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New Warriors (1990) (Single Issues) #1-6
New Warriors Classic 1
His parents dead, Dwayne Taylor - a.k.a. Night Thrasher - set out to create a new family for himself and ended up with the premier super-team of the 1990s! Marvel Boy and Firestar! Namorita and Nova! Speedball! All they want to do is change the world! Decide for yourself how well they managed it in their trials by fire against Terrax and the Juggernaut! Also featuring anti-heroes Star-Thief and Psionex! Guest-starring Thor and the Inhumans! Collects New Warriors #1-6 and Thor #411-412.
208 pages, Paperback
First published July 8, 2009
3 people are currently reading
53 people want to read
About the author
Fabian Nicieza
2,023 books424 followersFabian Nicieza is a writer and editor who is best known as the co-creator of DEADPOOL and for his work on Marvel titles such as X-Men, X-Force, New Warriors, and Robin.
His first novel, the Edgar Award-nominated SUBURBAN DICKS, a sarcastic murder mystery, is on sale now from Putnam Books.
The Dicks will return in THE SELF-MADE WIDOW, coming June 21st.
His first novel, the Edgar Award-nominated SUBURBAN DICKS, a sarcastic murder mystery, is on sale now from Putnam Books.
The Dicks will return in THE SELF-MADE WIDOW, coming June 21st.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
June 16, 2018
The New Heroes of The 90's! What a fun read! I forgot how good Mark Bagley's art use to be. The Thor story interrupts getting to know The Warriors but their personalities shine thru even in the crossover. A start tighter than Namorita's hairline!
September 3, 2018
Call me biased, but I'll always love the New Warriors.
They were a better Teen Titans than the actual Titans at the time.
They were a better Teen Titans than the actual Titans at the time.
November 8, 2017
The New Warriors had a very slow start for me, it wasn't until more than halfway that it finally started to click, and not because of some datedness. I think the writers and artists started finding their characters and where to go and how to get there. I happen to like some of retro-ness of the "heroes for the nineties" as is emblazoned a few places. Skateboards, blatant Batman rip-off, cheesy humor and slang, mention of one of my favorite shows ever (21 Jump Street); yeah, I'm not ashamed, I love it. Some of the little adverts or whatsits after the extra artwork were cute too. There are some genuinely great moments nearer the end and look forward to more.
October 9, 2020
I came into the first run of New Warriors late in the game, i.e. already when Evan Skolnick was the writer of the series. But, as I'll say a little later in this review, with this first volume of the series, Fabian Nicieza hit one out of the park pretty much off the bat (no puns intended, all around . . . or something along those lines).
The first volume of New Warriors was one of those series that benefited greatly from having a single (or, in the case of this particular series, two) writer(s) as the visionary/ies behind the entire endeavor; while Tom DeFalco's (and Ron Frenz's artwork on the accompanying issues of Thor [Vol. 1]) contribution to New Warriors Classic Volume 1 is . . . less impressive, all things considered (it functions as an introduction to the characters and the overall dynamic of the team before their own title, but not as much more than that), Nicieza and Mark Bagley's contributions are really strong, almost from issue #1. (Although I do note that Bagley himself benefits greatly from an inker who suits his pencils, given that Al Williamson's inks are rather inferior to those of the more-or-less regular inker, Larry Mahlstedt.) Yes, Nicieza's first issue or two suffers from a bit of laying the foundation and setting the scene, but Nicieza and Bagley lay their foundation remarkably quickly, and they set the stage for arguably any number of plot points from the entire 75-issue series from almost the beginning, all the while keeping each individual issue or arc self-contained.
Many of the comics of the 1990s had a reputation for the grim-and-gritty and edgy-for-edginess'-sake storytelling so pervasive in, say, Image Comics of the era; while New Warriors Classic Volume 1 does have some of that 1990s edge, Nicieza's writing—and, perhaps more importantly, Bagley's clean and smooth artwork—is decidedly not grim-and-gritty per se. Yes, Dwayne "Night Thrasher" Taylor is a more violent superhero/vigilante than we were perhaps used to from the likes of Spider-Man or Superman, but even then, Nicieza portrays all the characters in New Warriors, Taylor included, as having real and, what's more, realistic motivations (or at least as much as they can be in a superheroic universe). That Nicieza somewhat regularly lightens the mood with humor—and not just with Robbie "Speedball" Baldwin's nearly constant and mostly happy-go-lucky wisecracking—and moments of humanity amidst the superheroic action acts as further evidence of New Warriors' not being just your everyday superhero comic book from the 1990s.
