The nightmare finally ends, but at what cost?? Maybe just Boom Boom’s patience. Story by Ed Brisson, art by Flaviano, colors by Carlos Lopez, letters by VC’s Travis Lanham, and cover by Mike Del Mundo.
Liz Large: Before we even talk about the issue, I need to rave about Mike Del Mundo’s cover. They’ve all been great, but this one–featuring the team in a whirlpool of candy– is fun, and I love that the gummy bears are actually demonic. Because, of course, nothing our New Mutants encounter can just be joyful and fun.
Allison Senecal: Behold, the Demon Gummy Bear Saga. And yes! I’ve never been more devastated by the fact Marvel rarely does mid-run cover posters. Jerks.
Ice Cream Dreams
LL: On the first page we get more great art–Armor, still trapped in the nightmare, is seeing a vision of her dead mother and brother. The nightmare is restraining her armor, and almost eating away at it. We get these tendrils of hot pink squares coming off of it, and if everything wasn’t absolutely horrible, I’d say this was a really pretty page. But instead, we’re plunged into the New Mutants’ internal battle. Mondo gets a chance to take charge here, which is nice– he hasn’t had too much to do over the past few issues.
AS: It’s suuuuper cool to get to see Mondo use his matter absorption powers on something like Armor’s…armor. Now that you mention it, he really hasn’t had “A Moment” since that awkward conversation with Doug and Krakoa? If I’m remembering right. He and Wildside (a real jerk in this issue, but what’s new) working together to get through to the nightmare mutant is an inventive way to show off some powers, as well as a gorgeous dream sequence from Flaviano and Lopez. Love the Black Widow plushie.
LL: It’s so cute. We get to see whatever a good dream would be for the young mutant, and it’s sad how normal it is. Unicorns, candy, a boy band (are they a real band? I am Old), a diary. She’s so young– and while the New Mutants are one of the younger teams, they’ve all been on black ops teams for a very long time. It’s a big contrast seeing them next to a kid who may have had a more normal life until recent events.
Even in the middle of the good dream, the girl still looks exaggerated. She’s got the giant braces and teeth from last issue’s cover, one giant yellow eye, purple skin, and her proportions seem off. It’s pretty unique, as far as character designs go.
AS: Yeah, I’m kinda hoping this is a permanent look for her (unless she hates it and is uncomfortable or something) because it is soooo unique. Wondering if the look will wear off as she relaxes, etc. Before we get into that too much, let’s back up to Boom Boom and the rest of the gang. I know you love some Boom Boom. [Ed. note: She does love some Boom Boom]
LL: I DO love some Boom Boom. Dani, Rhane, and Boom Boom are all outside the dream, having a not so great time. The girls have to fight off the Carnelian forces while trying to make sure the rest of the team makes it out. We get a fun moment where Boom Boom translates Russian for Rhane, and gives perhaps not a 100% accurate wording. But in her defense: she’s right, all of these men are very rude. The team is putting on quite a show, which is convenient for the Carnelian media. Even though they are in the right, footage of Boom Boom blowing things up and Rhane in her half-wolf form is easy to view in the wrong light.
By the time everyone makes it out of the nightmare, they’re surrounded, everyone who was inside is dead on their feet, and they’ve got a kid to worry about. We get a great back and forth between Boom Boom, who knows they could fight their way out, and Dani, who knows that while they could, there’d be casualties. I love BB, but Dani’s the leader you trust in this situation. They’ll surrender, and figure out a way to escape after.
AS: Enter: YANA, looking #$%&ing amazing, like an avenging Limbo abomination. Even the rest of the team is like “oh…oh no”. Wild that the one person they could have used speaking flawless Russian this entire time finally shows up just to threaten the prime minister by his Christian name. You love to see it. Love the art again here, this time all in colder tones. That final teleportation panel is pure goodness.
Non-Alcoholic Fluids
LL: Back on Krakoa, the team is getting medical treatment. Everyone inside the nightmare wasn’t doing too well after getting spit out, and Karma has some sort of anesthetic in her bloodstream. The team needs food, hydration, and some rest, but there shouldn’t be any long term problems.
