Countdown to "'Ah'm Nigh Invulnerable When Ah'm Blastin':" “Ah can’t be hurt when Ah’m blastin’.”
Summary
Stevie receives a threatening phone call, and Xi'an walks into Stevie threatening to rip out the callers' heart. Xi'an encourages her to go to the police since it's not the first threatening call Stevie has gotten, but Stevie says the police told her verbal harassment isn't a serious enough crime for them to do anything. She tells Xi'an that it's her problem, but Xi'an presses the issue, not incorrectly noting the X-Men and the New Mutants could help. Stevie and Xi'an enter Stevie's dance studio and are surprised at the presence of a (not-at-all-creepy, red-headed) teenage boy named Peter Bristow. Stevie asks how he entered the studio, and he tells her the door was open so he figured he'd tidy up the studio before class. Stevie sends Xi'an on her way, apologizing for snapping at her.
At the Mansion, the New Mutants are playing frisbee in the snow when Xavier calls for them. Sam expresses his ongoing surprise at the Professor using his powers while Dani recalls how she can't get over the fact he tried to kill her. They encounter Lilandra on the way to Xavier's office, and she promises them mulled cider and sandwiches after their meeting with Charles. Sam thinks about how he still gets the "willies" around Lilandra, while Rahne tells her royalty shouldn't be preparing food for them. Not surprisingly, Dani asks Rahne if she doesn't think they rate such treatment, and Lilandra thinks about how Dani's rebellious streak reminds her of herself. Xavier recalls the events of the past few days for the students and tells them he plans to keep open the School, even if he originally made the decision to open it under the Brood Queen's influence. He understands some of them don't trust him, but he wants them to stay, though he would understand if they don't. Dani is impressed that he spoke form the heart, something she hadn't heard from him previously, so she speaks for all of them when she says they understand he wasn't himself. As people who've been unfairly condemned themselves, she says it wouldn't be right for them to do it to him.
Xavier then asks Xi'an if something is wrong, hilariously claiming that, contrary to popular opinion, he doesn't read his students' thoughts. Xi'an reveals Stevie's situation and tells the Professor she intends to help Stevie regardless of her wishes. Dani whispers she'll help with or without the Professor's blessing and privately hopes the Professor refuses. (I guess that détente didn't last too long.) The Professor hears Dani's remark (and possibly her thoughts, though it's unclear) and realizes he needs to get a handle on her rebellion before it goes too far. He tells Xi'an to devise a plan, and Dani bristles, saying it's not a classroom exercise or game. The Professor disagrees, seeing all circumstances, even deadly ones, as opportunities to learn. He then tells Dani only a fool would waste any strength on unnecessary confrontations and beseeches her not to treat him like an enemy he isn't (even if he just called her a fool). After the children depart, Lilandra enters, noting how upset Dani looked. Xavier admits he once would've overpowered her with his powers and personality, but he now realizes her loyalty must come from respect, not fear. (Good job there, Charles.) Lilandra then tickles him to hear him laugh. (Really.)
At Stevie's apartment, Bobby installs a phone tracer the Professor helped him build on Stevie's phone. She makes it clear she's reluctantly accepting the kids' help, but the tracer works, leading the kids to a phone booth after the stalker calls. After the "disgusting" smells in the phone booth initially overwhelm her, Rahne finds the scent. As a result of their psychic rapport, Dani reveals they're looking for a boy their age. The trail leads them to the high school, where the mixer the kids were invited to attend in issue #2 is happening. Sam and Rahne crouch at the windows, as Rahne scrutinizes the heat signatures of the kids for signs of an outlier emotion. The rest of the kids enter with Stevie, hoping her presence provokes a response from the stalker (since it worked on "Magnum, P.I."). Stevie encourages the kids to enjoy themselves while they're at the mixer. Tim takes Xi'an to dance as Sam comments to Rahne that he thinks they got the short end of the stick. Suddenly, the stalker sees Stevie and his heat signature changes, and Rahne identifies Peter as the stalker. (No! Quelle surprise!) Peter realizes Stevie somehow knows and bolts, and Rahne bursts through the window to follow him. The sudden appearance of a wolf causes a panic, and the New Mutants struggle to follow Peter in the crowd. Sam makes his way around the building in time to see Peter leap into a car. Sam follows him and sees that Peter is heading straight toward a mother and her child crossing a crosswalk. Sam grabs the pair of them but realizes he doesn't know what he should do next. Although his blast field protects all three of them, he's barreling toward a building. He manages to turn just in time and, although ecstatic at finally turning, realizes he doesn't know how to return to the ground. At that moment, Professor X appears in his head, encouraging him to trigger his power in short bursts to descend. He does, and, although he's left with a fainted mother and bawling child, he's thrilled he finally did something right.
Meanwhile, Peter takes a turn too sharply, crashing the car (which catches fire) into a shed and escaping on foot. Wolfsbane is in hot pursuit, and Cannonball arrives in time to see him duck into a derelict building. The kids follow him into the building, but Karma has Bobby stay outside to deal with the fire. Bobby manages to wade into the fire and hurl the burning car from the shed. However, an explosion hurls him off his feet, and he discovers the shed is (for some reason) filled with explosions. He warns Professor X, who warns the kids the situation is dire. Xi'an says they have to find Peter before he's hurt, though Dani says he'd deserve his fate. Xi'an disagrees, saying it's not their responsibility to pass judgment. They hear a scream and discover Peter has knocked Rahne unconscious with a bat; he's startled when she's revealed to be a girl (since, after all, he hit a wolf). Xi'an possesses Peter as Dani sees to Rahne. However, the shed explodes, and the building starts to crumble. Dani tells Xi'an to run as she'll shield Rahne with her body, but Cannonball arrives to grab Rahne, allowing the girls to flee. Xi'an sends Dani ahead, as she can't run fast while possessing Peter, but Dani refuses, saying they all leave together. Bobby keeps open the tunnel Sam created through the debris and they all escape just as Bobby's power expires.