I recall that one of the few eras of New Warriors that didn't really draw me in was Zeb Wells and Skottie Young's decidedly more humor-oriented take on the characters and team; much as I liked Wells' run on New Mutants when I read it, the New Warriors were never about the humor or high-level superheroics. Nicieza's (and Skolnick's, as well as Jay Faerber's and Kevin Grevioux's) take on the New Warriors is perhaps definitive, and it's one of a more street-level team; to take the humorous reality-show take on the New Warriors is perhaps defeating the purpose of the team, along the lines of the team having believed its own celebrity-superhero hype, as it were. Even when the New Warriors took to other continents or even outer space, they were always more-or-less down-to-earth and grounded, all with a little bit of edge to them. As such, Nicieza and Skolnick's vision for the characters and team is set forth in spades in New Warriors Classic Volume 1, and it's to the book's significant benefit.
The first volume of New Warriors was one of those series that benefited greatly from having a single (or, in the case of this particular series, two) writer(s) as the visionary/ies behind the entire endeavor; while Tom DeFalco's (and Ron Frenz's artwork on the accompanying issues of Thor [Vol. 1]) contribution to New Warriors Classic Volume 1 is . . . less impressive, all things considered (it functions as an introduction to the characters and the overall dynamic of the team before their own title, but not as much more than that), Nicieza and Mark Bagley's contributions are really strong, almost from issue #1. (Although I do note that Bagley himself benefits greatly from an inker who suits his pencils, given that Al Williamson's inks are rather inferior to those of the more-or-less regular inker, Larry Mahlstedt.) Yes, Nicieza's first issue or two suffers from a bit of laying the foundation and setting the scene, but Nicieza and Bagley lay their foundation remarkably quickly, and they set the stage for arguably any number of plot points from the entire 75-issue series from almost the beginning, all the while keeping each individual issue or arc self-contained.
Many of the comics of the 1990s had a reputation for the grim-and-gritty and edgy-for-edginess'-sake storytelling so pervasive in, say, Image Comics of the era; while New Warriors Classic Volume 1 does have some of that 1990s edge, Nicieza's writing—and, perhaps more importantly, Bagley's clean and smooth artwork—is decidedly not grim-and-gritty per se. Yes, Dwayne "Night Thrasher" Taylor is a more violent superhero/vigilante than we were perhaps used to from the likes of Spider-Man or Superman, but even then, Nicieza portrays all the characters in New Warriors, Taylor included, as having real and, what's more, realistic motivations (or at least as much as they can be in a superheroic universe). That Nicieza somewhat regularly lightens the mood with humor—and not just with Robbie "Speedball" Baldwin's nearly constant and mostly happy-go-lucky wisecracking—and moments of humanity amidst the superheroic action acts as further evidence of New Warriors' not being just your everyday superhero comic book from the 1990s.
I recall that one of the few eras of New Warriors that didn't really draw me in was Zeb Wells and Skottie Young's decidedly more humor-oriented take on the characters and team; much as I liked Wells' run on New Mutants when I read it, the New Warriors were never about the humor or high-level superheroics. Nicieza's (and Skolnick's, as well as Jay Faerber's and Kevin Grevioux's) take on the New Warriors is perhaps definitive, and it's one of a more street-level team; to take the humorous reality-show take on the New Warriors is perhaps defeating the purpose of the team, along the lines of the team having believed its own celebrity-superhero hype, as it were. Even when the New Warriors took to other continents or even outer space, they were always more-or-less down-to-earth and grounded, all with a little bit of edge to them. As such, Nicieza and Skolnick's vision for the characters and team is set forth in spades in New Warriors Classic Volume 1, and it's to the book's significant benefit.
April 24, 2023
First time reading this and I think it is because I don't have the rose colored glasses of reading this in my teens in the 90's that I am not as excited as other reviewers are about this team.
The art by Mark Bagley is very good. I will admit his style isn't my favorite but for that era he was one of the top artists. He didn't fall into the 90's trap of making everyone over muscles and with a million gadgets on their costume. And for that alone I thank him.
The writing? Fabian gets full marks for balancing the character development with the action and he is Far better than the guys who came up with the New Warriors (Frenz and DeFalco) - they put their story in second but their Thor two parter was the first appearance of the team and it stunk. It was basically a retread of a Spider-man Juggernaut story even up to how they "stopped" the Juggernaut at the end.
