some movement.

Sunspot/Roberto da Costa: I've always liked his look. He himself however, apparently, annoys me. But I am not annoyed at the writer, I am annoyed at the character. Big difference. I will have to see where he goes.

Karma/Xi'an Coy Manh: Starting out I didn't want to like her. I think it honestly had to do with the way she was drawn, and I didn't know anything else about her. Turns out she grew on me fast once the Graphic Novel and issue 1 were out of the way.

As for the events of this book. I have been surprised at how it is starting to already fill out the X-Men world a bit more. I am liking that. I however did not like the very very dated feel of Team America and Axe. Both were head-shakingly bad and back to back. Here's hoping the Brazilian Rome treats me better. The Brood tie-in was good, and gives a good edge to the teacher student relationship. However it kinda ruins the pacing of the X-Men Brood story if you read this before or alongside the Uncanny books with the Brood.

Includes Marvel Graphic Novel #4: The New Mutants and The New Mutants #1-7 and The Uncanny X-Men #167 (with Paul Smith art! But I will speak of that later)

[Batmark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chris Claremont and Bob McLeod introduce us to five new mutants: Rahne Sinclair, a Scottish girl who can transform into a wolf; Roberto da Costa, a Brazilian boy whose superhuman strength he channels from the power of the sun; Sam Guthrie, a Kentucky boy who can fly--and cause destruction--like a rocket; Danielle Moonstar, a Cheyenne girl who can commune with animals and manifest a person's thoughts and memories in three dimensions; Xi'an Coy Mahn, a Vietnamese girl who can possess other people while retaining control of her own body.

In these first issues, Charles Xavier collects these new mutants and vows to train them to use their powers but refuses to put their lives in danger as he did the X-Men, who were recently abducted by the Brood, an alien race of gross giant bugs. Despite his best efforts, however, the new mutants quickly become a superhero team that fights the Hellfire Club, the Sentinels, the Brood, the Silver Samurai, Viper, and Axe.

An OK collection, but I'm patiently waiting for the issues that Bill Sienkiewicz drew. (No offense, Bob!)

[Luke · Rating 5 out of 5]

New Mutants (or as Kitty Pryde refers to them "The X-Babies") are a new group of mutants living in the mansion along side the main X-Men.

This is a series I never expected to enjoy as much as I did, and I originally only picked it up to due to it's crossing over with Uncanny X-Men, however I found myself liking this team as much as the X-Men team, which is crazy, considering I thought these characters would be really lame due to their powers.

The powers these mutants posses are extremely b-team. All the main X-Men have iconic and simple powers like Cyclops eye beams or Wolverines claws. By comparison the New Mutants powers are quite vague and are hardly used.

Danielle Moonstar (who I would consider the main New Mutant) pretty much never uses her powers and when she does I'm usually scratching my head trying to figure how, what and why she did what she did. Most of the NM have this problem.

Despite all this, the characters and their dynamic easily got me through this book. I was thoroughly entertained the whole time, and will be following these characters for as long as I would follow any main X-Men character.

One thing to note before reading this books is that it's deep into Uncanny X-Men continuity (even featuring an Uncanny X-Men issue in here). So maybe check out the storylines leading up to this point or try and pick up what's happening from context.

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the top 10 "mutant" stories that Marvel has published, and it one of Chris Claremont's greatest achievements...

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a lot that dates this- the insistence on every character reminding you how their superpowers work and their tragic backstory via thought balloon every issue, for instance, but at its core there is a great foundation of naive, inexperienced teenagers whose powers are curses as often as blessings. Of course, this being the start of the era of X books exploding in popularity and going a little off the rails, that core narrative is happening in the midst of Charles Xavier's body giving birth to the Brood Queen, his consciousness being inserted into a clone body, a romance with the Shi'ar Empress, and more crazy shit. The characterizations of our New Mutants are also quite unsubtle and awkward, and often fall into the expected tropes of a white guy in the 80s trying to write nonwhite characters. Still, I'm excited to see where this series goes, especially when Bill Sienkiewicz takes over the art.

