New Mutants #21 Answers The Hardest Questions About Krakoan Resurrection

Gabby’s dead, Rahne’s confused, and the Shadow King is messing with who knows how many teen minds! Plus Warpath leads a second team of mutant kids as they…. clean dayglo space-nudibranches off a dome on the moon?!?! New Mutants #21, written by Vita Ayala, art by Rod Reis, letters by Travis Lanham with Joe Caramagna. 

Liz Large: This issue was what I have been craving throughout this whole plotline, and I am so happy about these developments. 

Stephanie Burt: This. This is what I wanted. This. This is how you write a superhero comic about Kids and Feelings. (Are there any other kinds?)

Oh, fine, it’s a bit wordy at times. But it’s amazeballs. This.

Community Betterment

Liz: Before we get into the more emotionally intense aspects of this issue, I want to talk about the B-plot. Warpath has taken a group of young mutants to the moon for the X-equivalent of a litter pick up. To teach them non-battle skills, he’s teaching them how to gently collect and relocate space critters that are causing damage to the bio-dome. I love this nonviolent approach to pest control—like Warpath tells the kids, space was the animals’ home first. 

Stephanie: The B-plot is lovely– and emotionally quite clear-cut, up until the end. First a peaceful space trip, and then: action! Vita Ayala is the truest heir of Claremont here, not least because Vita understands if you’ve got Big Complex Feelings in the A-plot, and the A-plot involves lots and lots of talking, you want a B-plot that’s got cool new things we can see. And some punching.

Liz: There’s such a contrast between the proposed peaceful response to the small aliens and everyone’s response to the Brood. Broo is allegedly in control of them (after consuming the King Egg in X-Men #9), but it seems like nobody told these guys that they’re meant to be friendly to the mutants now. In fairness, the kids start panicking as soon as they hear the word Brood, so maybe this is being kept a little hush-hush. 

Stephanie: I don’t blame the kids! Frankly most X-readers, new and old, are likely to think “Here comes a fight!” at the sight of an alien like the aliens from Alien. I love the scene and background here so much. I want Rod Reis to draw my life, but with fewer Brood.

Liz: We get some amazing moments in the fight between “Mr. Warpath” and the Brood. He’s trying to take them all and give the kids time to run, but in a great display of mutant synergy, the kids work together in new and exciting ways to assist. I love love LOVE what Ayala is doing with mutant powers in this book, and it really gives Reis such an opportunity to shine. The combinations of different powers are just fun– “double antigravity fastball special” is exactly what a kid would come up with if asked to create a cool new way to use their powers together, and it’s fantastic.

Stephanie: “Fastball special” is one of the terms from old school X-comics that’s really entered the lexicon. The kids would know just what it means.

Liz: Once the fighting ends, and with some of the kids injured, Broo shows up to praise them. I find his explanation here– that some of the Brood have been rebelling against him, but definitely not too many– a little fishy, and I think Warpath agrees too. 

Stephanie: Warpath has become a very good teacher– not least because he’s learned to see when his students are hiding, or holding things back. And of course Broo’s nervous. He went from being the early-teen butt of jokes to controlling a galactic predatory species. Give an insecure young person, even a super-sweet one, that much responsibility that fast and yeah, they’re gonna feel wobbly about it, and they might not admit they can’t handle it well. 

Liz, did you notice how Broo’s signature red glasses match the Shadow King’s red glasses on the much bigger, scarier final art page? Don’t trust the people wearing the red opaque glasses.

Unless the people are Scott Summers. 

And he’s not here.

Liz: I did not notice that. That seems ominous! Especially considering that both of them are trying to assert power and control over other people…we probably haven’t seen the last of this, huh?

Stephanie: We are 100% gonna see some more Brood rebels. Especially if Vita Ayala or another X-author needs a quick monster of the week for a B-plot.

Liz: There’s a data page excerpt from Warpath’s therapy journal, and it’s a really wonderful insight into what he’s doing here. He’s gone through a lot in his life, and choosing to continue on without the people he’s lost has been the hardest thing he’s ever done. 

Stephanie: That page felt so true to life that I almost had to stop reading and go for a walk. Warpath’s other journal pages have led up to this one. He’s learned to handle so much to get here.

Liz: According to the journal, Warpath doesn’t have regrets, because he is able to be there for these younger mutants. I love his explanation of how someone who is relied upon is often considered to only be giving, but from his perspective he gets a lot out of it. 

Stephanie: I felt seen.

In and Out of Trouble

Liz: This was such a satisfying issue for me. Our resident troublemakers– Cosmar, Anole, Rain Boy, and No-Girl– have been caught in their attempt to resurrect Gabby, a dangerous task they felt forced into because of Gabby’s murky status as a clone (and the general disappointments of the adults). 