So why am I so lukewarm on this group? First, you have a group coming together you have a great chance for a great origin and a goal to unite them. You have a great chance to use existing characters and write in some new ones to round out the team (see New Teen Titans - see X-Men) but they really dropped the ball on this team. First - you have the new character of Night Thrasher. If you told me he was a Mad Magazine spoof of Batman I would believe you. He literally says his parents were killed, and he is waging a war on crime. then mix in Wolverine beserker's rage. Give him a SKATEBOARD?!?!?!? (X-Statix actually spoofed this later and rightfully so - and their spoof character was still ore interesting than Night Thrasher) and then he has no powers which makes his berserker rages seem kind of stupid since it is easy to stop him. When Wolverine had them you had the real fear he could do damage. A skateboard. Wow. I mean - when I read people giving this book 5 stars I have to scratch my head. If it was rocket powered...maybe. But a regular skateboard - he has to carry around on his back...how does riding that into battle give you any advantage? No one in the history of ever has been in a fight and thought "if only I could wheel awkwardly into my opponent. As long as the ground is perfectly smooth with no potholes or stairs. If only I had a skateboard I could tip the balance of power!"
Then you have a punch of old characters who are not developed at all after 8 issues. Nova is a tough guy, Marvel Boy is so forgettable they leave him out of the credits (top of the first page) for most of the issues (great job editor) Firestar and Namora are powerful and have zero personality and Speedball has a personality, unfortunately it is annoying. And why are they all brought together? No real reason. Night Thrasher wants a team. I found out later he wants one that mimics the Fantastic Four but Speedball and Namora accidentally join. Not sure why he wants a FF and why he thinks a skateboard makes him Reed Richards but...Night Thrasher seems kind of stupid so I won't analyze his motives too much.
And lastly are the villains. No memorable ones.
After 8 issues I am not sure why they want to be a team. I am not sure why we would be interested in them.
I read reviews saying "this team was better than the New Teen Titans". No. You are insane. In terms of art, story, villains and character development you are objectively incorrect. There is a reason why the New Teen Titans lived on in various forms and only true comic fans remember the New Warriors.
I read a forward by Fabian saying nobody in the editorial staff (besides DeFalco who created them) believed they would last. I guess I have to say if I had a time machine...even knowing the comic last for quite a few years...I would go back to the past and STILL say "I don't think this team will last."
A little aside: A youtuber I follow loved this team and his unbridled enthusiasm almost made me buy the omnibus but after reading about the team (and how rooted in the 90's they were) I cancelled my order thinking they might not be for me. My instincts were 100% correct and I am SO glad I cancelled that order.
Good for you if you love this team but I would suspect most fans loved them when they were young and are happy to revisit these beloved stories they loved in their youth. Reading them for the first time as an adult..not for me. (but I will check out volume 2 to see if it improves)
The art by Mark Bagley is very good. I will admit his style isn't my favorite but for that era he was one of the top artists. He didn't fall into the 90's trap of making everyone over muscles and with a million gadgets on their costume. And for that alone I thank him.
The writing? Fabian gets full marks for balancing the character development with the action and he is Far better than the guys who came up with the New Warriors (Frenz and DeFalco) - they put their story in second but their Thor two parter was the first appearance of the team and it stunk. It was basically a retread of a Spider-man Juggernaut story even up to how they "stopped" the Juggernaut at the end.
So why am I so lukewarm on this group? First, you have a group coming together you have a great chance for a great origin and a goal to unite them. You have a great chance to use existing characters and write in some new ones to round out the team (see New Teen Titans - see X-Men) but they really dropped the ball on this team. First - you have the new character of Night Thrasher. If you told me he was a Mad Magazine spoof of Batman I would believe you. He literally says his parents were killed, and he is waging a war on crime. then mix in Wolverine beserker's rage. Give him a SKATEBOARD?!?!?!? (X-Statix actually spoofed this later and rightfully so - and their spoof character was still ore interesting than Night Thrasher) and then he has no powers which makes his berserker rages seem kind of stupid since it is easy to stop him. When Wolverine had them you had the real fear he could do damage. A skateboard. Wow. I mean - when I read people giving this book 5 stars I have to scratch my head. If it was rocket powered...maybe. But a regular skateboard - he has to carry around on his back...how does riding that into battle give you any advantage? No one in the history of ever has been in a fight and thought "if only I could wheel awkwardly into my opponent. As long as the ground is perfectly smooth with no potholes or stairs. If only I had a skateboard I could tip the balance of power!"