[Lucy Batson · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's the X-Men, but smaller! A decent introduction to the next generation of X-Men, with great art by the underrated Bob McLoed. I am deeply amused by both the appearance of and seriousness that motocross "heroes" Team America are treated with here.

[Harry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Painfully mid. Apart from Dani Moonstar, who is the big standout and the most interesting character in here, the cast feels really weird. I also like Rahne, but this is mainly due to me having read X Factor and thinking she was cool in that. It was cool to see the X Men for a little bit, though, I'm just waiting for Illyana Rasputin, my beautiful goat

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

A shaky start to the team. Coordination builds over time though.

[Tyson]

dani moonstar the woman you are

[Rick · Rating 3 out of 5]

When sales on the Uncanny X-Men title proved so strong and showed no sign of waning, Marvel decided to start a second X-Men themed title, the New Mutants. The original title that Kirby and Lee wanted for the X-Men was The Mitants, so this title was a nod to those early days of the X-Men, when they were just Uncanny and not All-New, All-Different. With this title Claremont's goal was to focus more on the characters and how they learn to control their powers and abilities and less on a super-villain of the week. He succeeds admirably and his soap opera style works wonderfully with these teenage, multi-national students.

[Seth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even more 80’s-tinged than the X-Men of the same period. Despite 3 different artists for these issues you really get the sense of the youth of the characters (Claremont’s writing is sharp too) which is fun. Lots of pop culture references - E.T. & Magnum P.I. - that sell the idea of a team of “New Mutants” really well. I also like how multi-cultural, socially conscious and, in the final issue, environmentally-friendly this series was. Hoping I can catch the recent movie OnDemand soon to see how these characters translate to the screen.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 5 out of 5]

A strong introduction to a number of evocative, well-characterized characters. Some elements like Team America and Mr. T wannabe Axe look a little silly today, but overall the book is still good, and the first two-thirds of it very good.

[Michael Emond · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like a lot of people in the 80's I was into the Uncanny X-men but I remember not being at all interested in this offshoot even after I read the very solid graphic novel that introduced them (which is included in this collection).
Why? Well reading this collection of their first issues I am reminded why a) Chris Claremont was running out of ideas - and stretching himself too thin between the ever expanding X-men universe (X-Calibur was soon to follow) b) he really relied on a good artist to help temper his ideas and mold them into workable stories (Byrne and Cockrum) and his art help here didn't add anything to the title c) the characters he introduced had pretty boring powers and pretty lame personalities - you didn't get the depth of a Scott Summers, Storm or Wolverine d) he really couldn't write Professor X as a teacher - you'll notice the Byrne issues mostly had Professor X removed from the stories - he always wrote him as a complete a-hole and when the purpose is to teach these new recruits it fails e) Claremont was already falling into his very weird stage where every other issue had his heroes drugged or mind controlled - and it was only going to get worse.

These stories are just too boring to recommend and there is a reason the New Mutant characters aren't ones that are used in any other part of the Marvel Universe - kind of like Power Pack they were the forgotten teams of the 80's/90's that didn't have any classic stories or impactful characters.
It's sad this series is so bad - it was meant to be a way to look at new mutant recruits being trained and turned into the next generation of X-Men but instead of some cool training/school/friendship forming stories the concept is almost immediately abandoned and they are just thrown into weird adventures. We even find out Professor X was controlled by an alien when they were recruited (mind control - get used to it) because the alien needed mutant hosts to lay its eggs in. Ick! and wow...so the premise this team was founded on was not even real.
Overall - only read is you REALLY miss the 80's.

[Blake · Rating 3 out of 5]

(FYI I tend to only review one book per series, unless I want to change my scoring by 0.50 or more of a star. -- I tend not to read reviews until after I read a book, so I go in with an open mind.)

I'm finally going through my physical tv, film etc. tie in library owned book list, to add more older basic reviews. If I liked a book enough to keep then they are at the least a 3 star.

I'm only adding one book per author and I'm not going to re-read every book to be more accurate, not when I have 1000s of new to me authors to try (I can't say no to free books....)


