New Mutants #3 - Review and Summary

[The Lucky One]

F&*# Yeah! That's the best summation I can give you of NM #3, because it contains more F&*# Yeah! moments than any other X-book this year. Anyone who was slightly disappointed by the lack of action in issue 2 will have reason to cheer this time around, because it's brimming with both action and excellent character moments. I don't have much time, so let's get to it...

spoilers:

As we saw from the preview, Legion corners Dani in her jail cell. For newer readers, Jack Wayne exposits that David Haller created him as the "man's man" aspect of his personality, and he threatens to rape Dani before killing her. Dani calls him a dirty word, and then Sunspot and Cannonball burst in and slam Legion through a wall! They don't yell "Booyah!" in unison, but it's implied. While Bobby takes off after Legion, Dani tells Sam to get her out of her cell... and he balks. Ooof. Rookie mistake, farm boy... gosh, y- you hate to see it. Meanwhile, Bobby catches up with Legion, who has another personality at the helm. He says "Nobody loves me," confusing Bobby utterly, who holds off on attacking because of it. Mistake- Legion hulks up, only to get plowed (not that way, it's an all-ages book) by Cannonball as he arrives. Manifesting yet another persona, Legion attacks with a Toad tongue, almost choking Bobby until Sam hits him with a few piledrivers. Personality change again, and Sam gets a great line by telling Bobby, "Now, watch how instead of talking about feelings, I'm going to knock him the *&#@ out." Hah. But this personality seems to be a little girl, who spells out that she doesn't want to hurt anyone, but the others want to kill the Fixers... i.e., the first New Mutants squad who helped repair David's fractured psyche. As older readers know, that group consisted of Cypher, Warlock, Wolfsbane... and Dani. Who is back in her cell fuming, only to see the cement floor liquify and take on semi-human shape. Not good. It starts choking her, apologizing for having to do it... and just in the nick of time, Magik and Magma arrive, melting the creation to slag. I'm somewhat ashamed to admit how turned on I am by Magma in this panel, but there it is. I'm only human. Sam and Bobby come back, Sam apologizing profusely... and Dani busts him right in the chops. Both awesome and (arguably) well deserved. She leaves to "make herself useful," and the others debate what to do. They can't approach Shan without her powers going all wonky, so Bobby and Amara want to call in the X-Men. The two members who you would expect to have a problem with that, surprise!, do have a problem with it. 'Yana proclaims that Shan is too important and has to be saved now, teleporting herself away. And Dani, who never met a problem that required the X-Men's help, shows up with a metric assload (I measured) of weapons looted from, presumably, the police station armory. Oh, it is on, monkey-fighter. In the final pages of the issue, Illyana ports to Shan's location. Via commlink, Sam warns her that they're going after Legion's physical form, but that if they accidentally kill Legion while she's inside, she'll die too. He expressly forbids 'Yana from harming any of Legion's personalities because it might hurt the core David personality. We see Illyana's physical body drop as she appears inside Legion's mindscape, calling forth her Soulsword and demanding to be taken to Shan. Jack Wayne laughs, telling her they all heard what Cannonball said and knows she won't hurt them. Illyana says she's glad they heard what Sam said... and then in perfect Magik manner, slices two personalities in half, decapitates Jack Wayne, and proclaims that for her part, she wasn't listening. End issue.

end of spoilers

So as you can plainly see- F&*# Yeah! Discuss amongst yourselves.

-D

[AcesX1X]

illyana is so hard-headed.

also, i do not feel like zeb welles has that great of a hold on her as a character. since when does illyana speak in this strange broken english dialect? it's annoying. she knows how to speak english just fine.

[CMBMOOL]

It's offical I'm a fan of Moonstar, even though she's depowered.

[Personamanx]

Maybe it's because I was born in the 90's but Im just not feeling this book.
When I read I say to myself that It is good, and it is well-written but I just cannot enjoy it that much. I imagine that if I was alive in the 80's I'd love it, but that just is not the case.

[XaviersMisprint]

Oh no! I started a thread like a half hour ago, but had to go outside to help set up patio furniture in mid-post, so in that time span you beat me to it! Oh well! Your thread is better!

[XaviersMisprint]

I wish everyone would read this book. So good. Makes me very nostalgic for a time I wasn't even born yet. Magma powered up mmmmm <3 I got so excited.


More Karma plz! Magik was so badass. Sam got major points in my book this issue, even though that costume looks goofy on him. Sunspot looked as if he was colored a bit darker, so that was pleasant as well. MOONSTAR OMG OMG OMG this was the issue that redeemed her in the eyes of anyone that gave up on her.

[XaviersMisprint]

And what did you think of Legion's new personalities that debuted this issue? The Brit with the tongue was entertaining and "No one loves me" Girl is adorable.

[AcesX1X]

i thought one of them should have slapped illyana for her fake dialect.

[XaviersMisprint]

What is the broken dialect you're referring to? The only awkward thing I noticed was when she said "You live? Good."

I think Illyana just doesn't wish to waste her time on excess words. She cuts to the chase. Every other time she spoke, she was fine!

[Imraith Nimphais]

WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY YYYYYYY
...do I have to wait until Friday to get this?
WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY YYYYYYY?

[AcesX1X]

Originally Posted by XaviersMisprint

What is the broken dialect you're referring to? The only awkward thing I noticed was when she said "You live? Good."

I think Illyana just doesn't wish to waste her time on excess words. She cuts to the chase. Every other time she spoke, she was fine!

i don't have the issue in front of me. i'll update you with specifics later. basically, she's talking like a female version of colossus and it doesn't make any sense.

[Falconen]

Illyana has always been one to move ahead with what she knows needs to be done, no matter what the cost. This was established when she first joined up with the New Mutants (and in the Magik mini series), and this continues that trend. I loved it. I am not sure that her team mates will be overly thrilled, but I am sure she is willing to carry that load on her Eldritch Armoured shoulders.

Dani Moonstar! Still one of my all time favorites, and still bad a$$ to the bone! I bet she does agree with how Illyana is handling the whole David situation. I don't see her getting repowered, but she doesn't really need to be. Storm lead the X-Men for 2 years without powers, and did pretty good. I am sure Moonstar will be just as effective.

Sam came off good too, and I was surprised that Bobby held back against Legion. He is usually the reckless one. Maybe he is maturing a bit.
Awesome issue Mr Wells. I hope this trend continues. Glad I gave up Astonishing X-Men for this.

[XaviersMisprint]

Originally Posted by AcesX1X

i don't have the issue in front of me. i'll update you with specifics later. basically, she's talking like a female version of colossus and it doesn't make any sense.

In some parts, perhaps. This is a different Illyana than the one we knew, isn't it? There were some things she said that definitely were not broken, like "Sam, Shan is still trapped inside the monster. You found her body?" I guess it could be read with a certain accent, but I read that as her just being direct and not beating around the bush. "And this is bad? Perhaps we could rescue her."

"You do not know how far I have travelled to protect her, Sam. She is too important. I must try." "What makes you so sure, Sam, that I have a self to lose?"

"To tell you the truth, I wasn't paying attention."

I guess it all depends on how you read those, what voice you use while playing them through your head. I didn't think of it as broken, but I guess I can see what you mean to a very slight extent.

[darknessatnoon]

English is not the main language of Limbo, and prior to that Ilyanna spent most of her life in Russia. She is still relatively new at the English language. Lay off, aces.

[Personamanx]

Yeah one of the reasons Im having a hard time likeing this book is just because of the Way I read Illyana's dialogue.
It just feels awkward no matter how I read it.