New Mutants #35:
Summary: Blink manages to save the New Mutants from crashing the Blackbird by teleporting the plane to the ground and safety. From there, Blink explains that she'd been following this band, Diskhord, since everywhere they play a gig seems to unleash some sort of disaster. The New Mutants decide to assist Blink with her investigation into Diskhord, and Moonstar splits the team up, with most of the team going with Blink while Cypher and Warlock head off in search of the energy that nearly downed the Blackbird. On Diskhord's tour bus, Warlock and Cypher discover a box and upon opening it, Warlock is blasted clear out of the bus. Inside the box, Cypher finds a bizarre creature(could it be Quoggoth or Shuma-Gorath itself?!?!) and is knocked out by the very sight of it. Meanwhile, Blink and the New Mutants watch as Diskhord manage to summon a tornado with their instruments and are forced to save the people at the concert, which allows Diskhord to make good their escape on their tour bus, with the apparently dead Cypher along for the ride.
Thoughts: I didn't love this comic, but I didn't hate it either... It was a perfectly acceptable comic book, nothing more, nothing less. I mean the story here was flat out weird, but not weird in that I couldn't understand it, just weird. I enjoyed the art, and Nate was in this issue, so that's always a positive, but I can't say this issue is going to stick in my head after I post this review...
Score: 7 out of 10.
My god, if that IS Quoggoth the awesomeness factor in this series just managed to increase by 4. If it's Shuma-Gorath, that factor would increase a hundredfold!
If Nate is not the mutant messiah anymore I wished they would change his hairstyle. I was never a fan of what I called his fascist haircut. After those regenesis teasers I was hoping they would let it grow longer.
ReplyDeleteI am guessing that thing in the suitcase is some kind of elder god, so that ought to be interesting.
You know what? I agree with you on Nate's hair style. It doesn't really fit with the character he is anymore. I wouldn't have him go back to his long mid-90's hair, but a slight change to show that HE'S changed would definitely be warrented I'd think. I did notice that he was wearing shoes this issue, so maybe little by little he'll slowly start morphing into a proper super-hero!
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, definitely. After playing as much UMvC3 as I have though, I am def hoping it's Shuma or Quoggoth... Although Shuma may be WAY out of the New Mutants league...
If they are going to keep using Nate like this then I hope he disappears or goes back to the Age of Apocalypse. DNA has made turned Nate into a Joke. Nick Lowe said they brought back Nate for a reason. If the reason was to depower him and make him pointless then he succeeded.
ReplyDeleteAs the biggest Nate fan you'll ever find, I have to say, I am quite pleased with what we've gotten with Nate thus far. He needed to be depowered to function on a team, especially a team as relatively weak as the New Mutants, otherwise he'd simply complete all of their missions for them while they waited back at their apartment. Sure, in a perfect world Nate would have his own series where he'd be battling and teaming with Marvel's A-list, but realistically, Nate is exactly where he SHOULD have been back in the late 90's. I always felt Nate should have been slightly depowered and put on X-Force after Cable left that squad back in the day. Instead, Marvel steadfastly had Nate continue to play the angry loner, way past his effectiveness in that role. I'm happy to let things play out, see Nate slowly learn to work within a team setting(something he's never done outside that Astonishing X-Men mini), and see what DnA have planned down the road. I say let DnA slowly build Nate a personality, a place in the current Marvel U, and if things haven't changed in 18 months time, then get angry. I'm more of the mindset that it's better to have Nate around, even in a diminished role than dead or in limbo again.
ReplyDeleteDe-powered maybe but not at these levels. They could of just went with his levels before the Shaman stuff. Make him powerful but have physical limits. These levels are terrible. How can Nate be too powerful for a team book when they are using Kid Omega,Psylocke and Hope in other team books. There are many characters that keep getting more powerful and more powers i.e. Emma, Psylocke, Hope and Kid Omega. If they can be used in team books then Nate could too with a full set of powers.
