The New Mutants arrived in Marvel Comics in 1982, debuting in Marvel Graphic Novel #4 by Chris Claremont and Bob McLeod. The New Mutants was a teenage mutant team that would bring back the idea of Professor X helping young mutants following the apparent deaths of the X-Men. It was a very different story than what was shown in the New Mutants movie in 2020.
While the origin of the kids’ entry into the world of superheroes was different, the names and faces were mostly the same. The New Mutants started as children trainees, but they became so much more over time. These kids grew into their roles, some becoming major members of other teams such as X-Factor and the Avengers. These young heroes became powerhouses in the Marvel Universe and are equal in stature and power to the X-Men.
Karma
When Professor X and Moria had Rahne at the Xavier Institute, a second mutant was also introduced at this time. This was Xi’an Coy Manh and Reed Richards had contacted Xavier to help the young mutant. When Xavier learned if he turned her away, she would turn to the Hellfire Club or Magneto, he relented.
With Karma as the first New Mutant, Xavier made one proclamation. He said he would train these mutants in how to use their powers, but he would not send them into battle for any reason. Karma ended up a long-time member until she lost her powers after M-Day. She later regained her telepathic ability to control people’s minds and currently resides in the mutant utopia Krakoa.
Wolfsbane
The second member of the New Mutants was Rahne Sinclair, also known as Wolfsbane. Moria MacTaggert was trying to convince her old friend, Charles Xavier, to restart his school and train young mutants who needed guidance on how to use their powers and protection from potential threats to their existence. The first student Moira brought to Xavier’s was Rahne.
This story played out in Marvel Graphic Novel #4, and it was Moria that saved Wolfsbane’s life when a group of men hunted her down to save her from the “demon” inside her. Moria found Rahne on her own land and was able to get her to safety and then to the Xavier Institute. Wolfsbane never wanted to be a mutant but was one of the New Mutants’ longest-standing members.
Mirage
Mirage is Danielle Moonstar, the main character from the New Mutants movie. Just like in the film, where her father tried to protect and save her after her powers developed. In the comics, her grandfather and Professor X were blood brothers who served in the war together. Mirage was untrustworthy of any white man, but because her grandfather insisted on it, she joined the New Mutants to learn control of her powers and gain revenge against the men who killed her grandfather. Mirage was one of the co-leaders of the team at times with Cannonball, joining Storm as a powerful female mutant leader in the 1980s.
Sunspot
While playing soccer in Brazil, Roberto Da Costa grew angry when he got into a fight with another player and that was the first time his powers manifested themselves. His father locked him away for his safety, especially with Donald Pierce trying to kill every new mutant that showed up.
Moira, Karma, and Dani went to find Sunspot to bring him to Professor X for help. They ended up in a battle with Pierce and his minions but were able to save Roberto and bring him into the New Mutants. Sunspot never felt comfortable with his powers as a teen, but as he got older he became one of the most powerful members of the New Mutants.
Cannonball
When Cannonball’s powers first manifested, he was working in the mines. Unlike the movie, where he accidentally killed his father, in this case, he saved someone’s life. This put him in the crosshairs of Donald Pierce, who convinced Sam to join him.
Cannonball attacked the New Mutants when they tried to save Sunspot, and he was their first superpowered villain. However, he had no idea what was going on and ended up turning on Pierce and Xavier invited him to join the team. Along with Mirage, Cannonball ended up a team leader on more than one occasion and was the only founding member to join X-Force when the New Mutants disbanded.
Magma
The first new member to join after the core lineup was a young woman named Magma. Karma went missing after a battle and the team was down to four members. They went to Brazil and set off on an expedition with Sunspot’s mother. When a mutant villain named Selene captured them, they found this new mutant Magma.
Magma teamed up with the New Mutants to beat Selene. After this, her father told her to go to the United States to learn how to control her powers and she joined the team. Like Karma, Magma left the team early on to search for clues regarding her true lineage. She shared a brief romance with the Hellion Empath before returning Nova Roma.
Magik
Magik made her debut in X-Men comics as the little sister of Colossus. She ended up trapped in Limbo, and while it was only for seconds in real-world time, she was there for years. During her absensce, her mutant ability of teleportation not only developed, but she also trained in dark magic and became a powerful sorceress.
Illyana Rasputin demanded to accompany the New Mutants when they were out to save a young mutant named Cypher. She ended up joining the team just in time for the Demon Bear Saga, which is what the movie was based on. She grew far beyond the New Mutants and is now the Sorceress Supreme of Limbo.
Warlock
While the New Mutants were battling the Demon Bear, an alien crashed onto Earth and went into hiding at the Xavier Institute. This alien was a techno-organic being known as Warlock and when the New Mutants battled him, they decided to find help talking to him.
They sought out Doug Ramsey and he was able to explain that Warlock’s father, Magus, was trying to kill his son. The New Mutants saved him and took him into their group. Since that time, Warlock and Doug remained connected to each other, a relationship that has lasted despite both of them dying at various points in Marvel continuity.
Cypher
Douglas Ramsey joined the New Mutants at the same time as Warlock. He was already appearing in the comic books as a friend of the New Mutants before Professor X realized he was a mutant who could understand and speak any language, either with other humans or with computers.
He joined with Warlock and became a key member until his demise by the Ani-Mator. Sadly, fans did not take to him very well but his death was one of the most heartbreaking in X-Men comics because of how devastated his teammates felt. Doug would later be revived as Douglok and then as his human self following the events of Necrosha.
The X-Terminators
There was not another new member of the New Mutants until New Mutants #76 by Louise Simonson and Rich Buckler. This wasn’t just one new member, either, as four people joined at the same time. These were the X-Terminators members, Boom-Boom, Skids, Rusty (then known as Firefist), and Rictor.
The X-Terminators were trainees of the mutant supergroup X-Factor. After Xavier’s Mansion was destroyed and the New Mutants had no home, Cyclops offered them a place to stay and the X-Terminators merged with the New Mutants. Rusty and Skids would later be recruited by the villain Stryfe for his Mutant Liberation Front while Boom-Boom and Rictor would join Cable’s militant X-group X-Force along with Cannonball.
