Remember When The Old Mutants Mindcontrolled The New Ones?

Today's entry is straight from Claremont's latter days on New Mutants...

Back in # 47, Illyana tried to teleport the team back home... Unfortunately, her control over time and space was sometimes questionable at best. That's why the New Mutants got seperated and lost in space/time, ending up in very different alternate future realities. Issue # 48 saw Karma, Wolfsbane, Sunspot and Magma trying to survive in a Days Of Future Past style future, while # 49 featured the remaining members of the team stranded in a future where mutants were the ruling class.

However, that also meant humans were being repressed and that didn't sit well with Moonstar especially. That's why she and Cannonball try to steal some medicine from the mutant part of twon to give it to the needy in the human slums. Kinda like a post modern alternate future Robin Hood.

"That's right... everyone who isn't wearing a slavetag!"

Oh, that's right... the humans weren't just being treated as second class citizens, they were actively being targeted and enslaved. In fact, they were little more than breeding stock for future mutants. And as soon as a child showed any significant mutant potential, it was 'culled'. A clean way of describing this...

"I don't want your blood money! Give me back my children!"

Cannonball and the others engage the soldiers and manage to chase them away. Apparently, they had been stranded in this future for quite a while by the time the issue starts. They know all about the social injustice and the other crimes committed against humanity. They even meet Katie Power, formerly of Power Pack but now an old woman still trying to fight the good fight. But what they don't know, is who is running this utopia for mutants...

 Long story short... the couple behind the table are elder versions of Magma and Sunspot. In this future, Magneto had allied the X-men and the New Mutants with the innercircle of the Hellfire Club. As the years passed, the influence of the lords cardinal grew and Sunspot and Magma took their rightful place as ruler of the club ánd the new mutant utopia.

Upon seeing the younger versions of their long dead former teammates, the elder Roberto and Amara realise the threat they could potentially form against their new world order. That's why they personally accompany the combat units assigned to take the New Mutants in.

"'Lock... quick... while we're masked by the flames... Merge your body with mine!"

And while Warlock and Cypher... merge... the elder Magma and Sunspot prove that all those years enslaving mankind hasn't dulled their combat skills one bit. Boy, that Xavier sure knows how to teach...

The New Mutants are forced to surrender and taken prisoner. But even in captivity, they manage to cause so much trouble that future Sunspot decides they are in sore need of a... different point of view.

"This may seem a horrible fate... but you'll feel much better when it's done.
In fact, I guarantee you'll thank me for it."

Ahhh, yeah... blatant mind control of people from the past, with no regard for the possible repercussions to the timeline should they ever return to their own time. Roberto the elder is clearly evil, and artist Bret Blevins sure draws him that way. 

'Evil future Roberto' looks a whole lot less menacing when Jackson Guice draws him in # 50. Not that the New Mutants have the energy or the free will to notice the change. While waiting for their mind control sessions, they realise they're already being subjected to an entirely different type of mental meddling.

"Some sort of hypnotic field, chief. The room itself is soothing us, calming us down, 

putting us in the mood to accept our fate."

Yeah... So they were more than ready to hear Magma and Sunspot's sales pitch on the whole 'let us destroy every single thing that makes you you in favor of our idea of utopia'... 

"This re-education process will show you the whole picture. Teach you what every child here learns from birth... so you'll accept us for what we are.
You'll fit in. You'll be happy."

Fortunately for the New Mutants, the Old Mutants were startled by the arrival of their really old mentor Charles Xavier... They got there with a little help from Illyana Rasputin who'd managed to locate Charles, Lilandra and the Starjammers earlier that same issue. 

They really were only supposed to find and rescue the New Mutants, but Charles couldn't help himself and verbally slapped Evil Future Roberto around a little...

"An honest belief. That is clear in your thoughts.
Therein lies the tragedy of your life... and this future... Farewell."

Oooooh snap! So remember kids, stay in school, don't do drugs and don't become mind controlling future despots... Excelsior!

Post 200: Failure and Mind Control Are Always An Option At Xavier's...

"Welcome child, to my school for gifted youngsters... and to the New Mutants."