First time read the author's work?: Yes

Will you be reading more?: Yes

Would you recommend?: Yes


------------
How I rate Stars: 5* = I loved (must read all I can find by the author)
4* = I really enjoyed (got to read all the series and try other books by the author).
3* = I enjoyed (I will continue to read the series)
or
3* = Good book just not my thing (I realised I don't like the genre or picked up a kids book to review in error.)

All of the above scores means I would recommend them!
-
2* = it was okay (I might give the next book in the series a try, to see if that was better IMHO.)
1* = Disliked

Note: adding these basic 'reviews' after finding out that some people see the stars differently than I do - hoping this clarifies how I feel about the book. :-)

[Nicholas Driscoll · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everything always goes wrong for these guys! There is plenty to complain about here I suppose. The story feels mostly like a rehash of the old X-Men. Professor X starts gathering new mutants to teach since the teams he formed in the past were kidnapped by nasty aliens, and these five new mutants are volatile and spunky. He trains them, they get in trouble, rinse, repeat. And the new mutants here have mostly pretty forgettable powers—a girl who can turn into a wolf, a guy who can fly and smash things, a girl who can take over people’s minds, a girl who can scare people with their worst fears, and a boy who can hulk out with solar energy. They are all different nationalities, and they are reasonably interesting, but man their powers are kind of lame.

Still, I enjoyed the drama. Not as ridiculous as 60s X-Men, they have more personality and character. Ridiculous stuff still happens, like Prof. X getting cloned and basically a mutant with the power of Mr. T showing up, but it’s fun, and it’s balanced with some human drama beyond just “Marvel Girl is not!”

I’m curious where it will go next, even if I think it’s not really a great series thus far.

Also... why is there a character named R U Reddy? Ugggggghhhhhh!

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

In recent years, I've become less and less drawn to the writing of 80s-era comics, especially the constant recaps ("This is what Cannonball's power does! In case you didn't read it the first dozen times!") and internal monologue that explains what's going on in the panel ("Villain hit me hard! Good thing I just nearly dodged!").

Despite that, I have a bit of a soft spot for the New Mutants series, especially when later issues get into Bill Sienkiewicz's legendary run. The makeup of the team was pleasantly diverse: two (later, three) white people, an Afro-Brazilian (Afrolatino) young man, a Vietnamese woman, and a Native American young woman. Sunspot is even depicted as truly dark-skinned here, instead of the gradual lightening of his skin that's occurred over the past three decades.

The early issues of New Mutants have some stumbling blocks and some lackluster story arcs, but they make a nice foundation for the stories that come in the title's second year onward.

[Adam Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty decent introduction to the third wave of X-Men.

Claremont creates another diverse set of teen heroes to fill in for the missing (and presumed dead) X-Men. The team gels quickly and isn't as hampered by sameness of dialogue as the 60s or 70s X-Men. Each character is fully formed and has different relationships with each other, and with Professor X. With Shadowcat one of the missing X-Men, her dance teacher, Stevie Richards, for some unexplained reason joins Professor X in training the new generation.

A chunk of this volume deals with The Brood who, at the same time, were battling the missing X-Men. There's a fun moment where the X-Men return and come into immediate conflict with The New Mutants. Unlike in more modern punch-punch hero vs hero stories, they resolve it efficiently and team up to battle their real enemy.

This barely misses Headcanon status for me. I definitely recommend it for X-Man fans as a great primer for this new team but I don't think it's essential reading.

[Alias Pending · Rating 2 out of 5]

A new generation of mutants get to play in the X-Men universe and they get off to a very rocky start.
Lets start with the awful and work our way up.
The art is awful. Unforgivably substandard.
Continuity is awful. Characters change appearance between panels without explanation, plot points are forgotten and there are more saved by clever edit moments than permissible. The writers even forget the names of their own characters, "The Dark Rider" 12 panels later is the "The Black Rider."
The stories are pretty bad. Low level adventurers face off with X-Men tier bad guys. They should have had the chance to develop their own adversaries.
The characters; Dani and Roberto get annoying fast. They are one note, hot headed whiners. The rest are more redeemable with Rahne being a stand-out.
There were some amusing bits, but I'm struggling to think of something positive to say...
The only thing I can think of is that the writer who tainted the series has been removed, so let's see if things get better...

