Thoughts

Another issue, another story. And this time the new X-men Spin-off title is tying in with the story in Uncanny X-men. It’s New Mutants versus Brood. And, it seems, New Mutants rebelling against Professor Xavier.

Thanks to the crazy world of scheduling – by the time this issue came out – Uncanny X-men 167 had been released, where the X-men return, meet the New Mutants and defeat the Brood infected Xavier. To readers at the time, this must have felt a bit like a prequel.

But aside from just setting up the Brood finale, there’s a really nice plot here for Psyche (urgh! still hate that name – when, oh when it it becoming Mirage). She is tormented by a Demon that might not be real, she learns to be wary of Xavier, she ropes in the New Mutants in secret and they take on a Monster that suggests her power potential is much greater than she realises.

The fact that the New Mutants secretly rebel against Xavier is a nice dynamic in this issue – and sets up nicely how this title is going to work. It’s rarely going to be a tale of them learning to use their powers under kindly Professor Xavier. Instead its going to be their adventures as a team. Distrusting what they are told to do and striking out on their own. That is a set-up with a lot of potential.

Fun Panel

Despite its obvious Nightmarish qualities, McLeod doesn’t really amp up the Horror Comic nature of the opening sequence. Which does mean it ends with a moment of Pure Scooby Doo! The Nightmare phantom is unmasked! Its only the Caretake Bear who would have got away with it were it not for those meddling kids.