And welcome to the 200th blog post as well. What better way to celebrate this surprising milestone than by flipping the script. This entry won't feature any mind control at all... A refreshing change of pace after the past several blogs on just how insidious and callous professor Charles Xavier can be when it comes to respecting the sanctity of other people's minds... especially his students'. 

New Mutants # 13 was all about Amara Aquilla's first days at school and more importantly: it showed the most powerful telepath in the world had morals and knew restraint, even when he had every reason to meddle and muddle.

For instance, he just took in an insecure, emotional girl who involuntarily causes earthquakes whenever she gets even the slightest bit upset...

"Until I've established the parameters of her ability... I'd best maintain a constant, light rapport with her. That way I can monitor her emotional state 

and prevent any accidental tectonic catastrophies."

Now, sure, having Charles decide on his own to form a psychic connection with a young girl may seem wrong... But what choice did he have? If he'd told Amara flat out he'd be inside her head as a safety precaution, she might have flipped out completely, which would have triggered a massive earthquake.

In fact, later that same day Amara loses it during a welcome barbecue thrown in her honor. Emotional after Cannonball accidentally spilled grape soda on a dress that belonged to her deceased mother, Amara generates tremors, fissures and lava spouts...

But Charles doesn't use his newly formed rapport to calm her down. In fact, all he does is gently check in on Amara as she's all alone, sobbing in the woods.

"The night's getting chill. As soon as she's asleep, I'll have the mutants put her to bed."

Again, Xavier could have taken over Amara or gently nudged her to return home 'for her own good'. Instead, he goes out of his way to give her as much leeway and personal freedom as possible... And he isn't even lusting after one of his underage students for a change. His heart and soul belong to princess Lilandra, who was half a galaxy away fighting to retake her throne, alongside the Starjammers.

And just in case you figured Charles only treated newcomers this well... Here he is the next day teaching computer science to the entire team. Now, computers in early 1984 were huge, cumbersome and anything but user friendly... that's why some New Mutants had great difficulty mastering its intricate complexities... 

"How can Rahne think that? It just isn't so. But how do I convince the poor girl?"

Charles is a virtual saint... He could have saved everyone a lot of time by simply using his telepathy to teach Sam and the others all they needed to know about computers. He used this instant mass-learning telepathic technique before, when he taught all the non-English speaking X-men and New Mutants the language in their sleep.

Instead, he takes the time to give Sam step-by-step instructions, allowing the boy the satisfaction of mastering the tasks on his own... And as for Rahne Sinclair's latest ignorance fuelled rant, when the professor overheard those strong, negative thoughts, he genuinely wants to convince her of the opposite. A subtle mind control whammy would have cleared all that suffering right up...

Later that same day, it's time for Amara's first trial run in the Danger Room. After handing her a uniform and the codename Magma, Charles wants her to burn through a metal beam to get a handle on her abilities. Magma is hesitant, to say the least...

"I will not be lied to! 

And I am not a slave to be paraded about and made to perform on command!"

Poor Charles... all he wants to do is help her, but Amara basically accuses him of using her a slave for his own amusement. Gee, I thought her mutant powers involved tectonics, not precognition? Still, she was way out of line, something she realised later that night when she couldn't sleep.

"He could have forced me to his side... but he has not. That counts for something."

Amara makes some rather valid points here, even though she spent most of the issue crying herself to sleep. Professor Xavier cán seem a bit creepy, considering his powers and their unspoken implications... Also, being bald, stuffy, stern and a teacher doesn't usually win one too many popularity contests either.

Plagued by all these doubts about the professor, her powers and presence on the team, Amara decided to go for a brief stroll when she spotted the lights were still on in Charles' study...

"Why is he up so late? Is it because of me?"

It's really difficult to remain sympathetic to Magma in this issue, when she so systematically acts like a spoiled brat who thinks the entire world is supposed to revolve around her... Which, with her seismic abilities and a little training...it actually might. But to answer your question Amara, no... the professor wasn't thinking about you. He was having an intergalactic Skype chat with Lilandra...

"If need be, from the gates of hell itself. I'll be waiting. Farewell, my love."

Charles could have very easily picked up Amara's approach and either erased this personal meeting from her memories, or simply have 'ordered' her to return to bed. He didn't do any of these things, he actually opened up to her, revealing a bit of his private life and feelings in order to gain the trust of his newest student.

