Here is my first comic book review on iFanboy. For those who are waiting for the hardcover or paperback collection of Second Coming, but want to know what happened in New Mutants #13, here is the full rundown. Others can just skip the plot summary and read my thoughts about this issue at the bottom.

     The story starts off in San Francisco, California where Cyclops tells Domino that Cable and Hope made it to Utopia, but the X-Men lost Illyana, Ariel, and Nightcrawler. Vanisher overhears that Bastion is eliminating teleporters so he escapes to Portugal. At Portugal, he finds Stephen Lang and the M.R.D. Vanisher is then shot.

     Meanwhile the rest of the New Mutants are recuperating after their battle with Hodge and Warlock is saddened by the fact that he broke his promise not to absorb any life forms. In the mess hall, Dani Moonstar meets up with Cable and Hope. Dani furiously asks Cable what is he up to and questions if his "new hobby" is worth it. Hope replies if Dani was referring to her, but Dani ignores her. Dani was unaware that Hope would actually hit her and a fight ensues between the two. The fight is halted by an explosion in the hanger.

     In the hanger, the Blackbirds are engulfed with flames and Donald Pierce emerges from one of the planes. Namor, Magma, and X-23 arrive at the scene and fights Pierce with Namor ripping one of Pierce's cybernetic arms. Pierce starts blabbing on how he will not be able to see the decimation of the mutant race then Cyclops kills him with his optic blasts. Cable shows admiration for Hope handling her Dani situation and asks if she is fine. Hope says that she lied that she was ready to go to the present.

     Now for the analysis of the issue. There were many problems I found with this book. Most of all this is a New Mutants issue, so I did expect more out of the New Mutants than any other characters in the book. I got none of that here. Xi'an was no where to be seen in the issue, everyone else had a one thought bubble, Magma did respond to the explosion, but does Zeb Wells want me to believe that she would have gone down in the hanger to help. With all the fires around, she just stood there and watched Namor, X-23, and Cyclops handle the battle with Donald Pierce. It would have been more believable if Sunspot was there instead of Magma because his mindset is mostly in ready mode. On another note, out of all the New Mutants, definitely Doug's talents should have been put into great use. He could have helped X-Club with the tower situation by figuring out how to disarm them.

     The interior artwork by Ibraim Roberson was very good. Keeping Hodge's menacing look back when he appeared in the 1990 X-Tinction Agenda storyline, I enjoyed Roberson's rendition of the villain. Similar art style to what Salvador Larroca is doing in The Invincible Iron Man, Roberson brings in a unique appeal of realism and clarity in what he draws on paper. Lastly, I am disappointed that not even one New Mutant member was featured on the regular cover.