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. 

Subtle Brooding part I: Controlling Banzai Charlie, Comatose Suicide Commando

In today's entry, the X-men are about to meet the alien parasitic race known as the Brood, but before that, they have to deal with Charles Xavier. He isn't doing so well.

That's an understatement, if ever there was one. Back in Uncanny X-men # 158, Charles tried to telepathically contact Kitty Pryde and Nightcrawler when he discovered something was wrong deep inside himself. At the time, no one knew he had sensed the growing Brood queen embryo, a creature so vile and horrifying touching its mind was enough to throw Xavier into a coma.

Back then, no one knew much about the Brood. They had served as Deathbird's henchmen in a plot against her sister Lilandra. The Brood fought the X-men and kidnapped Charles and Lilandra, probably implanting the egg behind the scenes in issue # 156.

"How's the professor?"

But because no one knew they were about to do a sequel to Alien without Sigourney Weaver, the X-men took Charles to their base in the Bermuda triangle. There, in spite of Moira MacTaggert's best efforts, he remained completely unresponsive to any and all outside stimuli.

In the old days, Jean Grey would have been able to telepathically connect with him, but she died on the Moon. That's why, in a clever piece of writing on Claremont's part, Shi'ar princess Lilandra called in the help of Oracle, the Imperial Guard's chief telepath. 

"Nothing much happens... as Oracle picks her way, cautiously, carefully... into Xavier's mind."

Ignoring the fact that Dave Cockrum basically gave Oracle the same face, hairdo and headband as Storm... the alien telepath soon made a connection with Charles' mind and the images she was bombarded with were a bit more... intense... than she might have bargained for.

"A curious duality to the man's psychic aura. A sense of hunger... insatiable, predatory, alien... coupled to so foul and evil a presence that the moment she perceives it... She denies it, forgets it."

In retrospect, it seems so clear that Xavier was turning into a Brood. But remember, the gruesome truth of this already rather obvious picture wasn't known. And having Oracle instantly forget what she'd learned, kept the others in the dark as well.

Plus, they had another threat to deal with anyway... Oracle herself.

"She's under his control! He's adding his power to hers, using the psibolts to attack the medical unit... and himself!"

Realising he was fighting a losing battle, Charles used his psychic rapport with Oracle to take over the young telepath's mind and force her to attack his helpless body. In effect, he was committing suicide, prefering death over eventually turning into a host body for the Brood.  

So, just like he'd done once before during the X-men & Micronauts limited series and years later in Grant Morrison's New X-men, Charles is ready to kill himself for the greater good. 

Also, having the mind controlled Oracle scream "KILL! To live... Must kill...I!" While it's generally assumed this was Charles' desperate attempt to tell his students what he was doing, consider this: it might also have been the Brood embryo pleading its case. In order to live, it had to kill as well.

Whoever was behind the wheel didn't succeed anyway. Wolverine's adamantium claws rather conveniently severed the mental connection between Oracle and the professor. Xavier slumped back into his coma for three more issues, finally waking up in # 161 after reliving his memories of meeting Magneto and fighting Baron Strucker over his nazi gold.

"Professor, you're awake! You're all right!"

The fact he woke up at all is a clear sign the Brood egg had gained the upperhand. Charles put himself in a coma to protect himself and his students. Waking up while the embryo was still inside, indicated he had lost and didn't even know it himself.  

Unfortunately, that was just the start of unknowing X-men with Brood embryos inside them, as we'll see in part II of Subtle Brooding: Embry-whoa! 'tcherdoin' there? 

Professor Xavier's A-Jerkin' Your Mind part II: Do As I Say, Not As I Do

In the first chapter of Professor Xavier's A-Jerkin' Your Mind, the New Mutants were at long last reunited with their old mentor. Charles had been in deep space with the Starjammers for months, after a destroyed warpgate made it impossible for him to return home.

