While I was home in North Carolina for the holidays I looked into my boxes of old comics and reread some classics that I want to share with you.
New Mutants Annual #2 and X-Men #10 are fantastic tales by Chris Claremont, Alan Davis and Art Adams from 1986 that brought Psylocke, Longshot, Mojo and Spiral into the X-Men universe.
Created by Ann Nocenti and Art Adams – Mojo was the ruler/producer Mojoverse where beings were addicted to his gladiator reality game shows. Longshot was his star warrior turned rebel who escaped to Earth.
Betsy Braddock, before she became a psychic ninja, was Captain Britain’s sister. Betsy was a telepath blinded by an enemy then abducted by Mojo and given bionic eyes. Always searching for the next big thing to keep ratings up, Mojo saw the mutants as his next superstars. Betsy and Longshot would be the bait.
In New Mutants Annual #2 is first time Betsy is referred to as Psylocke. Mojo used Betsy to lure the New Mutants and in X-Men Annual #10 Longshot to ensnare the X-Men into becoming unwilling stars of his latest productions. The X-Men are transformed into the X-Babies, Captain Britain is reduced to childhood and we get a glimpse of what might have been when the New Mutants gear up in their graduation uniforms that would have made them officially the new X-Men.
The scripts are definitely a change of pace with a twisted fairy tale feel. Alan Davis (New Mutants) and Arthur Adams (X-Men) provide stunning artwork. Longshot had a long run on the X-Men and is now on X-Factor. This issue is back when Elizabeth still looked British, wore her pink suit and a butterfly effect appeared when she used her telepathy. Spiral, Mojo’s six armed sorceress went on to join the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Mojo and the X-Babies have returned to plague the X-Men but these books are when the twisted fun began.