Good Ideas, But Not Good Writing
Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning complete their first arc of New Mutants, presenting some interesting ideas but burying them in some weak writing that drags everything down to mediocre levels.
The problem I had early on with this series was that Marvel never really gave a good answer to the who and why to the New Mutants. What was the unique point and purpose of this team beyond '80s nostalgia? When DnA came on board, they came with an interesting answer. The New Mutants are the X-Men's clean up team, investigating and tying up loose ends. That is an exciting concept, and there was no better way to start this direction than by having the team go after two refuges from the Age of Apocalypse.
However, there are much better ways to write this story.
DnA have two very clear agendas in this issue, and the fact that those agendas are so blatantly obvious hurt the story. The first is to portray Dani Moonstar, currently without powers, as a tough character who can more than hold her own in these kinds of situations. It's a fine goal, but it's also poorly done. DnA do this by having Dani go one-on-one against the Sugar Man and dominate him in a fight scene that goes on too long and doesn't make sense at any step of the way. Early on, Dani takes a hit from Sugar Man's tongue to her face. This is the end of the fight where Dani dies, right? Sugar Man is known for his crazy razor sharp tongue, so the only reasonable conclusion is that Dani is getting her head sliced off here. Well, no. She takes it like a mild slap to the face and keeps going. From that point on, it is a one-sided fight with Sugar Man really not even looking like he is trying to fight Dani. DnA go way overboard in trying to sell Dani as a capable non-powered combatant and only succeed in portraying her as the writers' pet.
The other goal of the issue is to reduce Nate Grey to a usable state. We are presumably going to see Nate regularly in this series, and that won't work if he is still his omnipotent shaman self. It is understandable, but DnA manage it in such a generic way. Rather than a big moment, it feels like a tacked on moment of the story where he burns out some of his power.
Then there is the other Age of Apocalypse refuge, Sugar Man, who DnA simply do a poor job of writing. It shouldn't need to be said that Sugar Man is one weird character. This is not true only in his appearance but in his speech as well. DnA really do not even bother trying to write him in any unique or characteristic way. Their portrayal of him is rather bland. This is on top of the already noted treatment he got in his fight with Dani, which took place after a scene in which Cyclops explains what a threat he is supposed to be. This is poor writing all around.
Despite the poor writing, there is an underlying foundation of good ideas here. The scene where Cyclops is educating the younger X-Men on extant threats like the Sugar Man is a smart one. Sugar Man's motivation being that he simply wants to return home is a fitting one, and Dani's refusal to let him get off that easily also shows her in a good light. The show of cooperation between the New Mutants and Steve Rogers is also a good move.
What it comes down to is that while DnAs' hearts are in the right place with things like Dani Moonstar their heads are not. They aren't amateurs, but this reads like it was written by amateurs. The lazy characterization of Sugar Man, the heavy-handed pushing of Dani, the quick fix for Nate Grey. This is not how good stories are done. You can have the ideas, but you need to be able to pull them off as well.