ReplyDeleteI definitely understand your argument, it's something that bugged me a bit when it first happened too. The only difference between Nate and all of those other characters is that he was always a loner-type character. Even somebody like Kid Omega had some lackeys. Nate was mainly on his own. Sure, every now and then he'd have somebody like Maddie, or Threnody with him, but if I had to use one word to describe Nate throughout most of his series(especially during his Shaman phase), it would be "loner". If he would have retained his powers, even if he would have lost his telepathy but kept his full TK, he almost definitely would have left and did his own thing again. Having been weakened to this degree is kind of forcing Nate to learn to work within a team environment for the first time in his post-AOA life. What I'm hoping is that Nate does indeed learn how to be a team player(idealistically becomes a leader-type, since he has that type of charisma), and then gradually(or all at once, I'm not picky!) regains his powers. Since he's now somebody who understands the value of teamwork, he can stick around and either lead the New Mutants(or co-lead with Dani) or graduate to one of the main X-teams. I see it as DnA breaking down Nate in order to build him back up again... Or at least that's what I hope happens! I'm always happy to talk with another Nate fan(there are FAR too few of us!), so I def understand your frustration with the way Nate's been used lately, but I still have confidence that DnA will end up turning Nate into a major league player, the way he always should have been.
ReplyDeleteI gotta agree with X-man75 on this one. When Nate was in his solo title there were times he lost almost all his psionic power and was left with all but one. Once with only his raw TK...didn't ask for assistance, instead did his own thing. Another instance, he was left only with raw TP... Joined Havok and the brotherhood, but soon found himself renigging on that team in order to once again do his own thing. Nate Grey just isn't a team player ideally. Sure, he had some connections (you can't have a solo series as long as his without some connection to major players) but as he alluded to Hope in New Mutants 33 I believe, he just isn't a person looking for family and friend assistance. So the only way to get someone who is a loner to interact with a team function is to strip him of dang near everything. No need for the fans to worry right now about his power set....both Hope and Dani Moonstar have both confirmed that he's gradually (baby steps) increasing in power. The main thing all Nate fans need to keep strongly in mind is that Nate's character hasn't been altered. Its wonderful that DnA have kept all of Nate's core values as he had in Xman 1 - 75! However, without powers, Nate is now having to adapt to change and needs assistance for the first time in his life. What this will forcefully do for his character development is make him all the more great when his powers are fully restored. By then he will have friends and family he truly cares about on a individual and one on one basis...in essence, a team player (no longer a solo act). This will give X-man more dimension and character which people can connect with and grow to love. Let's face it, you honestly can't have a character so closely related to main focus characters such as Scott Summers, Jean Grey, Rachel Grey, Stryfe, Apocalypse and Cable (characters the majority of comic readers adore) and have the one with the greatest potential reduced to remaining an outsider with trust issues forever. That's a misuse and utterly ridiculous! DnA have done a marvelous job of revamping Nate Grey (the X-royalty factor) but at the same time, keeping him Nate Grey. In other words, not altering his persona. If they did that, true Nate Grey fans would have a hard time identifying him with the Nate they read about during his solo. That my friends would be similar to the mess known as the DC reboot....unacceptable!
ReplyDeletePerfectly put, Radtrainer. DnA had to take a character that had always been a loner and try to work him into a team book. To break Nate out of his pre-established personality, something drastic had to happen, or he'd simply leave the team and do his own thing in Marvel limbo. As you pointed out, Radtrainer, there WERE times Nate lost either his TK or telepathy and he STILL acted as a loner. DnA probably took that into account and realized they'd have to strip Nate even further. Plus he was rescued by the New Mutants and brought to Utopia while he was at his lowest and was accepted there, which would probably have him feel somewhat indebted to Lord Summers, and especially the New Mutants. I firmly believe in time we'll get not just an uber-powerful Nate back but an uber-powerful Nate who actually has teammates he cares about and wouldn't just leave on a whim, AND he'll be more ingrained in the main x-books, which is what Nate has always deserved.
