New Mutants 84 - Acts of Vengeance

In one way or another, every single one of the four mutant titles has a somewhat awkward relationship with the "Acts of Vengeance" crossover. None has a conventional style story in which the heroes are targeted by foes they haven't fought before. Sometimes the story could just as easily have been told without the wider event. And in most cases the titles were telling multi-part stories that had moved the heroes away from their normal spheres, with the event becoming an irritating intrusion.

New Mutants #84

Writer: Louise Simonson
Penciler: Terry Shoemaker
Inker: Al Milgrom
Letterer: Ken Bruzenak
Colourist: Glynis Oliver
Editor: Bob Harras
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

Thus this is really the penultimate chapter of one of the series's own storylines, with "Acts of Vengeance" now announced via a banner on the cover but confined to two pages set on Earth; the intention presumably being that the two stories can be separated for reprints if necessary. The "Acts of Vengeance" sequence is extremely straightforward, continuing events in the prison that Rusty Collins has been sent to for reasons not given here. Another inmate is the Vulture, taunted for being past it and having been ignored by the organisers of all the attacks on the superheroes. But then he discovers a new set of wings with modifications made to his designs and determines to prove everyone wrong by breaking out with a supplied explosive then reasserting his name. Rusty tries to stop him but gets carried out as the Vulture flies off. It's a straightforward sequence setting things up for a later issue but feels like it was shovelled in to meet an editorial dictat to maximise the additional sales that would come from the crossover. It also implies that the organised nature of the attacks is either rather more obvious than other series imply, or recruiters have visited the jail (which seems more likely, given the presence of the wings).

As for the rest of the issue... Oh dear. To cut to the chase this is the penultimate part of a storyline set in Asgard which Hela, the Norse goddess of death, is about to attack. This issue is focused on getting the New Mutants, the Warriors Three and various other characters plus allies altogether to help the defence. As a result it's a fast-paced piece that moves a lot of people around. In the process it completely fails to explain just what the New Mutants are doing in Asgard or who the various groups are. It seems the story was written before it was realised that the crossover was coming and nobody tried to modify it.

This is a strong contender to be the single worst issue of all the books with "Acts of Vengeance" on the cover as it makes next to no concession for readers brought in by the crossover and doesn't even try to at least wield the theme of fighting other heroes' foes into the existing narrative. As we'll see elsewhere, Louise Simonson was one of several writers who openly expressed their dislike of the crossover, but most still did what they could to accommodate it and the new audience. This issue would have been better off not putting the banner on the corner of the cover and not bringing in extra readers just to confuse them.

New Mutants #84 has been reprinted in:

• Acts of Vengeance Crossover Omnibus (2011)
• New Mutants Epic Collection: Curse of the Valkyries (2018)