At Stevie's apartment, Peter goes into near "mortal terror" when Stevie mentions calling his parents, and Professor X says he's so agitated it (oddly) blocks his psi-scans. He encourages one of the New Mutants to use their powers to get to the bottom of Peter's fear. Dani (rightfully) wonders if that's the right thing to do, as people have a right to privacy over their own thoughts. However, she respects Xavier's authority all of a sudden, figuring he has a good reason to ask her to do it, so she uses her powers on Peter. We see his heart's desire as an image of him kissing Stevie is revealed. However, we then see his deepest secret as an image of his father beating him appears. An enraged Peter lunges for Dani, and Sam's grip on his shirt causes it to tear, revealing scratches and welts on his back. Xi'an briefly possesses Peter to stop his attack, but they're all appalled by his scars, some of them dating back years. Bobby asks why Peter's parents hate him, but Peter says they love him -- he's just a "bad boy." In fact, he didn't understand why Stevie didn't punish him, because she said she liked him. He kept trying to provoke her, but he interpreted her failure to punish him as a sign she didn't really like him. He started the calls as revenge. He collapses into her arms in tears begging her forgiveness as Stevie herself weeps.
Xavier arrives later and wipes out Peter's memories of the New Mutants. He then calls an ambulance and child services. Rahne asks what'll happen to Peter, and Xavier says he'll go to a foster home. He pledges to help Peter once he's ready for therapy, and he tells the kids they should be proud of themselves for their intervention, as they hopefully broke the cycle of abuse. He reminds them being a mutant isn't about fighting evil mutants or villains, but helping people. He then tasks them with writing an evaluation of their performance for tomorrow's class, and Stevie tells them they did good.
The Review
Jesus, Claremont continues to be grim. I mean, Peter isn’t only an abused child; he’s so thoroughly broken from the abuse that he believes abuse is the only way people can show love. That said, Claremont and Cockrum tell a really moving story here. The scene of a crying Stevie holding a wailing Peter was particularly devastating, and it shows why the incident has left the kids shaken. Moreover, Claremont shows how the kids are frequently willing to risk their lives for one another: Dani for Rahne, Xi'an for Dani, Dani for Xi'an. Even if they're not as close as they'll eventually be yet, Claremont makes it clear they've bonded to each other.
I enjoy Roberto continuing to pattern himself after Magnum, P.I. I totally hope in a future issue they run into Tom Selleck. My favorite exchange in the issue happens when the kids arrive at the mixer: Roberto immediately declares the band to be terrible, and a seemingly in-agreement Stevie encourages him to “endure,” as he’s a guest. Continuing '80s pop-culture references, Sam watches the kids dancing from the window and tells Rahne he once made a fool of himself trying to dance like that "Travolta fella." (I could see that.)
Claremont also continues to use vignettes to tease out the characters' personalities, as Sam confesses to Rahne as they spy on the dance (at a fairly inopportune time, I have to say) that he misses his family. But, his later exultation when he actually turns puts some fire in his belly. It’s clear his confession about missing his family came because he was questioning his place at the school, but this development might make him feel a little more at home. We also see the Professor as a more hands-on instructor than his Brood-possessed self, helping Sam work through his powers. (That said, it sort of undermines Charles' claim he doesn't read his students' thoughts, as Sam doesn't call for him the way Bobby later does.)
On a downside, I don’t get why Dani was the one to speak for the students about their willingness to stay at the school given she then immediately hoped to defy Charles after he presumably forbade them from helping Stevie. Yes, she was moved to hear Professor X “speak from the heart” for the first time, but the warm, fuzzy feeling she had faded pretty damn quickly. More confusingly, she then later trusts Xavier when he orders her to use her powers on Peter, even though she (rightly) has concerns about violating his right to privacy. In fact, his orders almost seem to confirm she's right to be suspicious of him. I guess Claremont is telling a nuanced story of a teenager inherently trusting an adult but not necessarily letting them luxuriate in that trust easily. But, at times, he seems to be going too far with it.
To continue on a theme about Dani maybe having a point, Xavier continues to prove a hypocrite here. He not only encourages Dani to show us Peter's deepest secrets, he then wipes out Peter's memories of the New Mutants. What memories does he leave him? Stevie just guesses he’s abused when Sam rips off his shirt for no reason?
Turning to other characters, it's interesting how fast Rahne is. In the frisbee sequence earlier in the issue, Claremont shows her able to catch a frisbee in midair in her transitional form, return it, chase it in her wolf form, and catch it before Bobbie can. Compared to Sam still struggling with his powers, Rahne appears to be learning at leaps and bounds. In a Marvel continuity note, Xi'an leaves her siblings with Father Bowen, Dagger's uncle and apparently the man who helped her and her siblings in her fist appearance in "Marvel Team-Up."
All in all, it continues to be a solid start to the series. We've got a clear idea of the characters and their relationships with one another and the challenges they face. All good so far.
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