And it worked.

"Have you ever failed with a student?"

...

Yeah Charles, have you? Let's review...

... Well, think positive: two out of four survived...

...

... Whaddayamean he can't fly? He's called Thunderbird, isn't he?...

...

... Evil Xavier's first crime is one against fashion...

...

... When his evil counterpart took over, Charles developed an unhealthy appetite for the young...

...

... Ah, she'll be back. Resurrection's her thing...

...

... Don't worry Peter, I'll make sure you won't feel a thing while the acid eats you alive...

...

... What can I say, those televangelists can be ver-ry persuasive...

...

..."Hey kids, don't let my new look traumatise you too much... Oh, and kill me, please?"...

...

... When the most serene of X-men starts throwing knives at you, rethink your teaching methods...

...

... "Save Angel's life? But I'm already in my pyjamas" ...

Have you ever failed with a student?

"Ow, yes... but that will never stop me trying!"

God bless you for that, Charles Xavier... and God help all your students past, present and future. You just might be the end of all of them. 

Beware the Brain Blasted Bratpack

Its New Mutants Annual # 2 and some explanation might be in order. This annual actually preceeds the Uncanny X-men annual covered in the previous post. That book introduced Longshot to the team, this particular tale is usedbring Psylocke in the Marvel Universe proper.

Introduced in 1976 as Captain Britain's mildly telepathic sister, Betsy Braddock had been through through a rather tumultuous decade before this 1986 annual made her an unwitting pawn of Mojo and Spiral. Long story short: Betsy had just recently been blinded by the assassin Slaymaster. While struggling to deal with her new situation, she was abducted by Mojo who outfitted her with bionic eye implants that also served as cameras that allowed everyone in the Mojoverse to look through her eyes in real time.

In retrospect, this single story idea makes Claremont responsible for the world's first ever reality tv show. But this being Big Mojo rather than Big Brother, the producer needed a little more excitement and decided to stir up some mischief for ratings through the medium he knows best: the airwaves.

With Psylocke firmly in his thrall, Mojo made his 616 television debut on a kids' show that swayed a rather eclectic bunch. Some of the New Mutants showed up, joined by Karma's siblings Leong and Nga and last but not least Butch, Darla and Alfie who had previouslyappeared in the Longshot limited series.

Mojo and Spiral already pretty much controlled their minds by the time they showed up, but Mojo decided they weren't quite there yet so he had Psylocke use some previously unknown and never mentioned again super power to empower Karma's brother and sister so they would, well...

By artificially ageing the mind controlled Leong and Nga, Mojo unlocked their superpowers which were a variant of their psyche controlling sister Karma. The siblings were able to mind control and reshape everyone they came across...

Calling themselves the Bratpack after a popular band of 80s actors, they waited around for the New Mutants to come looking for their missing team members. Leong and Nga, calling themselves 'Template', proceeded to use their powers and controlled the team.... with some noteable exceptions.

Only Magma seemed unaffected by Template's mind control whammy. After Doug and Warlock fled the scene, she tried to make a stand on her own. Guess how that turned out? 

With Magma properly subdued, Template can finally add some new members to Mojo's Bratpack.

Magma, however, is still less than convinced.

Her desperate pleas fall on deaf ears, as the New Mutants actually declare to love their new adult lives. Frustrated by the situation, she runs off. In the meantime, Doug and Warlock decided to join  forces in a rather extreme way that is by no means related to mindcontrol at all... *coughs*

Doug and Warlock quickly discover the Bratpack is being mind controlled by Psylocke, who has been transformed into a Mojo-like creature. Despite gaining new powers through their union, the boys still aren't up to the task of taking her down.

 Mojo Betsy yanks their minds out of their bodies and Doug/Lock finds himself in a hellish mindscape that allows penciller Alan Davis to show just how demented the situation really is.

"...We all float down here..."

Allusions to Stephen King aside, the notion of having Mojo's mind controlled victims represented as helpless merry-go-round rides is a brilliant one.

Naturally, Mojo Betsy tries to force Doug/Lock to take his place on the carousel, but he refuses and in the ensueing fight it turns out the demonesque Betsy on top of the roundabout is actually Spiral who has danced her way into Betsy's brain. Guess what happens when the team manages to free Betsy's actual mind...

