Or – “Teenage Superguys… Don’t Do It!”
The original lineup of the New Warriors reportedly came about when two editors flipped through the Official Handbook of The Marvel Universe, picked a few characters who hadn’t been seen in a while and slapped together a team out of them. So far in the new series, we’ve seen a mysterious masked man and two mutants depowered by the Decimation. There may be as much untapped potential in the former Beak and Winddancer as there was in Namorita, Firestar, Marvel Boy, and Speedball. Add in the man called Nova, fighting well beneath his weight-class, and Night Thrasher, actually far better than his “Punisher with a skateboard” thumbnail sketch would have you think, and Marvel accidentally found a recipe for greatness. With most of the current Warriors shrouded in secrecy, what we’ve seen thus far feels remarkably like “The Ex-X-Men.”
Previously on New Warriors: Sofia Barrett, once a young student at the Xavier Academy of Spandex and Headbusting, and the former New X-Man known by the less-than-terrifying nom de guerre of Wind Dancer, is now powerless. Unlike many of her comrades, she has rebuilt her life after the Decimation, having taken a job at a local diner, gotten her own place, and even struck up a flirty friendship with one of her customers, a hot guy named Barry. Her whole new world is turned upside down when her new crush turns out the have not one, but TWO secrets: First, he’s really Barnell Bohusk, formerly a creepy human turkey buzzard called Beak. Secondly, he’s a member of the underground teenage strike team who have taken up the mantle of the New Warriors. Beak takes Sophia to their secret lair (probably NOT located in the bowels of a sperm whale) and is greeted by a spectre of 1990’s comics past: The man called Night Thrasher. His antics have not gone unnoticed by the adults of the Marvel Universe, including a very unusual (and possibly telling) reaction from the man called Logan…
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We all know the speculation, regarding certain sidekicks of Wolverine who lost their abilities on M-Day, and this series of panels seems to confirm what has been hinted and alleged. If the underground forces of the New Avengers, limited to what reports are in the media are aware of the New Warriors activities, you can bet your last Silver Centurion that the director of SHIELD knows as well. Conferring with his right hand, Ms. Marvel, Iron Man expresses his concern that the Warriors will get themselves, or worse, someone else, killed. Ms. M suggests that it’ll blow over quickly enough, but Stark isn’t satisfied with that. Galled by the fact that anyone has the temerity to defy his iron-handed rule, Stark is doubly angry that they’re calling themselves “New Warriors” and asks which of the old team are still around…
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They keep throwing it out there, don’t they? That somehow, the original team may have survived… Of the members present for the explosion, Night Thrasher and Microbe had essentially NO powers and Namorita had all the powers of the Sub-Mariner. Wondra, the one member we’ve seen in action, has shown abilities consistent with Nita’s (flight, super-strength) so long as we discount the shrinking ability, which may be the power of one of her teammates. At the actual Warriors headquarters, Sofia has figured out the story of New Thrash: “You’re crazy!” That pretty much sums up old Thrash to a degree as well… Night Thrasher presses his point, and is quite well-spoken about it, replying that “Every revolution requres someone with vision. You saw it when you were an X-Man… the threat of a bleak future, one with no hope in sight.” He’s read the Marvel Previews? “We’re here to change that.” But Sofia isn’t interested in sophistry…
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“Besides, no super-powers, remember?” Thrash suddenly tosses her a small disc device, and tells her that it’s “your future.” We see a closeup of Night Thrasher’s visor, and it’s difficult to tell anything about the person behind the tinted glass. It could be Dwayne Taylor, with dark, possibly brown, eyes and an intense expression, but I can’t be certain. Sofia turns to ex-Beak and orders him to get her out of there. As she leaves, Wondra remarks, “That went well.” Night Thrasher turns around and we see the entire team (shadowed, but visible) for the first time…
