New Mutants #4
New Mutants: Lethal Legion #4 (June 2023) is a pivotal chapter in the Krakoan-era reinvention of the New Mutants franchise, bringing together two generations of the team — the founding roster of Dani Moonstar, Karma, and Wolfsbane alongside newer characters Escapade, Cerebella, and Scout — in a single escalating confrontation with Count Nefaria's Lethal Legion. The issue is creatively significant for centering Escapade (Shela Sexton), one of Marvel's most recent transgender superhero additions, as the emotional and moral core of the action, while also giving Martha Johansson — now operating under the codename Cerebella after being given a new body by Krakoa — her most sustained spotlight since her debut. As the penultimate chapter of a miniseries that served explicitly as a bridge between New Mutants Vol. 4 and the 2023 Hellfire Gala, the issue marks a narrative handoff point within the Krakoan era and represents the culmination of Charlie Jane Anders's character-driven, queer-inclusive approach to the mutant franchise.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
New Mutants: Lethal Legion was conceived as a five-issue miniseries to bridge the end of New Mutants Vol. 4 (which concluded with issue #33 in February 2023) and the 2023 Hellfire Gala, giving Charlie Jane Anders — who had written the final arc of the ongoing series — the space to continue developing the new cast she had introduced. Issue #4 was written by Anders with interior art by Enid Balam, colors by Matt Milla, and a cover by Javier Fernandez; it was published June 21, 2023. The miniseries and its collected edition (New Mutants: Lethal Legion, ISBN 9781302952419) represent the final chapter of the Krakoa-era New Mutants line before the broader X-Men editorial direction shifted.
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- Published June 21, 2023 by Marvel Comics; issue #4 of the five-part New Mutants: Lethal Legion miniseries (March–July 2023).
- Written by Charlie Jane Anders; interior art by Enid Balam; cover by Javier Fernandez; colors by Matt Milla.
- Features Escapade (Shela Sexton), a transgender mutant hero created by Charlie Jane Anders, Ro Stein, and Ted Brandt in Marvel's Voices: Pride (2022) #1, as the lead character — one of the first transgender characters to headline a mainline Marvel X-Men team book.
- Co-stars Cerebella (Martha Johansson / No-Girl), who received a new physical body following a confrontation with the Shadow King in the New Mutants Vol. 4 ongoing, making Lethal Legion her most prominent starring role under that new identity.
- Scout (Gabby Kinney), a clone of Laura Kinney/Wolverine who first appeared in All-New Wolverine (2015) #2, appears as a core team member; the issue depicts her in a direct confrontation with Count Nefaria after she is depowered.
- The series functioned explicitly as a narrative bridge between the conclusion of New Mutants Vol. 4 (February 2023) and the 2023 Hellfire Gala, giving the new-generation roster a closing chapter within the Krakoan era.
- The complete miniseries, including this issue, was collected in New Mutants: Lethal Legion (ISBN 9781302952419), released by Marvel in late 2023.
- Karma's Vietnamese name is rendered in this series as Xuân Cao Mạnh rather than the historically anglicized 'Xi'an Coy Manh,' a correction noted in annotations as reflecting the retcon introduced in Love Unlimited Infinity Comic #31.
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