The New Mutants get a relaunch at the hands of the wife-and-husband writing team of Weir/DeFillipis, and the first issue is very good. No. It’s actually GREAT. This is a huge surprise to me for many reasons. The biggest reason is that most of the 2003 series launches start with “big important” arcs, but this one is a single-issue story that focuses not on a big threat but instead on the need for the series to exist. In a Marvel Universe crowded with X-titles that often feel very similar to each other, New Mutants has a purpose: It’s for the kids! Like Wu Tang Clan!
The story features a new mutant (appropriately), Sofia Mantega, who has the ability to manipulate wind. After a family tragedy, she is sent to live with her Uncle who is a mutant hater. Sofia acts out and gets arrested.
Enter Dani Moonstar…
Dani “persuades” the Uncle to send Sofia to Xavier’s school, and the story ends with her being enrolled.
Ove the course of the issue, we see the dangers of mutants having no place to learn their skills; the consequences of hatred; and, yes, the need for someone like Dani to intercede on behalf of young mutants.
Well done!