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The man second from right seems designed to make us wonder if Chamber has joined up, at least from my perspective. But we can see eight members, four men, four women, none of whom is overtly reminiscent of anyone we’ve seen before… I’m actually intrigued by this slow burn (unlike Omega Flight, I KNOW that there can be a payoff, as this is an ongoing series.) The next morning, another super-villain is found, and the NYPD’s superhuman task force tries to figure the pattern. The one thing that IS clear is that the New Warriors are professionals, and they’re easily the match of the criminals in New York. The officer whose name escapes me (called “Bev” here) wonders if they can be sure that the old New Warriors are really dead…
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They WANT attention, they want to draw as much media scrutiny as possible to the S.H.R.A. and an Iron Man-led SHIELD and the new superhero police state as possible. Duh, big red truck! That night, Sofia Mantega dreams of her old friends in the X-Men, and of herself in her old garb (though, tellingly, the “X” sigil of Chuckie’s school is replaced with “NW” initials) defeating the Blob with ease, and claiming the love of her old crush, Hellion. Aww… It’s pretty sweet actually, but sadly only a dream, and Sofia awakes alone and powerless to stare at a picture of her old New Mutants/New X-Men pals. “Seems like a lifetime ago.” You’re 19, honey. Wait until you can say “Fifteen years ago, I was…” and end the sentence with something other than “…playing in the backyard.” She once again prepares for her day, and gets a meal for her homeless friend Sam, who recognizes that she’s wrestling with the horns of a dilemma. Or something. However that goes. “Sam… Ever hear this voice inside you, telling you to do sometihg, even though you know you shouldn’t?” He replies that he has, that his daddy called it “The Devil’s Whisper.”
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She wants to make the world a better place, and save babies… Sofia is the nicest girl in the world. Meanwhile, on the helicarrier, Tony Stark puts his “Godfather” gambit into play, with a rather snotty reasoning. “They’re kids playing an adult game. They want to act like adults, so be it.” And you were a dilettante playboy with a heart condition when you started, and your much vaunted Avengers cronies were, in order, a brain-washed lout who thought he was a doctor, a relic of another decade dug out of the ice, an airheaded heiress, an emotionally unstable entymologist, twin yokels from the armpit of Eastern Europe and a known felon armed with a BOW AND ARROWS. For all your “Founding Avenger on deck!” nonsense, there’s no reason why these kids can’t be as heroic as any of you. Schmuck… Tony goes on television, and issues a challenge to the Warriors.
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‘And I absolutely promise not to rocket you into an alternate dimension to let you rot if we ever have a falling out. Honest and for true!’ Check behind his back for crossed fingers before you sign any paperwork, Night Thrasher… Sofia is poleaxed by this announcement, and stares blankly at the screen. This prompts her angry boss tells her to get back to work, AND that since she was late, said work no entails “alley duty.” Alley duty apparently consists of something disgusting involving the trash barrels, which conincidentally and ominously knocks the disc that Night Thrasher gave her out of her pocket. She tosses is away and it bursts open, filling the alleyway with… webbing?
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Yep, it’s her! I was never a Wolverine fan, and never really got into Jubes (she struck me as a token half-Asian fan-service chickie) but she has fans both in and out of the business. I recall that there really was an outcry when she lost her powers two summers ago, and Joey Da Q has hinted that she’d be rejuvenated somewhere down the line. Thank Rao she gave up those canary yellow cargo shorts, though… They made her look really ‘hippy.’ The girls commiserate about life without powers (“I keep having… these phantom feelings… like I still have my powers.”) before Sofia tells her about Night Thrasher’s offer, and is stunned to hear Jubilee tell her that she might want to consider it. When Sofia asks why, she just replies, “I did.” Sofia isn’t sure, and tells her that they’ve lost their powers, “and they’re not coming back.”
