New Mutants #7 Review: Lost in Translation

Hey, everyone, jrpbsp here… For my third review we have the next chapter of Necrosha in ‘New Mutants’ . Hope you enjoy it.

New Mutants #7 (preview)
Writer: Zeb Wells
Art: Diogenes Neves

NOTE: Wolverine does not appear in this issue

SPOILERS BELOW…

RECAP: The issue opens with Doug holding up Warlock’s severed head and then tossing it off the railing into the sea. Sunspot is in shock over Amara’s wounds but reports she is stable. Ramsey moves to attack and is suddenly overwhelmed by memories of his past life provided by the Techno-Organic strain from Warlock. The New Mutants move to attack the helpless man when they are interrupted by the appearance of the Devil.

Satan moves to claim the confused Doug as his own as the shocked team looks on. But the demon turns out to be one of Tarot’s cards and the rest of the Hellions are right with her. They start through the door but Dani is quicker and throws a knife initiating the emergency seal. Jetstream is the closest and he gets cut in half as the door slams closed.

The Devil apparition continues to confront the group until Illyana banishes it with her Soulsword. The group prepares to move out but Jetstream is not dead and flies forward to grab Doug. The rest of the Hellions break through and Ramsey pleads for the New Mutants to help him. Sam orders his people to teleport out. On the surface of the island a massive battle is raging.

The team debates what to do for a moment until Colossus is knocked into the group. Roberto helps him take down Stonewall and Piotr tells them to go and find Cyclops. But Roberto insists on getting Amara to the Infirmary. Sam splits them up sending Dani to help Sunspot and taking Shan and Illyana with him to go after Doug. Ramsey is being erased by the Hellions while under the sea a small lobster lands on Warlock’s head and its life force is absorbed.

MY TAKE: While I have not liked these tie-in issues quite as much as the previous ones, they are still some of the best comics being put out right now. The story is somewhat confined by the overall plot but that does not stop the excellent character moments and even genuine emotions from coming through.  These characters are written as real people and it is great to see just how much respect they are being given.

Everyone is given at least a moment or two to shine which is difficult to manage in a group title. Dani seems to be given the best lines for the most and her comment about the Hellions brought a chuckle from me. She was never one of my favorite New Mutants but she is climbing the list quickly. I liked Illyana’s comment to her brother the best, however. It was nice to see her address their mutual deaths even if it was just an offhand comment. Sam is starting to come into his own as the team leader too and it is great to see his self-confidence returning.

I was also happy to see the return of the Hellions as a team. I always enjoyed reading about them in the early New Mutants days and thought their deaths was a major waste of potential. I hope we see a bit more of them next issue though, they were pretty much just in the background here. I hope that they will stay around after the event and maybe even get Empath to rejoin as a member. They would make a very good reoccurring villain for the series.

There really is not much to complain about here but the plot is the weakest point. The setup is a bit silly and it definitely feels forced. While I loved the interaction between Illyana and her brother, the entire scene on the surface felt tacked on just to have the team involved in the bigger event. It also seemed odd that Magik could not teleport to the Infirmary considering her power allows her to go anywhere in space or time. However, I am glad that she is staying with Sam to confront the Hellions.

In the end this was another excellent issue from Wells and company. While the plot was dictated by the event and is not the most original, the characterizations were extremely strong and the comic read very well. This is a prime example of how to run a tie-in comic that keeps to the plot while allowing it to have its own voice. I did not expect to like these issues as much as I have and I am really looking forward to the conclusion next month.

Thanks for reading my review for Wolverine Files. I will be keeping to this format for the most part but please keep the comments coming and I will see everyone again next time.

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