The New Warriors belong in this series because of the way they cross into the mutant books, not because they are another version of the X-Men. They have their own name, their ow…

The New Warriors belong in this series because of the way they cross into the mutant books, not because they are another version of the X-Men. They have their own name, their own relationships and their own reasons for being together. Kings of Pain puts that independence to work. The original six are Night Thrasher, Nova, Firestar, Marvel Boy, Namorita and Speedball. For this 1991 crossover, Silhouette is also part of the action, with Chord in a separate mentor and support role. That is the group being covered here, rather than every person who ever wears the name. Putting them alongside Cable's X-Force gives the story two groups of young heroes who do not automatically agree about what being a hero requires. They can fight the same enemy and still argue about intimidation, restraint and whether somebody with a weapon has earned the right to give everybody else orders. Their powers also make the comparison more interesting than matching one mutant against another. This is a mixed team. Some members have mutant abilities, others do not. Their place in the story grows out of their involvement in the investigation, rather than enrollment at Xavier's school. Kings of Pain starts with confusion and competing assumptions, then draws the teams into the same emergency. Once Proteus becomes the central threat, having more people available does not produce an easy answer. There are still questions their combined strength cannot settle. That gives the Warriors something worthwhile to contribute beyond additional bodies in a crossover fight. They bring another set of young voices into a story already crowded with experienced adults, and those voices are not always prepared to accept the adults' methods.