As everyone disperses, we say goodbye to Wildside. I wouldn’t say I’ll “miss” him, but maybe every mission could bring one cranky former villain. The dynamic is fun.
AS: I think the anesthetic is intriguing. Is this another drug Krakoa could monetize? Especially since Cosmar (kosmar – кошмар – means nightmare in Russian, I like that a lot) produces a lot of it naturally in her sleep. Since the Brisson run has dipped into some of the issues around providing humans with Krakoan drugs, just curious if there is something more to it.
LL: That would be really interesting. I also liked the little scene of Dani talking about how her powers are sort of similar to the nightmare Cosmar creates. I’d like to see them interact again once she’s settled in. It seems…less than advisable to leave her in the care of the Twins, though. I’m sorry, but this is the second time one of the New Mutants has had to remind them that “no, we don’t erase people’s memories” and that feels like something you shouldn’t need to be told more than once!
AS: Not if you’re the Children of the Krakoan Corn. This little sub-subplot with these two must be going somewhere, because they really do just seem like bad news! Over and over again! Their empty little eyes don’t really help. One thing I have enjoyed consistently about this run is that we always get a few cooldown pages dedicated entirely to mission fallout. Boom Boom gets to journal. Armor has a mini-breakdown. Everyone gets treated by Healer. There’s clean-up. It’s kinda lovely.
DOX (DOX?) DoX
LL: The issue ends with a pretty clear idea of where we’re going to go next, as soon as everyone’s recovered. One of the data pages this issue was a page from the DOX website, which has been publishing mutant sightings and personal information worldwide. The comments section is extremely realistic, if you’ve read any article online ever.
The DOX website is the through line between the Nebraska and Carnelia missions, which I think is kind of cool. This series has had a lot of fun moments, but I’m interested to see more of an overarching “big picture” plot here.
AS: I kinda love this through-line as a counter narrative to X-Men: Red. Better critics than I have broken down all the issues with Taylor’s flimsy “it was brain nanos making people racist all along!” plot, but I think it’s very relevant to see how hate actually works. Right now, in the real world, places like 4Chan act as little racist fomentation tanks. It’s not technology physically making people bigots, it’s ingrained mindsets and personal choices, whipped into a frenzy by an online echo chamber.
LL: Exactly—I didn’t think of that, but it’s such a good comparison. There’s nothing that interesting about letting people off the hook with cop-outs, especially in an X-book where the real life comparisons are so easy. I’m actually excited to see where this goes, especially considering that the New Mutants are the youngest team as a whole, and (yes, stereotyping) are probably more likely to understand how the internet functions. Having the O5 or even Giant Size groups tackling this story would seem extremely off to me.
AS: The next cover does have Yana slicing a buncha media outlet microphones, so I wonder if this arc will end with them taking control of the public narrative, or at least trying to. And you’re right, there’s no easy fix for stuff like Dox and shouldn’t be, so I’m curious how this shakes out. Realistically give Doug two minutes and some wi-fi, but I’m sure it won’t be that easy, haha. I’ve really appreciated how the X-Men line has approached dealing with bigots thus far (guns phased through knees, undermining their corporate interests, etc) so I’m sure it will be tasty.
X-Traneous Thoughts
- Krakoan reads “DOX”
- Was this arc sponsored by a candy company, and if so where can I buy whatever candy they were hoping to advertise?
- Cosmar *should* be pronounced with a “sh” sound (so roughly like kosh-mar), just so we don’t get into any pronunciation shenanigans in two decades, like with Kwannon. Wink wink.
- “Everyone knows that every good team has a leader, a powerhouse, a flyer, a psychic and a nightmare machine, right?”
- I know that not everyone agrees on Glob, but I sincerely appreciate his desire to take care of his teammates. The panel in the kitchen with the teammates eating, leaning and sitting on the counters, is just delightful. I love all the little quiet background stuff.
Liz Large is a copywriter with a lot of opinions on mutants.
