New Mutants #20

[iamrman]

Writer: Chris Claremont

Pencils: Bill Sienkiewicz

Inks: Bill Sienkiewicz

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If I had a Pound for every time Claremont changed a character's ethnicity...

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Hurray for ultimate expressions of sorcerous power!

We only see the Moo stars one more time in this series, when Dani returns home after an encounter with the Beyonder. After that, their only other appearance is after Dani joins X-Force and they turn into the Demon Bear again.

Comments

[beyondthefringe]

We see them again in issue 41 when Dani makes a solo trip home and encounters some faces from her past.

[scorntx]

Healing shiv!
Fast, effective release from curses and / or possessions, or your soul back.

"Poor Dani. Though the Demon Bear is thwarted, her injuries may well be permanent, unless there was some Mutant around with the ability to heal her we could ask for help."
Next panel:
They do. He does.

(Guessing they don't ask Masque because even if he was 'motivated' into helping he doesn't know what Tom and Sharon originally looked like.
And he'd probably turn their arms into tentacles.)

And so the Demon Bear is thwarted, leaving quite a few questions hanging, such as why it has such a mad-on for Dani and the Moonstars specifically, or who it was that someone or something deliberately corrupted it in the first place.
(could swear I recall something once saying it was something to do with Dani's powers, but for the life of me can't recall where that came from. Definitely na my imagination because it ain't capable of that sort of leap...)
...
Though according to the wiki, apparently the culprit was later revealed in Uncanny X-Men's letter page.
... it was the Adversary.
Bit narratively unsatisfying, that.
Doesn't say why he'd do that, but since it's the Adversary, "just 'cuz" seems a likely bet.

[cainofdreaming]

I wonder why some secret agency or the other hasn't tried to kidnap Healer for their own use. Seems like he'd be in very high demand for mutant exploiters.

[cainofdreaming]

(could swear I recall something once saying it was something to do with Dani's powers, but for the life of me can't recall where that came from. Definitely na my imagination because it ain't capable of that sort of leap...)

Isn't that how they portrayed it in the movie?

[iamrman]

Shhh, we don't talk about that here.

[cainofdreaming]

I'm most likely in the minority but I didn't think the movie was that bad. As long as you didn't think of it as a New Mutants movie, at least.

[scorntx]

Wouldn't know. Haven't seen the movie.

[icon_uk]

I think there are now a large number of healers significantly more powerful than Healer the Sewer Wizard (Thank you Jay and Miles), like Elixir and Triage.

And I assume for the same plot-preserving reason that folks like Doug Ramsey (with the ability to break any code) and Masque (able to completely transform someone's appearance) aren't also targets for any criminal/intelligence agency

[bruinsfan]

I'd guess the sorts likely to try kidnapping mutants from under the X-Men's noses usually aren't that interested in benign, nonviolent powers. (Yes, I know in a world largely run on computers Doug's gifts could be completely disastrous if employed by bad actors, but he's sufficiently un-flashy that maybe it just never occurs to the villains?)

[bruinsfan]

Wasn't the Adversary an evil version of Native American trickster gods like Coyote? Seems like tormenting the Moonstars for no particular greater reason would be on brand.

[scorntx]

According to the wiki, he's an ancient, timeless deity who wants to destroy the universe / omniverse so he can recreate it, or for the sheer fun of it.
Doesn't give any explanation for his relationship with the Moonstars or the Cheyenne as a whole.
But yes, no particular reason beyond evil is pretty on-brand, regardless of origin.