[Sam Poole · Rating 3 out of 5]

I LOVE Claremont's X-Men. And I really, really like these characters. The graphic novel is good, but the first few issues of the main series are nowhere near as fully fleshed out and emotionally gripping as the X-Men of the same time. I know this will straighten out, though, because I've been caught up on Jay & Miles for a while now. I think Claremont was just figuring out how to write teenagers, though the art is quite good as they for sure look like kids. I generally know where the stories are going, so it's fun to see Rahne & Sam in particular blossom. Also compelling is how different the students are with Professor X than the X-Men are. They are defiant and rarely deferential, which forces him to change his approach. And Danielle Moonstar is AMAZING. My favorite character so far. I'm REALLY looking forward to moving on, as the potential is high even here where they are still getting fleshed out

[Lulu (the library leopard)]

Helpful to read this for some context for later X-Men comics, since these characters have gone to be in a fair amount of other stuff. I like X-Men comics when they're about teenagers coping with weird powers, which this definitely fits into, and I liked that they had limitations/struggles regarding their powers–i.e. Cannonball can't really turn when flying and Sunspot can run out of solar energy if he doesn't recharge. Also seems like this team line-up is an attempt to move away from the vibe of having all your metaphorically oppressed characters be suburban white people from America, though there's some stuff that definitely seems very "written by a white guy in the 80s," like the Native American character having a supernatural connection with animals.
Also Peter David did Rahne Sinclair so dirty in XFI, because here she's a nice baby sapphic with a crush on Dani Moonstar, not a violent homophobe. What a character downgrade.

[Tshepiso · Rating 4 out of 5]

While New Mutants understandably didn't reach the heights of Uncanny X-Men in its first volume it did have sparks of potential. This was a great introduction to a fresh young set of mutant characters. I especially connected to Dani Moonstar the fiery Cheyenne mutant with psychic powers.

The plots themselves weren't the best of Claremont's work. He leaned into tropes I don't love like the fridging of Roberto's girlfriend, Juliana for pathos. And elements of characters like Xi'an Coy Manh's backstory weren't as cleanly delivered as I would have liked. But I'm definitely keen to learn more about the New Mutants and dive more into these beloved characters.

[Raul Reyes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Claremont really should’ve used these first issues to flesh out the team dynamics and had issues centered on one of the members of the team at a time since, as it stands, there’s not much that’s making me wanting to go back to the series. I don’t really know anything about these people, except for the trauma they’ve endured. But, that’s has only come up with Sunspot and Karma. The difference in how close the characters felt in the x-men issue this included and the rest of the new mutants issues was night and day. Also, it’s wild that they had a Mexican character just fully be white, especially when he’s called El Lobo.

[Ahdom · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanted to get familiar with The New Mutants before seeing the film and I thought I would start with Classic Vol 1 and stop after the 'Demon Bear' Story arc, following Vol 2. This volume was perfect in introducing the characters and there were some great issues collected in this volume. It was cool as well to note that some of these issues are running parallel to Wolverine's stint in Japan and Silver Samurai/Venom make a crossover appearance. Claremont was on his game in this era of Marvel for sure.

[Daniel McCollum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting first arcs

I've never read New Mutants before and was largely unaware of the characters.(the book was a bit beforehand time). But with that in mind I enjoyed these issues - the characters are fairly well-defined for this point ones New comic, they have good dynamics and the stories are good. I've read others who've stated that New Mutants had a slow start, and I totally see that. But it's still an enjoyable collection and I look forward to seeing the team develop and grow.

[Budd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jay and Miles xplain the X-Men cannot stop singing the praises of the 80's run on this title. So I though I would give it a shot. They are not wrong. Claremont at his Claremontiest. Not wild about the McLode art, but that is only for a few issues. Highly recommended to fans of mutants everywhere. so is the Jay and Miles podcast. If you want to read more classic x-men, start listening at episode 1. Their walkthroughs really inspire you to go and pick up the titles.