Stephanie: The resolution gets a bit wordy, and in less masterful hands– or with a less tolerant editor– I might get worried about the number of panels that show talking heads. But you know what? It’s wonderful. The– I don’t know what to call them– millennials? the OG New Mutants and the Five? the middle generation mutants?– finally know what’s up, and they’ve learned from the kids, and they can defend the kids against the neglect and the bad decisions that come from the older adults.

Liz: I really love the young adults’ reactions here. Tempus and Rahne seem shocked by the logical leaps the kids [Ed. note: and X-Men readers over the last two years] have made, and I can see how it looks from their perspectives. Like Rahne says, Gabby is one of them– of course she’d be resurrected. But Cosmar lays it out the way the kids see it: clones have explicitly been denied resurrection, and when Gabby tried to ask about it, she was ignored. It’s a pretty effective argument, and it’s amazing how much talking things out honestly can make a difference in the world of superhero comics.

Stephanie: And in our world. Also there’s Cosmar’s problem. When does she get to do the Crucible? (Does she get to do the Crucible?)

Liz: I’ve been assuming the worst, but maybe the events of this issue will allow Cosmar to get what she’s been asking for. On that note, I may need to take back some of what I’ve been saying about Rahne. When the kids confront her about her actions, she legitimately doesn’t seem to recall what they’re talking about. She’s confused and upset, but doesn’t seem to disbelieve the kids, which I really like. 

Stephanie: Yes! She realizes– we realize– that she’s been mind controlled. Did you see how Rod Reis handles Rahne’s transformations here between wolf and human form? Reis does his own colors, too. Space has all the colors you could ask from page one. Indoor scenes on Krakoa start muted, yellows and browns, and human-form Rahne’s red hair pops out. My heart! (Speaking of Rahne, we say this every chat, but there’s never a bad time to read Nola’s piece about Rahne and trans metaphors.)

Liz: This issue also brings us the long-needed talk between Xi’an and Dani about Rahne. I feel like it really connected a lot of the dots that have been happening, and made me understand Dani and Xi’an’s reluctance to get involved up until this point. Xi’an doubts her own judgement because of her history, and Dani is trying to be sensitive to all of the trauma Rahne’s gone through recently. What did you think about this conversation? 

Stephanie: I think it’s an absolute model for how you talk to a friend about another friend. I also think those two pages of outdoor target practice make up a perfect model for how to illustrate talking-heads scenes. Each panel gives us something to see, and in the last one everything ends up– a visual pun– right on target.

Liz: Yes! Such a great series of panels. 

Stephanie: I do miss some of the queer coding and trans coding that’s shaped conversations in previous issues: it’s like Dani and Xi’an and Rahne– and Cosmar– need to put all discussions about gender and sexuality on hold, even metaphorical ones, in order to handle people in crisis. Which might be the right thing to do. Let’s solve the mystery and keep everyone safe, and then we can figure out who should be kissing whom, and when Dani gets to kiss Xi’an. I’m a patient girl.

Liz: Dani saying that she never wants to make Rahne feel like she needs to act a certain way in order to be loved really hit me hard. 

Stephanie: That’s why she’s team leader! Dani has the highest emotional intelligence of anyone in any X-book right now. Except maybe Storm, who gets fewer chances to use hers.

Liz: Now I can’t help but wonder how Dani would handle one of the New Mutants showing up with a clone of their dead ex. 

Stephanie: Agreed. That said, look at Xi’an! Look at Xi’an! Look at Xi’an! Her experience makes her uniquely qualified to help other people who have been victims of mind control, and she can do things no one else can do! I”m hoping she’s the one who finally gets to tell off the Shadow King. Seriously, fork that guy.

Duped

Liz: The second data page in this issue had me cheering! The Five are taking a hard stance on this: as the people who are actually doing the work of resurrections, they want to have input into the policies, not just be a voiceless arm of the Council. They not only specifically call out the relatively benign Gabby and Evan Sabahnur, but also Madelyne Pryor. This sets them up directly against the decisions of the Council.

Stephanie: Bingo. Or, as Dani might say, on target.There’s so much going on here in terms of the long game and character psychology that the issue absolutely requires– and gives us– a simply awesome fight on the moon as the B-plot.

Liz: In the vein of standing against the Council, I think it’s interesting that the Five simply resurrect Gabby– they don’t seem to have called the Professor or anyone, and there’s no huge party. And later in the issue, Rahne says she promised to keep the name of the murdered mutant secret. I wonder if this is them taking on the kids’ plan: “better to make sure [Gabby] comes back and face whatever punishment”. 

