Shadow and Flame with Magik

Writer Chris Claremont

Artist Steve Leialoha

Colorist Glynis Oliver

Letterer L. Lois Buhalis

Cover Dated October 1985

Back around issue ten or so, the team lost Karma and presumed she was dead.  The team never got over it, especially Sunspot.  He had to make a choice between Karma or Cannonball, and he chose Sam.

Now, they located Karma, she is large and in charge of Madripoor.

On the plane to Madripoor, Doug is explaining what they can expect to find there.  Warlock, Doug and Magik were not on that mission when Karma went missing, neither was Magma.  Only Dani and Wolfsbane and the boys were there that fateful day.

Dani is the leader of the team at this point.  Cannonball and her usually share leadership but she is typically the go to leader.

There is a picture of the original five New Mutants, Cannonball’s head us cropped out if the picture.  He is one lanky guy.

There us an ad for the film, The Heavenly Kid.  I never even heard of it before.  Jane Kaczmarek is in it, she is the mom from Malcolm in the Middle.  Jason Gedrick from Boomtown is the young kid in it.  One great show, and one not as good show.

Once in Madripoor, the team does some scouting and plan formation.  Doug is upset that he has to stay behind on the mission.  He is back up with Warlock.

Do they even make Nestle Quik any more?   They use to make va Banana flavor, I used to love that.

On the mission, I have forgotten how often they referenced that Dani is Wolfsbane’s soul mate, and that is why they can communicate with each other when Rahne is in her wolf form.

Illyana offers to just teleport the team to Karma’s estate. Dani states it is too risky.

Back at the beach, Doug and Warlock get captured.  Karma has been recording their moves since landing.  She knows their entire plan.

The team beeaks into the estate, and Wolfsbane runs up the stairs.

This breaks the team’s concentration, and Karma possesses their minds, rather quickly.  Dani is knocked out, so she avoids the initial attempt.  We see Karma, and she has to be 500 pounds.

Magik teleports Dani to Limbo.  Professor X can’t read Illyana’s mind, thus Karma can’t take it over.

The two ladies, and probably my favorite New Mutants members plus Doug, regroup.  They come back to the estate, with Magik’s second in command, Sym.  The police are already there, and the ladies see dead guards everywhere.  What is worst, is that their teammates killed the guards.  Karma had no need for them, now that she has super powered teenagers.

The police spot Magik, and open fire.  She teleports the new team back to Limbo.  Doug told the team that Karma has a second base in Cairo, Egypt.  Magik doesn’t want to teleport there as her powers are risky at long distances.  Even the last jump, they were a week later.  Which I love this about early Magik, she had only a decent control over her teleporting powers.  She was great with a sword and a fantastic ruler of Limbo, but no guarantees with the when aspect of her stepping discs.

There is an ad for Tootsie Rolls, a product that I don’t even see anywhere outside of Halloween.  I use to love the other flavor packs.  There was Vanilla that was in a blue and white wrapper.  I remember a green wrapper and a yellow wrapper, both of those were good too.

Magik teleports the two of them to Cairo.  Of course it is many generations ago Cairo.  The ladies are spotted, and they run to hide.  Magik is out of juice, so they can’t try a second teleport just yet.  They hear someone in English tell them to come over here, so they do.  They see an African lady with white hair and blue eyes, and assume it is Storm.  Xavier only teaches them about racism, so what do you expect?  She is an ancestor of Storm, her name is Ashake.  She is a sorcerer.  She felt Magik’s presence and wanted to help.

She gives them a place to rest.  During this time, Magik’s tie in issue of Mystic Arcana takes place.  I will have to review that issue one of these days.  I haven’t reread this issue, so I have been curious if there was a time gap for that adventure to take place.

Magik gets some rest, and teleports her and Dani to the present.  Well, she tries.  She misses the present by maybe three decades. We see old, crazy and super evil versions of Sunspot, Magma. Cannonball and Wolfsbane.  Through their rapport, Dani knows these are her former friends.  Dani says aloud, The New Mutants.  I didn’t think or recall them actually referring to themselves as that name.  Pretty sure they don’t in the third volume.  I always took it as the name we call them here in RL, and they call themselves something else past the first few issues.  At one point, they are not ‘new’ anymore.  It is a marketing name for the group at this point.

Magik teleports the two of them again.  She believes she got it right this time.  Before they can check, Dani has herself a good cry.  Poor Illyana, she doesn’t have it in her to console Dan, plus there was a part of her that wanted to stay in that future.

Dani pulls herself together, wondering if they can even change the future.  This has happened before, when the team saw themselves as members of Emna Frost’s Hellions.

While they bicker, Warlock shows up with Storm.  This is after she lost her powers due to Forge.  She is in Egypt due to taking some time off after Life Death.