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One mystery solved: looks like Jubilee is Wondra, (which seems to support my new theory that someone ELSE shrunk the villain last month.) Of course, that also means that of the nine actual and potential New Warriors, 1 in 3 of them used to be an X-Man. That concerns me, just a bit, especially since the guy with the face cowl makes me think he’s Chamber. (I know, I know, Chamber is off somewhere with Apoca-lips, but that doesn’t change my suspicions.) I’m just hoping that this isn’t going to turn into “Revive your favorite former X-Man” of the month. We already have Exiles for that, apparently. Of course, next month DOES promise a Wolverine appearance, so I think all bets are off.
Still, there are worse things a comic could do, I suppose, and it’s a satisfying chunk of reading. Actually answering a question may have something to do with it, but the narrative here is working for me. Jubilee as the team butt-kicker, rather than a cheerleader with pretty fireworks seems to fit her personality (what I know of it, anyway) a bit better, and I’m enjoying the fact that Sofia wants to be a hero because she wants to help the innocent, not to be famous or reap the benefits. Tony Stark HAS to be played as the villain in this book, but I don’t mind it so much, as he represents the status quo. When you’re this age, “The Man” is the enemy, regardless of political issues, and Stark seems to be interested in protecting the Warriors, rather than just flexing his political muscle. I’m still warming up to Wieringo inspired art of Paco Medina, but Kevin Grevioux’ writing makes up for the rough edges. It’s definitely worth 3 out of 5 stars, and I’m enjoying the mystery of it all…
17 Comments
I’m very dissapointed in this series. Every other New Warrior is just a de-powered X-Man with no connection to the past Warrior teams at all.
As for Night Thrasher, I think they’re going for an urban legend thing ala the Phantom. The public will believe Night Thrasher is immortal when in actuality he’s a self-apposed successor to the costume. One of my guesses to his identity is Ritchie Gilmore a.k.a. Prodigy of the Slingers. From a personal stand point his motivation to take up the mantle of Night Thrasher and publicly oppose Iron Man makes sense. During the Civil War he was publicly embarrassed, arrested and somewhat humiliated by Iron Man, and witnessed a fellow inmate and hero commit suicide while being contained in the Negative Zone. When he was released he joined Captain America’s Secret Avengers.
Little bit of paranoia. When Sofia is talking to Sam, in that second panel (where he’s saying “Never Listened to my Old Man”), the shadows under her eye form an N.
Jubilee’s boobs are huge. Why must all women’s boobs be so big? She went from being under-developed to Dolly Parton-esque.
Have we considered that Bill Foster’s nephew (as seen in Incredible Hulk) may be the new Night Thrasher? He did seem kind of eager to bring down Stark, and with good reason…
Salieri: It can’t be Bill’s nephew because we’re already seeing him in WWH. And what do you think the N stands for?
Steve: Wha? She can’t have have huge boobs? I mean, she was 13-14 when she joined up with the X-men. She has to develop sometime. She just happened to hit that end of the genepool. As for boobage in comics, there are normal sized breast; it’s just that the big ones stick out more. :p
Brent: They all can’t be Ex-X-men. We really don’t have that many former mutants left that are teen or pre-adult left. Discounting Thrash, Beek and Jubes (whom I think isn’t Wondra since there’s a silhouette that look like her in the group) there are 6 members left. Could you name 6 ex-mutants that fit the criteria? How about 6 teen heroes that weren’t mutants?
Jubes (whom I think isn’t Wondra since there’s a silhouette that look like her in the group)
Ummm… She’s wearing Wondra’s gauntlets when she wrecks the wall.
I think de-compressed storytelling can work and not work, but I’m not that much of a fan of the way it’s being used here and on “Omega Flight” at the start of new team books. I think you need to hook readers earlier with the crux of team books — chemistry, and not wait until issue five to put the team together (origins are for the flashback origin issue!). Other than Stark being annoyed and Jubilee’s reveal, it doesn’t feel like anything new happened in this issue.
maybe that’s still Jubilee…
maybe Night Thrasher is gathering depowered mutants (or X-Men specifically), and giving each of them gadgets (like Wondra’s gauntlets) to use as their new powers. Considering Thrash is a tech genius, he can whip us several gadgets for these young depowered mutants to use…
and considering Beak’s not in his usual self and still on the team, we might just well learn what his “new” powers and abilities are in the next few issues…
as for Night Thrasher, I’d like to think thats ol’ Dwyane inside that suit… but if its a different person… how about the former Speedball? he should at least want to bring the New Warriors name back to glory, but last I saw him, he was still insane over at Thunderbolts.
