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Karma

Karma

252 appearances · Bronze Age · 1980–2026 · 14 key issues
Who is Karma?

Xuân Cao Mạnh is a Vietnamese mutant who fled her war-torn homeland as a refugee, eventually finding a place among the founding members of the New Mutants at Xavier's School. She possesses the psionic ability to mentally possess and control other people's bodies.

Few Bronze Age debuts have proven as enduring as Karma's — born in the pages of Marvel Team-Up #100 in 1980, brought to life by the legendary creative trio of Chris Claremont, Frank Miller, and Bob Wiacek, she arrived with an unmistakable sense of purpose. Over 46 years and 205 catalogued appearances, she has woven herself into the fabric of Marvel's mutant universe, most prominently through New Mutants and Astonishing X-Men, sharing countless adventures alongside Dani Moonstar, Cannonball, Sam Guthrie, and Roberto Da Costa. With 14 key issues to her name, collectors and fans alike have clearly recognized her significance across the decades. If you're exploring Marvel's rich mutant history beyond the household names, Karma is exactly the kind of character who rewards the dig.

Identity

Real name. Xuân Cao Mạnh

Affiliations. New Mutants (founding member) ; Tiger DivisionDoom's Division ; X-Men ; Hatchi Corporation; Utopians; Hellions ; Gladiators ; Alpha Squadron ; Sunfire's Resistance Group

★ First appearance
Marvel Team-Up #100
Dec 1980

Trivia

  • As one of the five founding members of the New Mutants, Karma was central to Marvel's deliberate push to build its first major teen mutant team around a diverse international cast rather than simply extending the core X-Men lineup.en.wikipedia.org
  • Marvel later spotlighted Karma in a Pride Month feature, explicitly positioning her as one of the company's notable LGBTQ+ mutant characters and a 'student to mentor' figure whose significance stretches well beyond her original role.en.wikipedia.org
  • Introduced during the post–Vietnam War era as a Vietnamese refugee, Karma has become a recurring reference point in collector and critical circles alike when discussing Marvel's approach to Asian representation and immigrant identity.en.wikipedia.org
  • Chris Claremont has written more of Karma's comics than any other writer in our catalog — 41 issues.

Top series

Covers through the years — 1980–2023

Marvel Team-Up #100 1980
Marvel Team-Up #100
The New Mutants Annual #2 1986
The New Mutants Annual #2
Fallen Angels #1 1987
Fallen Angels #1
The New Mutants Annual #7 1991
The New Mutants Annual #7
Beast #1 1997
Beast #1
New Mutants #9 2004
New Mutants #9
Young X-Men #2 2008
Young X-Men #2
Siege: X-Men #[nn] 2010
Siege: X-Men #[nn]
Astonishing X-Men #56 2013
Astonishing X-Men #56
Deadpool: Beginnings Omnibus #[nn] 2017
Deadpool: Beginnings Omnibus #[nn]
New Mutants #1 2020
New Mutants #1
New Mutants #32 2023
New Mutants #32

Appearances (1–150 of 252, oldest first)

Marvel Team-Up (1972)
Marvel Graphic Novel (1982)
#4
The Marvel No-Prize Book (1983)
#1
The Uncanny X-Men (1981)
The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe (1983)
#12
Spécial Strange (1975)
Strange (1970)
Nova (1978)
New Mutants Special Edition (1985)
#1
Marvel Age Annual (1985)
X-Men Annual (1970)
Secret Wars II (1985)
The New Mutants Annual (1984)
Fallen Angels (1987)
Wolverine (1988)
X-Men Classic (1990)
#71
The X-Men Premium Edition [Toys R Us] (1993)
#1
X-Factor Annual (1986)
#8
X-Factor (1986)
#95
Marvel Vision (1996)
#15
Beast (1997)
#1
New Mutants: Truth or Death (1997)
X-Force (1991)
#75
X-Men Universe (1999)
#10
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Wolverine 2004 (2004)
Uncanny X-Men - The New Age: The End of History (2004)
X-Men: The Complete Age of Apocalypse Epic (2005)
#2
New X-Men (2004)
New X-Men: Academy X (2004)
#2
Essential X-Men (1996)
#6
Wolverine Classic (2005)
#2
New X-Men: Academy X Yearbook (2005)
#1
X-Men: The 198 (2006)
X-Men (2004)
Deadpool Classic (2008)
#1
Young X-Men (2008)
X-Men: Odd Men Out (2008)
X-Men: Manifest Destiny (2008)
#1
New Mutants Saga (2009)
Dark Avengers / Uncanny X-Men: Utopia (2009)
#1
Dark Avengers (2009)
#8
Avengers / X-Men: Utopia (2009)
#1
Dark Avengers / Uncanny X-Men: Exodus (2009)
#1
X-Infernus (2009)
New Mutants: Return of Legion (2009)
New Mutants Classic (2006)
#5
Deadpool (2009)
#3
X-Men: Legacy (2008)
X-Necrosha (2010)
Siege: X-Men (2010)
X-Men: Curse of the Mutants Saga (2010)
#1
X-Men: Second Coming - Revelations (2010)
Origins of Marvel Comics: X-Men (2010)
#1
Siege: Thor (2010)