COMIC DETAILS
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Comic Description:
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New Mutants 9
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Grade:
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9.8
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Page Quality:
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WHITE
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Certification #:
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1194977005
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Owner:
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bagofleas
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SET DETAILS
Owner's Description
Colliseum craziness!!!!
Published: 11/83
Chris Claremont story, Bob McLeod cover
Sal Buscema & Tom Mandrake art
I had Bob McLeod sign this at the 2013 Megacon and I made it so he would sign right along Cannonball's trail. SO COOL!!
Story Title: Arena
Story Summary:
The New Mutants, weary from their struggle in the river, are escorted to the hidden city of Nova Roma by the Roman soldiers and put in a cell along with Amara, who tells them she is the daughter of a Senator of the city. Dani innadvertently shows Amara's thoughts and they learn of her fear of the Black priestess who would throw her into a fiery pit if found.
The Master of the city's guard, Marcus Domitius Gallio, wants the city to become an Imperial State, but Amara's father doesn't want it to happen. Amara's father, Lucius, makes Marcus abide by their law and put the girls up for slavery and the boys up for the gladiatorial arena.
Marcus wanted to use the mutants power to accomplish his goals but must now abide by the law.
The kids try to break out of the cell but poisoned arrows shoot out of the walls and knock them out. The mutants are all drugged to weaken their powers and make them pliable. Amara is smart enough to avoid the poisoned food so she doesn't succumb to it.
The priestess, Selene, who is also Marcus' wife, shows him a captured Castro who makes a deal with him to provide weapons to further his ambitions.
That night, Amara tries to wake up the other girls to run for it but they are too drugged. She gets woozy for some reason and is discovered by the priestess, who recognizes her.
The next day, crowds gather in the arena, the boys are drugged to make them aggressive and the girls, also drugged, are brought in to cheer them on.
After a fantastic showing by Sam and Roberto, taking down multiple fighters and two huge war machines, the two go at each other in their drugged state. The drugged Rahne transforms and jumps into the fray to help Sam, accidentally activating her mindlink with Dani, waking her from her drugged state.
Dani, who has never been able to bring forth a specific image from someone's mind, exerts all her ability and manages to do exactly that, bringing forth an image of Professor X, which halts the boys fighting.
When the crowds witness the mutants powers, they think them to be demons and begin to descend upon them, but Marcus suddenly declares them to be fulfillments of ancient prophecies and children of the immortal gods.
Continued in #10...
PERSONAL COMMENTS:
The kids are thrown into all the political turmoil of a hidden Roman/Amazonian city called Nova Roma. Different. I wasn't completely sure what to make of all this.
I hated seeing Sam & Bobby fighting each other, even if it WAS because they were being drugged.
Even as a kid, I have had times in my life when, just as things were looking their darkest, there was a sudden relief from my troubles, just like the end of this issue.
I wondered what Marcus was playing at with his move at the end & what would become of Amara's father & his attempts to stop Marcus.
Was all this leading up to something big?.....
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