ReplyDeleteYes!...yes!...already! See guys, me and X are on the same page! DnA had to find a creative way to enlist or, rather, merge all powerful lone wolf 'Xman' Nate Grey into the rest of the x (and marvel for that matter) continuum. In other words, grant Nate Grey STAR TREATMENT aka the x-royalty factor! I admit it sucks that in order to do that effectively, our beloved Xman had to be reduced to an X-premature (or Xchump, however you wish to look at the glass), but in order to keep things legit....it had to be done. But its not all bad because Nate needs to be enhanced in other ways besides the use of his awesome power set. Now...Nate is forced to train and make it against enemies while he is disadvantaged. This will make him a better warrior which people can now respect. Personally...I always felt that Nate had it WAY TOO EASY because his powers would always consume most challengers, but now he has to EARN victories. I always liked his identical half-brother Cable for this reason. Cable's disease made it challenging for him because he couldn't ALWAYS use or rely on his power set, which is why his victories always deemed deeper respect than Nate Grey's. Now Nate gets the opportunity to earn every Marvel fans respect whether they personally like him or not. I mean, not everyone loves Cable, but everyone can't deny the respect that character embodies and deserves. This is why I strongly hope that Nathan Summers isn't axed from Marvel before or after this Avenger vs. Xmen event. Cable I feel is the perfect tutor for Nate's rise to greatness. Unfortunately, if Cable is with Nate, Hope Summers most likely will be too. Many people aren't for that, but I personally like Nate and Hope's interaction. The problem with such a union: 1) a great many of Marvel fans hate Hope, also 2) a great many Marvel fans feel that Nate has a problem controlling his hormones around redheads. Lol. I personally don't have a problem with Hope being around Nate (even though I feel she is taking Nate's shine somewhat being now depowered), for this connection between the 3 of them (Cable, Hope & Xman) would be nice regarding the resurrection of Phoenix Jean Grey and could possibly help with power upgrades for Nate Grey, since he has all 3 requirements for a Phoenix merger! If Hope and Nate want to form a relationship or that sort (as sick as it is!..ugh) that's their business. Besides, about the time something so grotesque were to happen, drum role.........NOW ENTERING: THRENODY and THE DEATH ARMY! UH OH!
ReplyDeleteP.S. And let's not even talk about the TODDLER/CHILD with Thren!
Bringing Nate back into the X/Marvel universe and how it's being done is actually another good point, Radtrainer. For many fans, this is probably the first they've read/heard of Nate, in this series. If he came in at full power and remained at full power after the first storyarc, people new to him may start to look at him the way many fans look at Hope. Especially fans of the New Mutants characters. Imagine you're a fan of... say Sunspot, and some new writers take over, introduce a character you've never heard of and then had that character basically overshadow your favorite character. I actually like the comparison to Hope(the Hope-Effect!) because that's what always pissed me off about her, and why I couldn't get into her as a character... Because she's written absurdly more powerful than everybody around her. It's like she could do no wrong. So while we fans of Nate may like to see him return to the Marvel U in all his glory, smiting every villain in his path and barely breaking a sweat, non-Nate fans might then see Nate as a Hope-like character, one who is annoyingly better/more important than everybody else and turn against him.
ReplyDeleteI'm personally pulling for a Nate/Dani relationship... Yeah, I get that Dani is kind of/sort of with Cannonball, but Nate and Dani have a nice fit. As for Nate and Hope, while it is kind of creepy considering who raised her, it's not as if they are real family... Cable didn't actually have a hand in Hope's conception. Of course if they DID go that route and have Nate and Hope have a relationship I'd be all kinds of annoyed seeing as that I can't stand Hope and would hate to see my favorite character stuck with her. But could I see it happening? Yeah. I could. If nothing it would make for one hell of an uncomfortable scene when Cable found out!
