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Publisher: Marvel
Writer: Zeb Wells
Artist: Zachary Baldus
Cover: Adam Kubert & Justin Ponsor

“Debrief :” This is the issue that longtime fans of New Mutants have been waiting for since the relaunch of the series!  The return of an old favorite, the gold and black weird talking alien Technarch: Warlock!  We don’t have to wait long either as he’s seen flying and infecting missiles with his techno virus that are fired at him by H.A.M.M.E.R. agents that were monitoring airspace.  And yes that is the most action he sees in this issue.

The story then shifts to the mutant state of Utopia, where the team is getting a deserved rest after their battle with Legion.  The science team is working on isolating Legion’s many personalities, while other members are being debriefed by Dr. Rao.  Specifically Illyana, who gives Shan a wink before she goes in for her session.  We find out a little bit more of what happened in Legion’s head during the fight and what that little wink was for.  Then we come to Sam Guthrie aka Cannonball who has to answer to Dani, because she was informed by Cyclops that when Sam turned in his team roster that she wasn’t on it. She is obviously pissed off, feels that her not having powers anymore shouldn’t be an issue, and just wants to “talk” it out with Sam in the Danger Room.

Zeb Wells gives a solid story that fleshes out a few things I thought would be left out until later in the series. From the science team’s revelations, to Sam and Dani’s “talk,”  I was pretty satisfied with where the story was going.  I just wish he would have given us a lot more Warlock!  A two-page spread in the beginning, and then another two pages at the end of the book. I know this issue is just a set up for the Necrosha crossover coming up, but don’t put the big guy on the cover if he’s not the feature!

The visuals by Zachary Baldus were not to my liking.  From the minute I opened the book and looked at Warlock I rolled my eyes and pressed on. I remember reading part of the tagline for the book, “Witness the most vicious fight ever to grace the pages of New Mutants. The combatants? Cannonball and Dani Moonstar.” I’m so glad the dialogue carried that interaction between them because the visuals made it look very simple and so not vicious.  Some of the other characters were also only vaguely recognizable. Scott is easy, he’s got on bright red glasses, but others just looked wrong, not to mention Dani looking like a 12-year-old boy in some scenes.  However, to be fair I’ve talked with people who are a fan of Baldus’ style and work, I just don’t happen to be one of them.

The issue does a great job of wrapping up the last arc and bringing some things to a close, while smoothly transitioning into the new one. Can’t wait to see what the effects of Necrosha have on our team after seeing what Warlock has discovered at the end of the book.

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