I wasn’t really that thrilled by the Armadillo as a villain in this issue—he was more like a glorified henchman—but the Secret Wars II connection is that the Beyonder has chosen to mimic Captain America’s form for his physical body.

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Oh yeah, I forgot to mention last issue that the Beyonder unlocked something in Illyana that turned her into a demonic form called Darkchilde! I suppose that someday she will bring about Armageddon or something, but for now the New Mutants snap her out of it.

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...the Beyonder's attack against them.

Over the last two issues, I happy to point out Erik's failures in response to the kids' traumas, but all of that begins to turn around in New Mutants

At last issue's close, Emma Frost placed a call to the local sheriff to warn of...

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Since Charles' absence, Stevie Hunter is the Mansion staff (perhaps even more than the X-Men proper) most acquainted with the New Mutants–but their resistance to even her class shows just have destroyed they've been by the Beyonder.

She chastises Erik for intruding on her...

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...last encounter with the Beyonder–you know, the one where they were all mercilessly killed by an omnipotent cosmic being–the kids have been reincarnated by that self-same wicked entity, but far from entirely intact.

New Mutants opens with a battle observed by Magneto as...

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...its opening sequence is pretty grim, with Kurt left behind in the Beyonder's attack (for reasons he assumes are pity-based) on the team and still shaken by his encounter with the man.

While it's another future member of Excalibur whose development is defined by alcoholism...

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So everything they lived together led to this moment, of sudden realization that Victor finally has someone to share Battleworld with.

Hell, he even allows Stephen to take the power of the Beyonders for himself. And Victor craves power more than anything else in this world. 5/?

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...a reality-displaced, almost godlike being whose ascension has come at the cost of her humanity.

While the Beyonder's focus that humanity might only be saved through absolute unity may seem noble, the logic behind it–that only a unity undefined by individual identities...

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...of undoing her great work in saving the universe from utter destruction by rebooting the universe.

If Rachel is a parallel to Erik's experiences with the Holocaust–as she reminds us while draining her team of their life forces–she is as much a parallel to the Beyonder...

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...sees herself as humanity's sole, almost messianic savior–singularly tasked with humanity's redemption.

The singlemindedness of her plan to kill the Beyonder comes–not unlike Rogue's "amends"–as another means of restoring her mother's legacy, even if it comes at the cost...

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...with the rest of the X-Men to clean up the more recent wreckage of their actions fighting the Beyonder.

Even though he doesn't arrive in issue until its ending, the ripple of his horrible acts in New Mutants has reached into Uncanny, with Kitty again manifesting the armor...

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...the wave of the Beyonder's hand. Rahne, the most virtuous and pious New Mutant–the youngest of her team–is left praying to a God that seems not to answer as another god destroys her form.

Dani, the harbinger of death and leader among her family, is left contemplating the...

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Over the next several pages, and despite their best efforts, the New Mutants are picked off by the Beyonder one by one.

Amara–the girl who could raise mountains–and Sam–the boy who could fly–are crushed beneath the Earth.

Warlock is drained of his lifeglow, Doug ended with...

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Rahne's cries of hopelessness.

Amara–this daughter of Rome–in a rare moment of absolute plot focus–turns her strength full blast against the Beyonder, assuring Rahne that as long as she lives and can fight, there is hope.

Their seeming victory over the Beyonder ultimately...

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...for neither was designed to be simple nor clean.

After forcing Rachel to rewitness the tragedies of her past existence (and to be clear, not a vision of them, but the actual events in *that* reality), the Beyonder has summoned those same Sentinels forward to threaten...

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...is ultimately selfish–she chooses the rescue the X-Men because they are *her* family.

It's something of a Trolley problem; left unchecked, the Beyonder might do untold harm to the world... but without her intervention, her only true remaining family will be wiped from the...

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...uses the Beyonder as an examination of heroism–and just what it means to do the "right" thing.

There's always great parallelism between Illyana and Rachel (Kitty *has* a type), and so the decision to use Rachel in the pages of Uncanny to explore heroism and how her traumas...

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...an even larger demon than before rends part of Kitty's soul from her to create the fourth bloodstone for the Beatrix Medallion.

Despite having fallen under the Beyonder's suggestion, Illyana is still very much herself, with the same connections and desires to be good...

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...car (?!), offering the New Mutants the issue's titular salvation.

Claremont recently (and notoriously) explicitly defined Illyana as evil in an AMA and while I disagree with the take, it adds a new layer to chilling serenity she's overcome by after the Beyonder's touch.

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...suggests is a development linked to his encounter with the Beyonder–but a through line I find traceable to as early as the New Mutants Graphic Novel.

There's always been an element of resentment inherent to Roberto's character–towards his powers, his duty as a New Mutant...

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