Nate and Dani huh? Not right now, but possibly down the road if they keep in touch. Dani seems to really care for and rooting for Nate to advance, but she at present is still head over hills with Cannonball. I'll be glad when Marvel decides to stop making Gutherie a punk and put him back into action. He's suppose to be with Wolverine, but haven't seen or heard of him doing anything. What a waste of an awesome character who was once mainstream and lead. It's like he just gave up and handed things over to his girlfriend. Anyway, back to Nate. To me, maybe it's undercover messaging, but I feel based on the photos and sly commentary between the two, that Hope is somewhat attracted and digging Nate Grey and vice versa. The line about 'your my Hope' and 'please tell me you don't talk to all girls like that' seems deliberate and sneeky. Maybe I'm just reading to much into it, but it does seem double meaningish (flirting). And we all know Nate was attracted to Siren and Madelyn before and after her known connection with Cable (sick, but understandable due to Nate not knowing at first but already developed feelings for her once he found out such connections). Hope is young and has no family ties truthfully and Nate knows that. To Hope, Nate is young, attractive and she has a heightened curiousity about him, especially when you combine what kind of qualities Cable has. She more than likely is looking for that in Nate Grey and is drawn to him because of it. Either that, or she trying to see or find out if or what makes him different. Whatever the scenario, she is intrigued by Nate. It even seemed she was trying to find a loophole to disconnect Nate being a fatherish figure/connect, with age being the obvious/greatest reasoning behind that disconnect attempt. But the thought of 'Man....my foster pops was hot back in the day!' To me is still quite sickening! Ugh! But I can't deny the historical facts of their character as well as the obviousness in flirtation I see on the panel. But maybe it won't go that route. Once again, we can always HOPE not. But I'm cool if it does...at least she's pretty. Lol. But if Dani ever dumps loser Gutherie for being a lil punk, her eyes definitely could shift to Grey. Besides, we all know that Nate doesn't have a problem with interracial relationships. Do I need to say it.......THRENODY (she's black). Lol. So I don't see why he would have a problem with a Native American. Besides, Moonstar is HOT! But after the Shaman thing, Nate quite possibly isn't even looking for a relationship. However, that could change due to him not being able to fulfill that role at present (Dorie's doing that) and now he's mingling with others instead of working alone. Besides, Nate is still a youth, not quite past the bloom just yet....so his attraction hormones are still active, especially without the shamanic distraction.
ReplyDeleteI could NOT agree more about Cannonball! He is a character who should be FIRMLY on one of the main X-teams right now, NOT in the New Mutants or as a forth or fifth string character in Wolverine and the X-Men! Sam's first run with the X-Men(from the 90's) was one of the worst things I've read to this day! Before I read about his time on the X-Men, I had read pretty much the entire X-Force run, and was horrified to see him go from competent leader in X-Force to bumbling buffoon in X-Men! And the worst thing was that there was never a pay-off to Sam being a loser on the X-Men! It wasn't like he was star-struck initially and then got over it and went on to have a great run with the X-Men, he came in as a gawking rookie, did nothing of note, and ended up being "demoted" back to X-Force to play the role of big fish in a small pond... Terrible...
ReplyDeleteAs for Nate and Hope, I don't disagree with anything you put here, Radtrainer. He IS still a relatively young guy(although he does seem older than he is), and isn't that much older than Hope(what, maybe he's a year or two older? Tops?), plus he's a good-looking, mysterious guy, who also has that whole wounded bird thing going for him. Add his natural charm/charisma and I can't say I'd be shocked to see an attraction there. As for Nate, Hope is Our Lord and Savior and all, so what's NOT to like?! ;-) But yeah, despite how the relationship COULD be seen as kind of/sort of creepy, I could see it happening, and after what I'm sure would be an initial reaction of anger on my part(I hate Hope!), I'd probably be fine with the relationship after a month or two.
"But after the Shaman thing, Nate quite possibly isn't even looking for a relationship." I'd probably say that this is the most likely explanation though. Not only the shaman thing, but he lost a MAJOR piece of himself when his powers were cut, so I wouldn't think Nate would be in the right place mentally or emotionally for a relationship with ANYBODY! Maybe in another 6-12 issues I could see him being more comfortable with his current limitations, but right now you'd have to think Nate has more on his mind than a relationship.
Yep, that low self-esteem (New Mutants 34) tends to take the cake as regards Nate and where his head is currently at! That diminish of power is right now where the majority of poor Nate's focus is. Nate feels handi-capped and he's having an extremely hard time dealing with that. Poor fella! As far as the reason Nate appears older/wiser than what his age is... was due to his shaman role. Before shamanism, Nate was a wild child as most youths are. However, when he became shaman Nate pretty much grew up over night. All such youthful tendencies seemed to had just vanished almost as if they never existed. As shaman, he really seemed very uninterested in girls and relationships as was the opposite previously to his shaman role (ex. Siren, Maddie, Thren, Aurora -especially when barely clothed, & even the blonde girl whispering sexual inuendos in his ear at the club....remember). I loved how DnA stayed true to his shaman character when in hell Nate still spoke of trans-dimensional travel as a non-foreign notion/concept despite his current limitations in performing such a feat. In Nate's mind, it was still simple....if only he had access to his now dormant (due to nerve injury) powerset (which he will recover with time....because nerve damage slowly heals). So if Nate still reasons as the shaman to a HUGE degree, his interest wouldn't be consumed with females....although his current circumstances and situation may alter that as you said about, and I say, 9 or so issues down the line at least. I find it awesome how we seem to both think alike when it comes to Nate Grey. Your the first I've ever ran across that does....weird, ironic & cool at the same time X!...love your blog!