But thanks to Illyana Rasputin's teleportation powers, he was virtually back in Westchester already...

Yet, as always, there were a few problems he had to deal with. For instance: last issue the Starjammer was damaged in the fight against Magus... And being in orbit of a planet that self destructed in the aftermath of that confrontation didn't help either.

Add to that the fact the Starjammers were wanted by the Shi'ar empress Deathbird, which meant bounty hunters everywhere were on the lookout. Long story short: the Starjammers needed Xavier and his telepathy for their continued survival, while Charles also felt he had to return to Earth to help out after the mutant massacre. Who do you abandon?

One heck of a dilemma, but in the opening pages of # 51, it seemed like Illyana was about to make that decision for him...

"Get out of my head and leave me alone... Or I'll teleport myself to Limbo. I mean it...
And leave you all behind forever!!"

Instead of leaving her be, Xavier had other plans for the obviously terrified girl, who just last issue risked her very life to teleport across time and space to reach him. If you don't want to listen to reason young lady, we'll make you...

"Karma, I'll give you entry to Illyana's mind, so you can "possess" her 

and make her unlock the door."

Apparently, in space... when diplomacy fails, mind control is the way to go. This is a complete break from how Claremont has written Xavier up to this point. The 1960s Xavier didn't even blink when he had to control crowds, erase someone's memories or worse: make Beast's parents forget they even had a child.

But under Claremont, the professor became a bastion of morality who flat out refused using his powers for manipulation, not even for a 'good cause'. Here he is seen pontificating that very point in Uncanny X-men # 151, right after Kitty Pryde's parents decided to transfer her to Emma Frost's school and Wolverine made a sensible suggestion...

"To deliberately manipulate a sentient mind would make me no better than the villains we oppose."

From your mouth to Illyana's mind, Charles... And hey, it's not like it'd be the first time Kitty's parents got zapped by a mind control whammy...

"Just doing what comes naturally."

One might argue that Charles had no choice in this instance. Maybe Illyana was, in fact, too unstable and mad with fear and grief to listen to reason... And yes, you might also say that Xavier couldn't risk having her freak out and bolt, because it would mean stranding the other New Mutants in a potentially deadly situation.

But all that still doesn't rationalise what happened once a possessed Illyana emerged from her room...

"An excellent opportunity to learn what prompted this outburst,
without having Illyana resist my probes or questions."

Now this is just wrong... Getting her to cooperate and calm down is one thing, but having Karma use her possession powers to drag a very emotional, extremely personal truth out of Illyana... right in front of Dani, Rahne and the others is a flagrant infraction of every conceivable code of ethical or moral conduct. 

"Satisfied!?! Got your lousy pound of flesh?!!"

Charles claimed he did it to figure out why Illyana was reluctant to return home, via Limbo. And the answer should be obvious: she doesn't want to return to Limbo where she left her darkside behind, the part of her soul that was corrupted by years as Belasco's apprentice. On the Starjammer, she's as close to being her normal self as she'll ever be and she didn't want to lose that.

But it's not like she'll have an actual say in the matter...

"I won't go back to Limbo... I can't... professor... Please, oh, please don't make me!"

And Charles was really hoping she would be pleasant and understanding about being forced to succumb to her (inner)demons again. Well, if she doesn't want to do things willingly, there's always Karma...

"I haven't the time or inclination to argue the matter, young lady."

With that, Xavier sent his children home, keeping them safe from the roving band of cloaked Shi'ar bounty hunters that were closing in on the Starjammer. He was the only one able to pick up their position by homing in on the crew's thoughts. If he'd left for Earth, the Starjammers would not have survived.

On paper, he made the selfless and right decision, sacrificing his own desire and chance to go home in order to keep everyone he cared for as safe as possible.

Still, that did little to improve Illyana's mood once Xi'an released her...

"You made me little better than a puppet"

In Limbo, she fell prey to the evil influences she had left there and was reunited with her soulsword... In other words, Illyana Rasputin was gone, now all that remained was Magik. And she was mad.