Look at Spiral making a case for slavery... "Sure, there's no freedom but at least you'll still have eyes."  Betsy doesn't buy into this 'generous' offer and forcibly removes Spiral from her mind. And once she's gone, everyone wakes up... naked. 

Mojo left Betsy with her bionic eyes intact, which she didn't know were actually cameras, and despite her best efforts she can't force herself to claw them out. The annual ends with Betsy deciding to stay at Xavier's school for gifted youngster for the time being, setting up the sequel in the Uncanny X-men Annual we covered HERE. 

Mind control a la Asgard part 2: Double Trouble

As detailed in the first part, Loki had the Enchantress bring Storm and the New Mutants to Asgard. Storm was to be Loki's queen and Asgard's new thundergod. And the New Mutants? Well, they were expendable and would have died, if not for Illyana Rasputin's failed escape plan that separated and stranded the team across all the nine worlds.

Illyana was the only one left behind and remained in the Enchantress' clutches. Yet, despite the fact  Amora ordered her troops to go out and find the other New Mutants... they came up empty handed. That's when the Enchantress decided to get... creative.

Did I say 'creative'? Well, that and a good dollop of sadomasochistic lesbian dominatrix superhero cosplay thrown in for good measure. C'mon Amora, playtime's over... Hop to it.

Now we're getting somewhere...

Enchantress magically yanked out Magik's evil counterpart... The Darkchilde, a manifestation of all the corruption Illyana's soul suffered during her time in Belasco's Limbo. Dressing her up in Asgardian garb, Enchantress set 'Dark Illyana' out to find her friends... with the little sadistic twist of having the real Illyana feel all the pain her friends might inflict on her evil counterpart.

'Dark Illyana' had little trouble finding most of the New Mutants and she was equally swift in getting them to see her side of things...

"Encased in this suit of eldritch armor, thou art now as much the Enchantress' eager, dutiful slave... as I. Isn't that nice?"

Sunspot not only gets defeated, he's also mind controlled and pressed into service. The same thing happens to Wolfsbane by the way, who was already more than mesmerised by the passion she felt for her wolf prince. Doesn't matter, Illyana can add a double mind control whammy...

"That precious love... is now forever gone from thy life. Thy heart is forever found... to evil!"

"Rahne!" indeed.

She tried to get Cypher next, but Doug was able to escape because Warlock happened to show up at the exact same time. Together, they fled the scene and started looking for the others. The trail led them to the desert, where Karma had lost about all her excess pounds. As luck would have it, both Mirage, Cannonball and Magma showed up in the desert as well... Right on time for Dark Magik to pop in and try and complete her set...

On a non-mindcontrol related topic: just look at how clever Art Adams got while drawing Warlock. His finger actually yells 'scream', while an exclamation mark pops up in his mouth. Nice visual... But, lets get back to the fighting bits...It didn't exactly go well for the New Mutants...

Needless to say, 'Dark Illyana' seemingly manages to snatch them all away and returns them to the Enchantress' lair, much to Amora's delight. But her joy is shortlived...

"Surprise, fiend!"

Karma actually remembered she had the ability to control more than the desert lizards she had for lunch and possessed the fake Illyana and her henchmen. Reading 'Illyana's' memories, Karma learned all she had to know and took the team back to the Enchantress. While the others kept Amora busy, Karma tried to free the real Illyana.

After reuniting Illyana with her 'evil' part, the full New Mutants roster stood united against the Enchantress... and Karma made her move once more.

Illyana took care of Amora by teleporting her to Limbo and placing the Enchantress in the care of her pet demon S'ym. A major victory to be sure, but they were still stuck in Asgard with Storm firmly in Loki's clutches...

Enter... The X-men. The Norn queen Karnilla, an old rival of Loki's, had gotten wind of his plans to use Storm to ascend the Asgardian throne. So, she subtly informed the X-men of the New Mutants' plight in Asgard and also helped them reach the golden realm.

The wolf they saved turns out to the wolf prince that had been courting Rahne. He is desperate to find her, and his enhanced senses along with Wolverine's allow the X-men to look for their lost pupils.

Next time... Mind control a la Asgard part III: Coo-coo-cachoo, who controls who?