ReplyDeleteYup, Nate becoming the shaman and all was definitely what turned him from impulsive and reckless Nate to the more pensive and distant Nate. That's something I'm hoping DnA bring back to Nate actually, some of his original personality. I'm not saying that Nate should be running around blowing things up and acting impetuously all the time or anything, but seeing him as his old charismatic self would be nice. A nice blend of the two different Nates would be great, and is what I think DnA will probably end up creating, as Nate is already a slightly more open character now then he was when he was in full-blown shaman mode. But again, that almost definitely is because of his current power limitations. I'd actually be curious to see how DnA write Nate if they do decide to give him some of his former power set back... Would he revert back to his shaman self or would he continue to become more team oriented?
ReplyDelete"I loved how DnA stayed true to his shaman character when in hell Nate still spoke of trans-dimensional travel as a non-foreign notion/concept despite his current limitations in performing such a feat." You know, I didn't even pick up on that at the time, but that is an AWESOME point! I mean you're 100% right, traveling to other dimensions SHOULD be like nothing to Nate(he did it all the time anyway!), and he acted as such. That's an awesome pick-up, Radtrainer.
"Your the first I've ever ran across that does....weird, ironic & cool at the same time X!" What can I say, we brilliant people tend to think alike! :D
He's definitely gonna be a blend...more mature, but impulsive when need be. He definitely has shamanism in him, that maturity is not leaving. It's the element he needs to become a man. However, the current circumstances may alter that a tadbit due to new direction in life which alters the shaman role he recently had. The reality is this: Nate's going mainstream, therefore going back to loner mode is definitely opposite of what DnA is trying to go with Nate. But if he becomes popular enough (and I'm sure he will) with Marvel fans after the longevity of x-royalty treatment, I definitely could see him receiving a volume 2 solo title again; this time more connected with the Marvel universe as a whole instead of distant. I personally look forward to X-man becoming an equal to Cable according to Marvel fan popularity. That would be an awesome feat for a former lone wolf type character such as Nate.
ReplyDeleteI can only wish everything you typed there comes true, Radtrainer! You've basically described my hopes and dreams for Nate since I first started reading about him! A successful mini followed by an ongoing? With Nate still in New Mutants? THAT'S what I'm hoping for!
ReplyDeleteMy future hope (ugh!..gotta reword that)....uummm 'wish' for Nate Grey is simple. That he still interacts with the New Mutants, but graduate to an X-men team only because his powers will gradually surpass the team as a whole causing team dynamic problems...unless he leads as Cable did. Nate's character and true power set, even if Marvel decides to cut it by 2/3s (and trust me when I say THAT'S ALOT), is definitely strong enough and deserving of the main squad. Let's look at the facts, X-Man's solo held its own in sales (despite small popularity) most of the time without any ties to the Marvel Universe. Maybe the biggest ties being Onslaught and the Twelve events (which I might add FYI: Nate had IMPORTANT ROLES in), but beyond that...nope. If his solo can stand alone, then he's definitely deserving of the main squad. I also remember in the X-man Annual '96, Forge spoke of the future Nate saying that it was because of the AGE OF HEROES that earth 616 never became torn as the AOA (earth 295) and that it was future Nate who planned the events in annual '96 to ensure he met up with AOA Forge earlier than those events that took place within the annual '96. the reason I keep alluding back to the X-man Annual '96 is because therein lies some extreme importance! This is what always blew my mind: When Nate apparently died in issue 75, I always wondered how they would get him to that event known as the Age of Heroes as well as back to the earlier days of AOA in order to plan the events of annual '96. But with DnA....ah, alas, I see how now...the big picture has come to focus; and someone earlier commented/posted about Marvel decided to bring Nate back for a REASON???!!!.....huuggmn. And let me think......a storyline known as the Age of Heroes hasn't been written yet to my recollection...has it X?! If so, that might change a few things and I definitely need to read that story arc. If not, who all are considered Heros in this so-called Age of Heroes?...no one really knows yet. So it behooves me to believe that Nate's reason for being reinstalled in the Marvel Universe was to give Nate his proper dwelling place of importance in the x and marvel community. With all that being said, I strongly believe after Nate's growth to popularity with the readers, he will also be deserving of a self title comic: X-man vol. 2 in which he would now have more relevance throughout the Marvel Universe. Here's hoping in volume 2 he'll start interacting with the Heroes such as any of the X-men, Spiderman again, Ironman, Thor, Hulk again, and the list goes on and on. Think about all the things I just stated strongly. (Reread if you need).....it just all makes sense.
