Tag Archives: boom-boom

Review: New Mutants #9

Posted on by
New Mutants #9

With all the space stuff going on over in X-Men #8, Ed Brisson, Flaviano, and Carlos Lopez reunite the team in New Mutants #9 and send them on a more traditional mission that ends up evoking Bill Sienkiewicz’s work on the title back in the 1980s. Even with a larger cast of characters, Brisson and Flaviano handle the team nicely and give each of the New Mutants’ team members at least a couple of spotlight panels from Magik defending the team’s actions in Nebraska to basically her boss Cyclops to Mondo using his “unusual” powers to help Cypher interface with Krakoa and track a mutant named Tashi, who has some kind of reality warping/alternate universe creating abilities.

New Mutants #9 definitely seems to be an intriguing marriage of two key New Mutants storylines by Chris Claremont and Bill Sienkiewicz, namely, the “Demon Bear Saga” and “Legion”, which form the basis for the upcoming New Mutants film and the now-concluded Legion television show. Basically, Brisson and Flaviano combine the horror elements of the former with the reality warping of the latter for an interesting antagonist that happens to be a teenage girl that lives in the fictional country of Carnelia where mutants are despised and diplomatic relations with Krakoa aren’t a thing. Think Chechnya and LGBTQ rights although Brisson doesn’t delve into the politics beyond the Carnelians not caring if the New Mutants walk into a literal nightmare and giving them no backup or support.

Speaking of Carnelia, the tense interactions between the Carnelian military and the New Mutants is spiced up by Boom Boom knowing broken record thanks to her days as a thief. Coming off the Nebraska arc, Brisson seems to still be enjoying writing Boom Boom and her impetuous attitude as she drags the space-lagged New Mutants into yet another mission. The all action, sometimes drinking definitely betrays a void inside that hopefully he and Flaviano will explore in the future.

Flaviano jumping back on New Mutants gives the comic a real visual pizzazz, especially any time Tashi shows up. The first three pages are quite chilling with minimal dialogue/captions from Brisson and full page splash of how she has changed the landscape with an otherworldly palette from Carlos Lopez. Then, there’s a data and title page, and we’re back to Krakoa with a sunny color palette and more open compositions.

However, Flaviano doesn’t skimp on these important connective scenes choosing poses and facial expressions that are unique the characters like Boom Boom standing with her arms crossed away from the rest of the team to show her independence, and Chamber being frozen and unable to talk to his crush. Also, the aforementioned conversation between Cyclops and Magik is a study in power poses with some interesting backgrounds too that let the theme of precarious utopias and moral ambiguity sink without exposition-heavy dialogue. Cyclops is a supervisor talking to an unruly, yet talented employee; he shouldn’t have to explain everything to the readers.

As well as the tension within the team and the whole potentially causing yet another diplomatic incident after Nebraska, New Mutants #9 has cool and tense action scenes that make creative use of its characters’ powers. Karma and her mental possession abilities were created for sequences like these, and Flaviano and Carlos Lopez go full gonzo when she basically mind-melds with Tashi and is sucked into an alternative universe. And, of course, the sheer firepower of Magma and Chamber don’t work on a mutant with such complex abilities.

Brisson and Flaviano wrap up the story with some special guest stars, and I’m excited to see what these characters from later New Mutants era add to the storyline, especially they’re very much not in the hero camp. Their appearance (And check-in’s with members of Morlocks in Marauders and Cable) shows that Dawn of X is settling in comfortably and starting to show what other groups of mutants think about Krakoa and the roles they play in the new society.

Ed Brisson, Flaviano, and Carlos Lopez spin a typical team rescues a mutant whose powers are out of control from a society that hate and fears her story in New Mutants #9. But Flaviano and Lopez’s art is so breathtaking, and Brisson creates almost effortless chemistry/dysfunction between his large ensemble cast that I didn’t even notice that this is an X-story that has been told dozens of times before. Also, the ending creates even more opportunities for moral complexity and conflict between different mutant factions even though Krakoa is a “paradise”.

Story: Ed Brisson Art: Flaviano
Colors: Carlos Lopez Letters: Travis Lanham
Story: 8.0 Art: 8.7 Overall: 8.4 Recommendation: Buy

Marvel Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Super-Articulate: Marvel Legends X-Force (Wendigo) Assortment

Posted on by

We’re back with another crazy assortment of Marvel Legends! This week, it’s the currently-in-stores X-Force assortment featuring the Wendigo BAF. These figures were provided to us by Hasbro for free for the purposes of review. Let’s get to it . . .