Just how she thinks its right to blame áll the New Mutants is a little weird, especially considering Dani stood up for her... But you don't argue logic with a hopping mad mistress of a demon realm who threatens to stab you in the heart.

"We're home, we're all okay... even Magik once she calms down... Our school's still intact. How bad could things be?"

... Famous last words, Roberto.

Professor Xavier's A-Jerkin' Your Mind part I: Leia's got nothin' on Illyana

Leaving the Bill Sienkiewicz era of New Mutants for a bit, today's entry skips ahead to the double sized fiftieth anniversary issue which reunites the New Mutants with professor Xavier.

Back in Uncanny X-men # 200, a mortally wounded Charles Xavier was teleported away by Lilandra and the Starjammers. After restoring his health, the band of space pirates ran into a bit of trouble and were unable to return him home. So Charles made the most of it, joining the Starjammers in an unofficial capacity and enjoying himself on all the different worlds they visited.

Until he picked up some very familiar brain patterns...

"Sweetling, I... and your new owner... will do with you whatever we please"

Yup... that's one heck of a way to open an anniversary issue: having a halfnaked 15 year old girl auctioned off as a slave, while she writhes and squeals in orgasmic pleasure from the 'minimal shock pulse of pleasure' she received. Classy. 

Charles and the Starjammers manage to escape with Illyana who, after recovering from her 'pleasure pulse', informs her old teacher about the situation back home. Thanks to her, Corsair received word he had become a grandfather, but that was about the only piece of good news... After all, the Marauders had just massacred the Morlocks and the New Mutants themselves had been fighting Warlock's evil dad the Magus.

Wait, let's have Illyana tell it herself...

"I figured, better death than becoming Magus's creature..."

Yes, after teleporting the techno organic Magus to Limbo, he went on to infect Illyana's demons, turning them against her. Illyana only managed to hold them off by leaving her soulsword and her dark magics behind in Limbo as a bulwark and symbol of her dominance. All she had left were her mutant teleport abilities and since Limbo reaches across all time and space, she was able to teleport to the professor.

The New Mutants had become lost in space and time when Magik teleported them around in an attempt to escape Magus. That's why Xavier's first priority was to rescue his young wards. Joined by Lilandra and Binary (Carol Danvers), Illyana and the professor travelled to Limbo where they briefly confronted S'ym before they were able to save the stranded teens.

Once the team was reunited, they popped back to the Starjammers where they learned just where Magus had gone after escaping from Limbo...

"In a moment, you will be infected with the transmode virus. 

A moment after that, you will be mine!"

Magus ripped apart the entire world to get to his son, in order to finally end the 'maguswar'. You have to wonder how why the Technarx even bother to reproduce when they know they have to kill their offspring anyway or worse: be killed by them. It's not like they need to have children, they're machines that feed on organic life to sustain themselves indefinitely. 

The New Mutants and Starjammers seemed hopelessly outmatched by the planet tearing Magus, but the professor had a plan... let's use some mind control!

"Now, Karma, share your power with mine... follow my guidance, draw on my strength...
and possess Magus!"

No Karma, c'est most definitely possible... But her control of the giant robot creature was shortlived... Which meant Warlock and Cypher had to work fast.

"My son has soulmerged with a bioform... but such a mad act will not save them!"

Gee, looks like gay marriage is also a bit of an issue on Technarx Prime. 

In the end, Magus is defeated when Cypher manages to rewrite the creature's 'genetic' coding. He reprograms his mind and body, thereby ending the threat... for now.

"Once I broke it, I could define the very nature of his reality".

That Doug Ramsey sure is bad ass. If only he'd been a bit more bulletproof.

We'll cover the aftermath of # 50's planet crushing space opera in part II of Professor Xavier's A-Jerkin' Your Mind: Do As I Say, Not As I Do