Seeing Medina draw that flashback makes me remember how much I miss him on NXM (the new guy is good, but I prefer Medina).
The gauntlets could be generic and there a silhouette that look almost exactly like Jubilee next to Wondra’s. The only think that sways me is that Logan recognizes Wondra and I don’t know enough about Logan to say who else it could be.
Also, Night Thrasher could be Henry Pym. Yes, I know that he’s in the Initiative but he could be putting a false front and acting as Thrash to oppose the Initiative. Or the Pym in the Initiative could be a Skrull…
Unfortunately, Medina’s weakness is my Fave character: Venom. He draws a HIDEOUS Venom, all gigantic bulging thighs and acidc slime and slobbery tongue. I far preferred the ‘Slightly large Spidey with a mouthful of sharp teeth’ look.
As much as I hate Wolverine, and discuss anything about him, I think it should be said for the character, that he won’t just notice his former sidekicks, but also those that he has come upon, especially former teammates/X-Men that are now New Warriors.
I just hope the small runt won’t end up joining the NW, else i’m dropping it.
Yes! Everyone one has their guilty superhero pleasure, and mine has always been Jubilee. I am glad to see her back. I think I might start picking up this book. Oh and is there a problem with having de-powered eX-men comprising this book. It seems that most of the Marvel U has forgotten that M-day even happened.
Oh and is there a problem with having de-powered eX-men comprising this book?
I wouldn’t say it’s a problem, unless it turns into another x-franchise Exiles started out clever and interesting, but eventually became tied to the Earth 616 reality, and is now essentially just another X-book, with too many ties to regular continuity, and having even left one of it’s members behind on Earth during a mega-crossover event.
I probably shouldn’t use X-Book as a pejoritive, but I don’t want to have to buy Uncanny, Adjectiveless, and X-Factor to understand the story, as I would have to if I wanted to keep up with “Endangered Species.” And I’m still holding out hope that we’ll see at least SOME tie to the original Warriors lineup. Let’s see:
Justice: Conscripted.
Nova: In Space.
Namorita: Dead.
Night Thrasher: Dead?
Speedball: El Bonzo Seco.
Firestar: Quit.
Rage: Conscripted.
Darkhawk: Loners
Hindsight: In Jail Pending Criminal Charges, Presumably.
Turbo: Loners.
Alex Power: Status (And Age) Uncertain.
Scarlet Spider: Deceased.
Slapstick: Conscripted.
Microbe: Blowed Up Real Good.
Bandit, Helix, Timeslip, Silhouette, Aegis, Ultra Girl, Dagger and Debrii are still at large, though most of them probably wouldn’t have a whole lot of reason to revive the Warriors name…
I totally agree with the x-book syndrome, but it doesn’t look like it will go that way. It seems like the x-books have always been separate from what I call the “Avengers Universe”: Where the super human battles other super humans and mutants are largely ignored. Where the S.H.R.A. is a real thing and humans and heroes have a delicate relationship. I think it should be interesting to see some former mutants and x-men,coming out of one minority and into another with just as much hate shining their way, fighting the (iron)man. Or it could completely suck and further tarnish the rep of the New Warriors. But it does have a glimmer of hope.
So what’s up with the webbing? Did anyone consider that one the NW’s power’s might be the ability to “technologically mimic” powers of other super heroes? We’ve seen flight, shrinking, and now webbing. Also, what’s up with Stature from the Young Avengers? Did she register?
Also, what’s up with Stature from the Young Avengers? Did she register?
That’s a good question. I would presume so, as she joined up with Iron Man’s side during the conflict, which probably came with an instant registration.