Stephanie: The Five have no doubts here. Nor should they, though Madelyne’s a bit more complicated. As N. K. Jemisin– or rather her point of view character– says in The Obelisk Gate, “No voting on who gets to be people.”

Liz: I love how happy the kids are to see Gabby alive. While they had their differences with each other earlier, they literally were willing to fight the adults to bring her back, and their relationship is going to be different going forward. 

Stephanie: Look at all those faces. Everything’s right. Reis and Ayala get so much about the way these characters work– with optional extra dimensions if you know their histories. I’ve heard people complain that Rahne looks too young in these issues, but I’ll accept it. The blocking and the action as well as the way Rahne looks here emphasizes her position in between the OG New Mutants (her supposed peers, who recognize that she’s emotionally younger than they are) and the literal kids.

Liz: Gabby and Rahne’s confrontation went a lot better than anyone could have expected. I love that Rahne really focuses on acknowledging what happened to Gabby. All she wanted was to help the kids, and it was turned into something horrible by an evil person. There’s a lot of guilt and horror there, but Rahne saying “Whatever happened, I believe you. Please tell me so it doesn’t happen again?” is just….it’s exactly what Gabby needs to hear in that moment. It’s what a lot of people need to hear. 

As Gabby tells the group what happened (and I’m so grateful she doesn’t have a super detailed memory of the events), Cosmar is physically supporting her, even as she herself is afraid of getting in trouble. I love all of these supportive friendships so much.

Stephanie: You said it.

Liz: Ending the issue is a scene of the New Mutants– the Dani/Xi’an/Illyana half, at least– figuring out their next steps. Illyana would like to abuse her authority as War Captain, while Dani thinks there should probably be some sort of rules or proof involved. I’m not sure which side I’m coming down on here.

Stephanie: I was hoping you’d bring up my favorite sword lesbian. And her favorite pitcher of iced coffee. I’m not even sure that’s cold brewed. Nor am I sure that going after Farouk ASAP would be “abusing,” rather than “using.”

Liz: Every issue I want to try Krakoan coffee more. And then Rahne arrives, finally willing and able to talk to her friends. She knows something terrible has happened, and she knows who to blame. And finally, finally, she can ask for help. 

Stephanie: Illyana has a very sophisticated understanding of human psychology, trauma, emotions, healing and what we now call complex PTSD, not that the term was around when she first needed it. She’s also got absolutely zero time for standing around and chatting when she knows what needs to be done: there’s an incorrigibly evil mind-control adult controlling teens and tweens and she has a Soulsword. Go.

Liz: Everyone in this little group really understands the sort of thing Rahne is going through, even if they haven’t precisely had the same experiences. And it makes them even more likely to fight on her behalf, it’s wonderful. 

Stephanie: Since this issue’s so forking great– really one of the best things Marvel has done in the Krakoan era — I’m almost afraid to end with a couple of whatabouts and huhs and anything except this is great please go give Vita and Rod your money.

But. 1. No one has yet done a Shadow King story without reinforcing Claremont-era fatphobia, and his looming, menacing, toothy, too-big-for-a-single-comics-page leer at the end of the book doesn’t help. Maybe Fred Dukes can help Xi’an and Illyana punch this guy into space.

2. The Krakoan era keeps bringing me back to the limits of restorative justice, mutual forgiveness, and the ideology (or ideas or concepts) behind prison abolition. Given that most crime, or “crime,” in real life might well go away in a better social system, given that so much criminal justice, or “justice,” in real life involves blaming one among many victims, what should a just society do with the handful of people who really get off on cruelty and can’t bring themselves to stop? What should I do if I know there’s a predator in my workplace but I don’t have proof, or don’t have the authority to get that predator fired or disciplined? 

These are thoughts that apply to these characters in one way, and to entire real life societies in quite another. New Mutants likely isn’t the book for the latter. But Vita Ayala (who has written a miniseries about a prison) could be the writer.

Liz: I think you’ve really summed it up here. I may not be sure where we’re going, but I trust Ayala to get us there more than anyone else in comics. 

X-Traneous Thoughts

• Krakoan reads THE CHOICES WE MAKE
• Tempus mentions that everyone– Gabby included– was backed up before the Gala. Is this their normal schedule, or were they expecting it to get a lot more deadly than it did?
• I love the way Reis draws Rahne’s eyebrows. They get a little outrageous towards the end of the issue but the effect is fantastic.
• Illyana threw an empty pitcher– likely a glass one– into the air in frustration. Nobody in that room had telekinesis. Did anyone catch it as it fell? Or did it shatter? Who cleaned it up?
• Illyana is probably an awful roommate. Unless she can summon some minions from Limbo to do a cleanup. [This has canonically happened: see New Mutants Annual #2.]