New Mutants (1st series) #16

Issue Date: 
June 1984
Story Title: 
Away Game !

Chris Claremont (writer), Sal Buscema (penciler), Tom Mandrake and Kim DeMulder (inkers), Tom Orzechowski (letters), Ken Fenduniewicz (colors), Louise Jones and Ann Nocenti (editors), Jim Shooter (editor in chief)

Brief Description: 

The New Mutants have been discovered by the White Queen. Before her mercs can capture them, Magma takes out the generators in the room, allowing them time to disappear. Later, they capture two female Hellfire mercs, allowing Illyana and Dani to dress in their uniform, and decide to split into three groups to find Kitty and Doug. Wolfsbane and Sunspot are soon attacked and beaten by two of the young mutants – the Hellions – the White Queen has gathered: James Proudstar, younger brother of the dead X-Man Thunderbird, and the fortune-altering Roulette. Mirage and Magik, in turn are attacked by the werecat Catseye and the mysterious Tarot. Cannonball and Magma take out the generators and then try to find Doug Ramsey. However, they are attacked and almost beaten by Jetstream and emotion-controlling sadist Empath. They stay successful though, causing the White Queen herself to interfere and take control of the New Mutants. She tries the same with Dani and Illyana but the latter’s mind is closed to telepathy and she teleports herself and Dani away.

Full Summary: 

The New Mutants have been discovered by Emma Frost, who promises that soon they will belong to the Hellfire Club. Guards are already getting ready to arrest them. Magik grimly blames herself for leading the New Mutants into a trap. Canonball gives a silent cue to Magma, who blazes as brightly and hotly as the sun, using her control over the earth’s molten core to trigger a sudden devastating earthquake. Throughout the sprawling underground complex, power conduits are severed and the lights go out.

Soon, a guard switches on the emergency back-up but by then the kids have escaped. The guards inform the White Queen. Unimpressed, Emma turns to Kitty and remarks that the group gained some formidable new members since Xavier first gathered them. She chides Kitty to stop struggling. The psychic inhibitors Emma placed in her brain not only deny her the use of her phasing power, but most effectively paralyze Kitty as well.

Stoically, Kitty asks Emma what she’s going to do with them. She’ll soon see, but she guarantees, they won’t escape, Emma promises. And soon they won’t want to. She’s going to brainwash them like she’s trying to do her? Kitty demands. Wrong, as she‘s succeeded with Kitty, comes the reply. Kitty is speechless.

Emma throws her head back and laughs, sharing with Kitty that the Hellfire Club’s goal is power. Sebastian Shaw and she wish to rule the world. Mutants are a means to an end. She pours herself a glass of wine while Kitty sardonically states whether they like it or not. Emma explains that there are too many superbeings. People have begun to realize their value. They used to be hated, now thy are desired. Humans still fear them, but now they wish to use them. Kitty must decide whether she wishes to be ruler or slave.

All she wants is to be left alone, to live her life in peace, Kitty shouts. Is that too much to ask? She lost that option the moment she was born, comes the reply. If she wishes true freedom, she should end her life. If she will not join the Hellfire Club willingly, she will be forced. Let’s hope her compeers profit from Kitty’s example.

The New Mutants, in the meantime, have gathered in a storeroom. With Wolfsbane keeping an ear to the door they discuss what to do. Sam suggests they kayo the main generator to keep up the confusion. What then? Dani wonders. Use the confusion to free Kitty and Doug? It might work.

Sam points out their main problem, the White Queen being a telepath. If she’s so hot, how come they are still on the loose? Bobby remarks. There’s a world of difference between knowing their plans and stopping them. Illyana agrees. If they split up, she’ll have to split her forces too. She also adds that if Professor X can’t read her mind, neither can Frost.

Rahne shushes them. There are footsteps outside. Two female guards. The kids quickly grab them and tie them up, however the women refuse to talk. Dani shows them images of their specific fear, in their case no one is surprised to see it’s the White Queen. Shaken to the core the women relent, moaning that they may call themselves heroes, but they are as cruel as the Queen herself.

Dani orders the others to question them, she needs a moment to herself. Clearly shaken by the barb, she can barely hold back her tears of self-disgust at what she’s done.

Someone taps her on the back. Illyana, already wearing a guard uniform, tells her she hopes Dani doesn’t mind them being partners. They are the only ones who fit in the uniforms. She offers to talk with her later. Dani thanks her but refuses. Silently, she wonders why she’s always hurting people. Can’t she find a way to use her powers to help like she did months ago with Peter Bristow?

Minutes later, the disguised Dani and Illyana leave, as do Wolfsbane and Sunspot. After Sam has gagged the mercs, Magma burns them a way out through the ground. Impressed, Sam wonders what’s she’s gonna be like when she really learns how to control her powers. He wonders if he can stand the heat but finds the ground cool to the touch.