Then you have a punch of old characters who are not developed at all after 8 issues. Nova is a tough guy, Marvel Boy is so forgettable they leave him out of the credits (top of the first page) for most of the issues (great job editor) Firestar and Namora are powerful and have zero personality and Speedball has a personality, unfortunately it is annoying. And why are they all brought together? No real reason. Night Thrasher wants a team. I found out later he wants one that mimics the Fantastic Four but Speedball and Namora accidentally join. Not sure why he wants a FF and why he thinks a skateboard makes him Reed Richards but...Night Thrasher seems kind of stupid so I won't analyze his motives too much.
And lastly are the villains. No memorable ones.
After 8 issues I am not sure why they want to be a team. I am not sure why we would be interested in them.
I read reviews saying "this team was better than the New Teen Titans". No. You are insane. In terms of art, story, villains and character development you are objectively incorrect. There is a reason why the New Teen Titans lived on in various forms and only true comic fans remember the New Warriors.
I read a forward by Fabian saying nobody in the editorial staff (besides DeFalco who created them) believed they would last. I guess I have to say if I had a time machine...even knowing the comic last for quite a few years...I would go back to the past and STILL say "I don't think this team will last."
A little aside: A youtuber I follow loved this team and his unbridled enthusiasm almost made me buy the omnibus but after reading about the team (and how rooted in the 90's they were) I cancelled my order thinking they might not be for me. My instincts were 100% correct and I am SO glad I cancelled that order.
Good for you if you love this team but I would suspect most fans loved them when they were young and are happy to revisit these beloved stories they loved in their youth. Reading them for the first time as an adult..not for me. (but I will check out volume 2 to see if it improves)
May 24, 2020
New Warriors holds up surprisingly well. Mark Bagley's art is incredible - putting aside some very "90s" looking characters - and strikes a good balance between the more serious dramatic moments and the goofy teen silliness. Parts of the series can feel dated to the modern viewer, from some casual racism to some overt sexism (or at least off-putting objectification) towards female characters. Throughout the first volume Fabian Nicieza and Mark Bagley slowly start to build these characters up and examine how they interact with each other.
The team dynamic itself is fun, with each character getting their own chance to shine and having a unique personality that sets them apart from the others. Not to write off the plots of the stories themselves, which are notable in how they at least attempt to tackle a variety of politics from gang violence to environmentalism, but New Warriors is very much a book you read to see the core team interact with each other. It's a genuinely fun series that's worth taking a closer look at.
The team dynamic itself is fun, with each character getting their own chance to shine and having a unique personality that sets them apart from the others. Not to write off the plots of the stories themselves, which are notable in how they at least attempt to tackle a variety of politics from gang violence to environmentalism, but New Warriors is very much a book you read to see the core team interact with each other. It's a genuinely fun series that's worth taking a closer look at.
October 19, 2023
They are supposed to be a 'kids team' of 15-17 yr olds but are drawn exactly like the adult characters.
There's a story arc where this guy blows up rockets to stop chemical waste from being dumped into space. If you cant dump waste in OUTER SPACE, where CAN you dump it? Also, by blowing up the rocket, YOU SPREAD THE TOXIC CHEMICALS OVER THE EARTH??
Also theres a villain who just an S&M lady who can control other peoples 'pleasure area of the brain', they send her attack back to her and she orgasms, thus...defeating her? You never see her again so does she like....just walk away? Pass out? Die? idk man.
Also why is he called Kid Nova if he's just Nova in a different costume.
Their leader is Night Thrasher, who travels by skateboard. He shows up to fights the same time as the characters who can fly. And they show him using his skateboard once. Why is his legal guardian, Tai, treated so rudely. And why is 'Kid' Nova openly racist towards her?
The best thing about this volume is that it introduces the mutant Silhouette.
There's a story arc where this guy blows up rockets to stop chemical waste from being dumped into space. If you cant dump waste in OUTER SPACE, where CAN you dump it? Also, by blowing up the rocket, YOU SPREAD THE TOXIC CHEMICALS OVER THE EARTH??
Also theres a villain who just an S&M lady who can control other peoples 'pleasure area of the brain', they send her attack back to her and she orgasms, thus...defeating her? You never see her again so does she like....just walk away? Pass out? Die? idk man.
Also why is he called Kid Nova if he's just Nova in a different costume.
Their leader is Night Thrasher, who travels by skateboard. He shows up to fights the same time as the characters who can fly. And they show him using his skateboard once. Why is his legal guardian, Tai, treated so rudely. And why is 'Kid' Nova openly racist towards her?
The best thing about this volume is that it introduces the mutant Silhouette.
