The New Mutants were ready to settle down and enjoy the newly formed mutant paradise of Krakoa. But thanks to some questionable advice from Roberto 'Sunspot' DaCosta -- who can't help but do things his way -- the team has gone completely off the rails, ending up in jail halfway across the galaxy.
DaCosta's cockiness and confidence have hlped him in the past, leading teams like The U.S.Avengers. And they're on full display in the first two issues of New Mutants. After the team is brought together again, he pulls them away from Krakoa and its addicting coffee and convinces them to join up with the Starjammers and head into space in order to find former team member Sam "Cannonball" Guthrie. And things go bad quickly for the New Mutants.
The group (without Roberto) intervenes during one of the Starjammers' heists and end up getting caught by imperial guards. Meanwhile, Sunspot gets kicked off the Starjammers' ship and wonders if he can save the day, before breaking the fourth wall and telling the reader "it sure feels like" he's bound to solve everyone's problems. In New Mutants #2, Sunspot makes things worse by trying to remedy the pending legal issues. The X-Men team spend days in jail, as his space lawyer tries to expedite their court date. DaCosta internally monologues about how everybody loves him, and how handsome he is... allowing his bumbling lawyer to blow the case.
They are immediately found guilty, but hit the jackpot when they are reprimanded into the custody of Cannonball and Smasher. As Sam and the group catch up, Smasher is informed of a mission of the utmost importance from Gladiator and the Shi'ar empire. The New Mutants have to tag along in bringing back one of the most violent, savage villains in all of Marvel, Deathbird. Naturally, when Sunspot first lays eyes on her, he tells Sam "I think I'm in love." Obviously, he's got other things on the mind.
It's hard to fault Sunspot for being the way he is. His heart is in the right place, as he just wants to see his best friend. But so far a quick trip across the galaxy has instead turned into an ordeal. The New Mutants have been arrested, thrown in prison, found guilty of space crimes thanks to an incompetent lawyer, and now, are being conscripted into the Shi'ar empire and immediately thrown in danger. That chain of events are a direct result of Sunspot winging it. His attitude is funny, but it has not helped them get out of the situation.
The New Mutants probably should stop taking advice from Sunspot. He's made a multitude of bad decisions, and is already the single biggest reason the team is in their current predicament. Let's hope Sunspot's travels across space lead him on the road to redemption. Because right now, he's been nothing but a problem. A lovable one, but a problem nonetheless.
- New Mutants #2
- Release Date: November 27th, 2019
- Written by: Jonathan Hickman,
- Art by: Rod Reis
- Cover Art by: Rod Reis
- The classic New Mutants (Sunspot, Wolfsbane, Mirage, Karma, Magik, and Cypher) get together with a few new friends (Chamber, Mondo) to seek out their missing member and share the good news... a mission that takes them into space alongside the Starjammers!