Shortly in a generator room that supplies electricity to the Hellfire complex and the Massachusetts Academy above it, Magma makes her presence felt and melts the generator and its back-ups. Instantly, the school goes as dark and still as the night itself.

Score one for the kids! Kitty shouts. Emma admits they are resourceful, as she lights some candles, but then so is she. She just can’t admit she’s being beaten by a gang of children, Kitty taunts her. Still calm, Emma replies that the battle has barely begun.

Students on campus wonder what’s going on. Security officers tell them to stay calm. They’ll distribute lanterns and flashlights soon. They are to return to their dorm and stand by.

Among the crowds are Amara and Sam trying to blend in. Anyone asks about their costumes, they are designer ski suits, Sam decides. They look for Doug’s dorm and as Sam commends Amara, she tells him to save the compliments until they are safely home.

They are being scanned unbeknownst to them by someone who identifies Cannonball. As they enter Creighton Hall, he’s going after them.

Meanwhile, Illyana and Dani are looking for Kitty, wondering where to begin. Illyana suggests starting at the administration building or the White Queen’s residence. And what if the White Queen’s guarding her? Dani asks. They improvise – Illyana breaks off, as other Hellfire Guards run into them. Not recognizing them due to their masks, the man tells them to report to central stations for damage control assignments. With the men gone, the girls exhale.

Illyana tells Dani that in case of an emergency she can always teleport them away. Why are they sneaking around then? Dani wonders. Wouldn’t teleporting be easier? Yes, but not safer, Illyana admits, her power has its drawback just like Dani’s. She’ll use it as a last resort, but not before. Dani is unconvinced but suddenly hears something. They find nothing though, as they go on. Behind the girls, unnoticed, a shadow flows among shadows. Feral eyes gleam in anticipation of the hunt – and the kill.

In another part of the complex, Wolfsbane in her transitional from is trying to pick out Kitty’s scent. She and Sunpot reach a door. He turns to his solar powered form and tears out the door. Rahne cries there’s somebody there – too late. A magnesium flare blinds him. The surprise shatters his concentration and the fist of a tall Native American does the rest.

Some test the Queen gave them! James Proudstar aka Thunderbird II scoffs. He gets to punch out a kid less than half his size. Big deal!

Wolfsbane, in wolf form tries to go for Thunderbird’s throat, but he grabs her but is momentarily startled when she shifts to her transitional form. He is thrown off-balance and Rahne tosses him off with a judo throw.

Hey fuzzy, catch, a blonde, in a pink/violet uniform like Thunderbird, remarks playfully and tosses a black disk at Rahne. It explodes above her head and suddenly some shelves fall on her. The blonde remarks she is Roulette. Her wheels of fortune can give a person good luck or bad. Guess which one she got?

Roulette helps Thunderbird up, joking about watching the little ladies. He orders her to spare him her sarcasm. He is actually concerned about Rahne being hurt.

Sunspot has woken up and warns him if she is, he will make him wish he were never born! All his, Roulette aka Jennifer tells Thunderbird. Enjoy. They’re supposed to be a team! he protests before stumbling over a barrel. She moves away as she tells him to quit griping whenever she does her share then.

Sunspot lifts the shelves off Rahne, unaware that Roulette tosses a black disk at him. The next moment, he shouts in pain as he apparently pinched a nerve. He is out of the fight. Giggling, Roulette explains what happened to T-Bird. She doesn’t sound terribly sorry, he remarks. She shrugs it off as fun.

At that moment elsewhere, Dani screams in pain, sharing Rahne’s agony via their mental rapport. Illyana urges her to shut out the pain. Her scream will bring the guards! Suddenly, arms from the ceiling lift Illyana and a werecat, smashes Magik’s head against the ceiling. A striking redhead commends “Catseye” and holds up a Taro card - the Devil. The card comes to life attacking Dani.

Creighton Hall, where Sam and Amara are. Sam calls her ‘mara, and Amara immediately chides him to either use her full name or call her “Amy” like the others did. “Mara is too familiar, it is a name for lovers. Sam apologizes and inwardly curses himself, for destroying his chances with her.

Suddenly before them, on the stairs stands a young man in a purple and magenta uniform. Haughtily he introduces himself as Manuel Alfonso Rodrigo de la Rocha. To reach Douglas Ramsey they must first get past him. And they don’t want to do that, do they? He wouldn’t like it. Surely they wouldn’t want to upset a friend, someone they love. His eyes glow and the two mutants are transfixed and incredibly they realize he is their friend, they would do anything for him.

But suddenly, Douglas shows up behind Manuel, shouting out what they are doing in Snow Valley. Manuel’s concentration is broken. Sam instantly decks him and continues beating him until Amara orders him to stop.

