New Mutants #5 (2020) - "Endangered Birds"

[laughing_tree]

The reason I love [Generation X] is because it's when Chris Bachalo became Chris Bachalo. But also I loved it because when they did that Age of Apocalypse, it was the best book. It was amazing because it was bitter-sweet, and kind of resonated with me and it's kind of what the whole run did. We're going to be... fixing a little bit of that. Those characters are too good not to be. -- Jonathan Hickman

Comments

[gnarll]

I very much like this book and I also very much dislike it. I feel confused.

In one way, it feels very much like a continuation of the book I loved back inn the 80s. The characters are recognizably the characters from that book, and I can see that they have grown up a bit and developed since them. On the other hand, they don't seem to have developed in the way we've seen in other books since the 80s, except visually.

This isn't "leader of the Avengers" Bobby, even accounting for him backsliding in the company of his old friends. Karma can't actually do that, shes not a telepath. Etc.

[obsidianwolf]

IIRC leader of the Avengers Bobby came after Hickman and Hickman tends to only keep the things he likes and rewrites everything else to how he wants it.

To me this Roberto is completely in line with how Hickman rewrote him and Sam for for his avengers run.

[onsokumaru]

I'd say Bobby became the true leader of the Avengers during Times Run Out, but I don't know if this is still in continuity.

[zachbeacon]

Yeah, before Ewing came along, Bobby's main contribution to the Avengers was comic relief at best.

[long_silence]

This seems like a pretty good compromise between Ewing's Roberto and Hickman's previous version to me.

Ewing's version was this great big mastermind, plans within plans, Xanatos-type thinking three moves ahead of everyone. Which was great, but I honestly felt like that came out of nowhere.

Here he's still leader, he's affable and trying to make allies with the Starjammers, the Shi'ar and he even got them a space lawyer, and his greatest super power is still money. He's tried to be diplomatic but his friends messed everything up, he's flirty with Deathbird. And he's deferring to Illyana because she's field leader, or Smasher because she knows internal Shi'ar politics better than he could.

Also Karma has been able to send telepathic messages and to do some light mind-reading since at least the early 2000s

[bruinsfan]

Way back when she was first introduced, Xavier speculated that Karma had the potential to be a more powerful psi than he. In the early years that manifested mainly through her primary possession power, which could break through even Illyana's Xavier-proof mental defenses. But it's certainly not unbelievable that over 38 years of publication (and probably a dozen or more in-setting) that she would have expanded the applications of her powers.

[icon_uk]

What makes you think he's the leader? He's the instigator of this scheme, which is based entirely around him missing his boyfriend, but it's Illyana who's the "Captain" of the team (for some bizarre reason)

And his getting flirty with Warbird, who he must know is a despotic psychopath (and in a family which produced Emperor D'ken that's saying something) is perhaps a step too far, even for him.

[gnarll]

I agree that that version of Bobby felt like it came out of nowhere, but I kind of incorporated it as "Well, that is Bobby coming of age" Going back to this is a bit of whiplash.

And its just... Xi'ans power are exceptionally badly suited to developing telepathy. It'd see Cyclops as a telepath before her.

[arilou_skiff]

Tell me about it, it feels really weird to compare this depiction of the New Mutants with eg. Dani when she was a teacher during the Academy X/New Mutants period.

[icon_uk]

They mostly seem to be de-aged a bit and just haven't noticed, which is disturbing.

[angelophile]

It's weird. Whenever I see scans of this book, they seem to have Chamber wandering around making food and drink for people. What is up with that?

[zachbeacon]

Eating vicariously through others?

[cainofdreaming]

All those British cooking shows are a bad influence on him.

[zachbeacon]

Wait, is Emma Frost the mutant Gordon Ramsey?

[nyadnar17]

That last page is a work of art. I am in awe!

[zachbeacon]

So they have a group that includes Bobby, Dani, Sam, and at least one Imperial Guardsman and somehow freaking MAGIK is in charge? I continue to have major issues with the current mutant leadership structure.

At least it isn't Deathbird, I guess.

[long_silence]

The Captains are only in charge when you go into battle.

Magik is the only one I disagree with since Cyclops and Bishop have both shown great leadership skills, and Gorgon is mostly just a special bodyguard for Xavier when he leaves the island.
The other great leadership of the X-Men like Storm or Nightcrawler have seats on the Council, and you don't want a conflict due to those roles. While Wolverine has his mutant CIA.

Magik is massively powerful, but she's honestly not a good leader. She isn't a genius tactician like Dani or Roberto, and she's not much of a people person. She probably only has the spot due to real world popularity and recognizability

[zachbeacon]

I mean, I'd argue that a combat role makes more sense than a Council seat for Storm since she's very good in a fight and very bad about sticking around to run things after the fighting is over. But hey, all the Morlocks got resurrected so I guess all is forgiven*. Her spot at the table should have gone to someone like Callisto.

*I think Marrow was the only one to ever call her on it anyway.

That doesn't even get into all of the outright villains on the Council (though I trust Magneto more than the Professor at this point).

The only one of the captains I would trust AT ALL is Cyclops. Cable would seem perfect for this but sadly young Cable is an idiot (also the government is pretty Summers-heavy as is). The obvious heirs to Classic Cable are Hope, Sam, Dani, or Bobby and - since Hope is busy and Sam was off-world at the time - Dani or Bobby really ought to be there. Personally I'd opt for Dani because I prefer Bobby as a mastermind (he's like a trustworthy Shaw) and Dani gets bonus points for being a Valkyrie (the SHIELD training probably doesn't hurt either).

Its also weird not seeing Wolverine as a captain but I'd rather have him as a spymaster than Mystique so I guess I'll take it.

[gnarll]

I think it is because they need one Captain who can evaluate and respond sensibly to a magical emergency. And get a bit of respect from creatures such as A and Selene.

Also Magic is a politically good choice. Karkoa is starting to act as a nation and not all decisions are tactical ones any more.

[remial]

This Yana, as far as I know, is from Age of Apocalypse, so she probably knows more about fighting than every other mutant on Krakoa combined, and I for one, being a MAJOR Darkchilde fan, am NOT going to argue with her.

[zachbeacon]

Putting your life in the hands of a demon queen just seems like tempting fate.

(And, again, many of the finest tactical minds of her generation are RIGHT THERE)

As an aside, your reminder that this isn't the "real" Illyana has me wondering about the resurrection rules again. Are we going to see the girl who was killed by the legacy virus again?

[cdamascus]

This Yana isn't from Age of Apocalypse, this is the remnants of Illyana's being from Limbo collected and pieced together into person form by Belasco back in the Hunt for Magik arc in New X-Men Academy X.

[gnarll]

You know, a) I think Bobbys got a shot with Deathbird and b) I think that is Deadthbirds best chance at surviving this trip.

[doodleboy]

Oh this was the script Rod Reis drew in two days because Hickman was ridiculously late with it.

https://twitter.com/JHickman/status/1215021461406191616

... Which doesn't bode well for the production of Hickman's run, but Rod Reis did a bang-up job, especially for two days... geez....

[long_silence]

Keep reading the thread. Reis said that it was a joke and he did not draw the issue in two days