October 10, 2017
This was a loan/suggestion from a friend to give us background before the upcoming New Warriors TV show. But I had already read most of these way back in college. I don't remember if they were loaners then, found in some friend's collection, or abandoned in a dorm lounge. The only characters in common between the original team in this book and the TV crew will be uber-goofball Speedball and the '90's off-brand teen Batman - Night Thrasher (he's so edgy, he's black and rides a skateboard!)
The characters of this new (at the time) and heavily-hyped team seem very much aware of the absurdity of their team-up and often comment on each other's quirks. The whole thing feels very much like a college game of Champions - complete with attempts as longer plots that don't pan out and last-minute realizations from the GM that the adversary is too powerful and needs to be nerfed stat.
I just hope the TV show doesn't screw up Squirrel Girl.
The characters of this new (at the time) and heavily-hyped team seem very much aware of the absurdity of their team-up and often comment on each other's quirks. The whole thing feels very much like a college game of Champions - complete with attempts as longer plots that don't pan out and last-minute realizations from the GM that the adversary is too powerful and needs to be nerfed stat.
I just hope the TV show doesn't screw up Squirrel Girl.
July 27, 2022
A fun get together for a new team. I'll admit I don't know much about some of these characters like Marvel Boy who Night Trasher but was cool to see them working as a team. Also the fact this was basically Marvel's calling to Teen Titans was nice.
A bit more violent than expected. And I think it works best that way. Night Trasher personal story made me relate and understand him as well as watching the team work together. The juggy story was fun. And I liked even the Thinker storyline. The last one was solid if not a bit overlong.
Around a 3.5 but I'll bump it to a 4.
A bit more violent than expected. And I think it works best that way. Night Trasher personal story made me relate and understand him as well as watching the team work together. The juggy story was fun. And I liked even the Thinker storyline. The last one was solid if not a bit overlong.
Around a 3.5 but I'll bump it to a 4.
March 10, 2019
New Warriors 1-4 and the 2 Thor issues were pretty awesome! The last 2 issues of New Warriors (5-6) were cringe worthy. Speedball and Namorita might be the two best characters on the team.
July 20, 2023
Marvel's attempt to create a Teen Titans is pretty solid.
Since sidekicks aren't really a thing in the MU, the Warriors are a mix of teen heroes from all over the place.
Nicieza takes a bunch of c-list characters, and digs deep into them and makes them work.
Night Thrasher goes from Rocket Racer clone to almost a young Batman.
And since almost none of them had much in the way of rogues galleries, so they deal with all kinds of threats from the around the MU.
Great series glad to see it's getting collected.
Since sidekicks aren't really a thing in the MU, the Warriors are a mix of teen heroes from all over the place.
Nicieza takes a bunch of c-list characters, and digs deep into them and makes them work.
Night Thrasher goes from Rocket Racer clone to almost a young Batman.
And since almost none of them had much in the way of rogues galleries, so they deal with all kinds of threats from the around the MU.
Great series glad to see it's getting collected.
May 6, 2010
Aww, nothing like the feeling of visiting old friends! When I first started reading comics in the early 90's, NW felt like it was writen just for me. It was edgy, funny and most importantly fresh! Speedball was and still is my favorite and it was cool seeing Firestar transition from the cartoon "Spiderman and His Amazing Friends" to the world of Marvel. To this day, I still love how the team came together and how bad ass Night Thrasher was!
April 12, 2012
Here's where it all began. Some of it's a bit ropey (particularly the Thor story), but at least it avoids the "decompression" trend of newer comics. This lays the groundwork for future stories, and there are two particular scenes that really impressed me on their own merits (for different reasons):
September 2, 2023
The superheroes of the 90's are here! Fabian Nicieza and Mark Bagley's New Warriors are Marvel's answer to the Teen Titans except they aren't really sidekicks. This team of young heroes are led by the most 90's Night Thrasher who's like Black teenage Batman on a skateboard. It's ridiculous but also a lot of fun. I dug Speedball and Namorita before they joined up and Nova is a pretty big deal nowadays. Solid fun superheroic shenanigans.
September 15, 2015
I love the original New Warriors series; Fabian Nicieza did an amazing job developing these characters and making the book one of the strongest superhero titles of the time and Mark Bagley's pencils are amazing. This would easily be five stars if it didn't include two terribly mediocre issues of Thor, but if you ignore them, it's first rate all the way.
August 22, 2015
I really enjoyed the characters and seeing them learn to come together as a team. The early storylines (with the Juggernaut and the Inhumans) were strong as well.
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May 29, 2017totally bogus/incorrect description of contents on Goodreads.
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