That moment, a young Arab cannonballs through the window, attacking Sam. They break through the wall outside to the horror of the normal students.

Emma Frost sighs. She had hoped her protégés could deal with the New Mutants without attracting undue attention. If Jetstream keeps this up, he’ll wreck the school. Time to take matter into her own hands.

Jetstream intends to smash Sam into an oak. In the final moment, Sam reacts and propels himself out of the way, leaving Jetstream to take the brunt of impact.

At the same time, Manuel has taken over Amara again, influencing her to hate Sam. She wildly attacks with lava blasts, which Sam fortunately is invulnerable to while he is blasting. He realizes that Manuel is behind this, but he is hiding, leaving Amara the only target.

Jetstream intends to attack Sam again but one of Amara’s blasts nails him by mistake. Jetstream falls. Sam debates what to do, but his morals win and he flies after his foe.

It’s close and he realizes he’s not going to be able to pull out of his dive. He grabs Jetstream, realizing he’s just a kid, but figures he’s going to be okay as long as he stays blasting. Suddenly, Magma’s lava blast hits him, breaking his concentration.

Exultant, Manuel aka Empath watches Cannonball tumble downward to Earth. That his teammate and supposed friend is also part of the conflagration blazing into the underground bothers him not a bit. He enjoys playing with other people far too much to care bout them.

But in his excitement, he inadvertently lets his hold on Magma slip. She realizes what she’s done and gets ready to kill Empath. Before she can act, though, Cannonball blasts up from the ground and takes Empath out.

You okay, sweetheart? he asks Magma, without thinking. She’s herself again, she replies and confides she was afraid she’d hurt him. Scared him near to death, he admits but his power shielded him and the flyboy from her flames. Is he like them a mutant? Magma asks about Empath. Mutant maybe, Sam agrees, but nothing like them.

The mood between them is awkward as Sam hopes she didn’t notice him calling her sweetheart. Of course, Magma noticed and wonders what to do. She never imagined he felt so strongly about her.

That moment, Doug runs to them. He can’t believe they have super powers, he shouts excited but suddenly trails off. For a fleeting instant, the mutants see things as they truly are, but then the White Queen telepathically twists their perceptions. In Sam’s eyes, she becomes the girl of his dreams, an Amara, that might have been, had she been born into his world. Seductively, she asks him why he’s fighting when there are more pleasant things he could be doing… with her. She orders him to behave himself and come along with her. Sweating, Sam obeys.

Amara, instead, finds herself face to face with her dead mother. With both of them under control, the White Queen orders them to go to bed and does the same with Douglas, while mindwiping him of memories of the battle.

Within the complex:

Tarot’s devil has Danielle by the throat with his chain, his rank essence floods through her to the core of her very being, visibly corrupting body and soul.

Still held by Catseye, Illyana sees this. In desperation, she summons her Soulsword and strikes Catseye with it. Then she strikes the devil, who instantly evaporates, leaving Dani to return to normal while the psychic backlash leaves Tarot dazed and terrified of Illyana who’s coming for her. Frightened, she uses her cards to summon the Knight Of Swords, an armed skeletal rider.

Illyana has never fought a mounted foe before. She learns too the hard way that the horse can be as deadly as the rider. As the hoof strikes her in the face, she falls next to Dani.

The White Queen enters, trying to manipulate the girls like she did the other New Mutants but, while she appears to Dani as her grandfather, Illyana’s mind is closed to her. Illyana tells Dani it’s a trick, manifests a teleportation circle and drags Dani into it.

Tarot and Catseye wonder what happened. The White Queen realizes Illyana must be a teleporter of considerable range, as she cannot sense Dani’s thoughts anywhere near the school. She’ll notify Shaw of their escape. By morning, every Hellfire operative in the world will be looking for them. Their freedom won’t last very long!

Characters Involved: 

Cannonball, Magik, Magma, Psyche, Sunspot, Wolfsbane (all New Mutants)

Ariel (X-Man)

Doug Ramsey

The White Queen (member of the Hellfire Club)

Catseye. Empath, Jetstream, Roulette, Tarot, Thunderbird II (all Hellions)

Hellfire Club mercs

Students and campus police

Story Notes: 

Dani helped Peter Bristow in issue #4.

First appearance of the Hellions, of which especially James Proudstar and Empath would prove important for the X-teams later on.

Illyana’s Soulsword should only be able to affect magic, but here hurts both Catseye and Tarot’s psychic projection. Presumably at the time, Magik’s abilities weren’t that defined, as she was also shown to be able to work magic on Earth in issues #14, 15 & 18, whereas later she was said to be unable to work magic outside of Limbo.

Illyana was shown to be immune to telepathy after her return from Limbo in Uncanny X-Men #164.

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