Mister Sinister: Presently being fabulous and, well, sinister in the pages of House of X and Powers of X, Mister Sinister falls squarely into the category of “re-dos that I didn’t know I needed until I saw them.” I always thought that the first one was great, but it did come out (checks notes . . . HOLY CRAP) 14 years ago. This figure is a top-to-bottom upgrade. Let’s start with the face. That grin is positively demonic.  And the cape! The cap is excellent. It’s separated, but feels heavy and sturdy. The fine details of Marc Silvestri’s costume design are present here. Based on this, I’d really like to see more Marauders appear in the various X-lines. Overall, this is a pretty great figure.

Boom-Boom: Though Tabitha Smith first appeared in (of all places) Secret Wars II, she quickly became a regular character in the X-franchise, notably as a member of the New Mutants. When the New Mutants title segued into X-Force in 1991, Boom-Boom was on the team, sporting this Rob Liefeld-designed look. Rob, if you’re reading, they did you proud. This is a terrific figure, and the sculptors really captured the look of Liefeld’s art, particularly in, of all things, the hair. Take a close look at the figure, and then look closely at the covers to #1 and #7; that is total Rob, kids. As with Jubilee, I love the alternate regular head/bubble-gum head dynamic. Also, the team went a step further on the extra accessories. Instead of just regular hand/other hand, we get a clearly individually sculpted “blasting hand” that has the energy bomb coming off of the hand. There’s also another explosive effect included. The separate belt and vest also indicate attention to detail and a dedication to getting the look right. Given her long history, Boom-Boom has been criminally underrepresented in figure form. This is an outstanding correction right here.

Cannonball: Some people like the blasting effect, and some don’t. I do. Do I wish there had been legs? Well, of course. But I also understand that idea behind the concept, and I support the desire for the Hasbro team to just do different stuff. Frankly, I’d like to see some kind of power-effects accessory kit, because the effects that they’ve been making and including (Boom-Boom’s aforementioned bomb-hand, the optic blast for Retro Cyclops, etc.) have been great. That said, this is a genuinely cool-looking piece, and the top half captures the flavor of that Liefeld Cannonball costume quite well.

Wolverine: Hat trick of shortness! Lately, I’ve been praising Hasbro’s inclination to keep Wolverine short again. In both the Wolverine/Hulk two-pack and the Retro Wolvie of late, they’ve kept the figure appropriately undertall. They’ve done it again, and it’s great. This particular iteration of Wolverine (with the black and gray X-Force gear) wasn’t a must-have for me, but I’m glad that it exists. The team did a great job on the claws (which I feel are receiving much more attention in the sculpting process these days). It’s a very good era-specific figure, and it’s a good make-up figure for people that weren’t able to get the early boxed set exclusive version. Definitely looks good.

Nightcrawler: The original Marvel Legends Nightcrawler was released when my oldest son was less than one month old. He’s in high school now. So yeah, this guy’s due. One of the most requested figures for a revamp, the new Nightcrawler more than does the job. With an extra hand, two extra heads for different expressions, a poseable tail, and a big sword, this Nightcrawler covers a lot of ground and covers it well. This is one of those characters where the overall poseability of the Marvel Legends style really pays off. Kurt is frequently depicted as slightly hunched or perching or being acrobatic; this figure allows you to accomplish ALL of those. If you want a swashbuckling Nightcrawler, throw on the happy face and the sword. If you want an angry Nightcrawler, swap heads for that too. It’s a generally well-considered figure that tries hard (and succeeds) to hit all of the points you’d want in a strong version of this character. A hearty well-done to the team.

Guardian: Just in time for the forthcoming Alpha Flight boxed set, Weapon Alpha here is a sold figure. He’s well-sculpted and has a great grumpy look. I regret the lack of energy attachments, but it makes sense due to the fact that he comes packed with two Wendigo parts, including the body. This is a very clean, very nice-looking super-hero figure, and it should make fans of Marvels most famous Canadian team pretty happy.

Wendigo: This thing is awesomely HUGE. I mean HUGE. Remember when I went on about how big the Wolverine/Hulk Hulk was and how cool that made it? This, but Wendigo. He’s freaking BIG. Which is great. Wendigo should be big. The overall body and design are great. I would have personally liked the head to be a little more like the Byrne version instead of the more modern take, but that’s a minor, minor quibble. This BAF is a monster. I took pictures for you with the very appropriate Wolverine and Hulk from the two-pack so you could revel in its hugeness and see it alongside First Appearance Wolvie, too. This is well-worth getting; I like it quite a bit.

Okay, readers. That’s it for today. Let’s talk about it. What do you think? Which one is your favorite? Mine, I’m happy to say, is Boom-Boom, probably followed by the Wendigo. There’s damn good stuff here. Talk to us, and come back next time. Thanks for reading!