9/9

9/9 The Hellions really surprised me. I expected a fairly disposable little rival team, the sort of group that turns up to fight the New Mutants and then disappears until another story needs them. There is so much more in these six kids than I expected when they first showed up. What frustrates me is how little time we actually get with them. Up to where I have read, there have been a few guest appearances and battles, but so much of their development seems to happen while we are somewhere else. They come back with relationships that have moved forward, and I find myself wishing I could have read more of the parts in between. Magma and Empath are probably the clearest example for me. As that relationship starts to grow, there is always the question of whether her feelings are really hers. With his power, you cannot simply put that possibility aside. Even when something between them seems genuine, it is difficult to know how much trust to give it. At the same time, her presence seems to make him try to be a better person. That was interesting to watch. There is something there worth spending time on, especially with that uncertainty hanging over the relationship. I wanted more room to see those attempts, and to see what she was making of him. That is how I ended up feeling about the team overall. They managed to get a surprising amount of story out of a small group, while leaving me wanting to see far more of their lives. I wish the Hellions had been allowed to stay on the page a little longer between the fights.