ReplyDeleteYou know what's really kind of fascinating? After Siege ended and we exited the Dark Reign era, Marvel actually spoke about the next era(pre-Fear Itself) as being the Heroic Age AND published a mini-series CALLED Age of Heroes! How wild is that?! And this would have been right around when Nate was brought back, because the New Mutants went to get him from Sugar Man AFTER Siege, which would have been DURING the Heroic Age! Now I really, REALLY want to dig that X-Man Annual out and give it a read(and maybe a review!)! I don't know if Marvel/DnA planned all of that out, but if they did, and if they remembered all of that from that annual, then that is ALL kinds of awesome! Just so ya know, Radtrainer, the Age of Heroes mini-series was just a bunch of stories following various characters in a post-Dark Reign world.
ReplyDeleteThat's exactly the thing, Nate must have had a decent fan following back in the late 90's or I'd figure his comic wouldn't have made it ALLLLL the way to an issue 75, especially during the mid-90's when Marvel would can a series after only like 7 issues if it wasn't selling. I'm glad you mentioned the Twelve storyline because that was always something that bugged me... The issue of X-Man that x-over with the Twelve storyline wasn't a REAL x-over issue(I think the Twelve officially x-over with Uncanny, X-Men and Cable). It was weird that Nate was a central part of that event, and yet his series didn't officially crossover with the event itself... I mean if anything you'd think making, let's say part 4 of the Twelve story appear in an issue of X-Man would have boosted sales... I wasn't collecting at the time so I don't know if there was a reason for that, but in retrospect it seems really strange.
Ooow oow! Do you happen to have that Age of Heroes mini X?! If you do, please please do your boy Rad-t a fav and do a retro on the whole thing...all the issues. That mini I was unaware of. I mean, I lucked out finding out the Nate Grey returned by skimming the net. I picked up when they published the last installment of Dark X-men. Luckily I was able to purchase all 3 previous issues. I never followed the Dark Era in which Norman Osborn rose to Darkness. For instance, I don't even know how Osborn even obtained the armored suit from Stark (not that I really care, just saying). Last time I read about Osborn, he was a Spiderman villian known as Green Goblin....didn't even know he had other ambitions besides Peter Parker mainly. I'll get back to you in a bit in regards the Twelve storyline because there is something interesting on my mind regarding it which I believe will interest you.
ReplyDeleteI know I have the first issue of that Age of Heroes mini(I saw it in a box of mine a few days back by chance), but I don't know if I bothered getting the rest of the mini... I almost definitely did, since I tend to buy everything, but I'll def take a look and next light comic week I have I'll have that scheduled for a retro-review.
ReplyDeleteIt sucked big time, but just so ya know, Osborn rose to power at the end of Secret Invasion, at which time Tony was deposed from SHIELD and Osborn took it over, which led to him gaining access to some of Tony's suits that Tony didn't have time to hide/destroy.
"Last time I read about Osborn, he was a Spiderman villain known as Green Goblin....didn't even know he had other ambitions besides Peter Parker mainly." <-- That right there! That is why I hate Osborn as a major foe for the Avengers! Osborn is too low-level a guy to be taking on the Avengers. I know Bendis loves the Osborn character from his Ultimate Spider-Man run, but that doesn't mean Osborn works as a foe, or should be anywhere near the Avengers... That bugs me so much... And cool, I'll be waiting to hear about the Twelve, it's been probably like 5 or 6 years since I brought and read that one, so I'm sure some of it slipped my mind.