The New Mutants #100
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeNew Mutants #100 serves as the hinge point between two distinct eras of Marvel's mutant publishing line: it closes out the original 100-issue New Mutants run that launched in 1983 and simultaneously births X-Force, the more aggressive, paramilitary successor team that would dominate early-1990s X-Men sales. The issue delivers the full debut of Shatterstar, the first appearance of the team collectively operating as X-Force, and a cliffhanger Stryfe-reveals-Cable's-face reveal that kept readers speculating for months — a narrative hook whose resolution would eventually reshape Cable's entire backstory. As a product of its moment, it crystallized the decade's shift away from Xavier-school idealism toward a grittier, action-first aesthetic that defined Marvel's early-1990s output and influenced superhero comics broadly.
In "The End of the Beginning," the New Mutants face a sudden crisis when Shatterstar arrives in the Danger Room, forcing them to confront Mojo's Soldiers. With Feral now at the Mansion and Cable working to free her from Masque's influence, the team embraces a bold new direction—officially transforming into X-Force under Cable's proactive leadership. Written by Rob Liefeld and Fabian Nicieza and illustrated by Rob Liefeld, this pivotal issue marks a defining shift in the team's mission, with Liefeld's dynamic art and inks bringing the action to life, and the cover by Rob Liefeld capturing the moment's intensity.
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Rob Liefeld had been plotting New Mutants since issue #98, with Fabian Nicieza providing dialogue over his plots — a division of labor Nicieza himself described at the time as heavily weighted toward Liefeld's visual storytelling. Liefeld had pitched Marvel editorial on launching an entirely new title for Cable's crew rather than continuing New Mutants, initially meeting resistance, but the concept was ultimately green-lit, and issue #100 was engineered from the start as both a series finale and a launch pad. Editor Bob Harras, working under editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco, championed the rebranding on the grounds that reaching issue #101 made little narrative sense when the team's identity had already fundamentally changed. Liefeld's original intent was for Stryfe to be Cable from a later point in his own timeline, but independently of the New Mutants creative team, Jim Lee, Whilce Portacio, and Bob Harras had already begun setting up Cable as the future incarnation of Cyclops' infant son in X-Factor, forcing Liefeld and Nicieza to eventually pivot toward the 'Stryfe is a clone of Cable' resolution.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of X-Force as a named team: Cable, Cannonball, Domino (actually Copycat in disguise), Warpath, Boom-Boom, Shatterstar, and Feral are collectively referred to as X-Force for the first time, with Cannonball delivering the team's new name.
- First full appearance of Shatterstar (Gaveedra Seven): the Mojoverse freedom fighter crashes the Danger Room after a one-panel cameo in issue #99, identifies himself to the team, and formally joins; the issue also notes his resemblance to Longshot.
- First appearance of Feral (Maria Callasantos) joining the team: she is discovered hiding in the Xavier mansion kitchen while fleeing Masque's Morlocks, and Cable extends her membership in exchange for her service.
- First appearance of Mojo's Imperial Protectorate: the armored soldiers sent to kill Shatterstar represent a new antagonist group introduced here.
- Tabitha Smith (Boom-Boom) is credited in Marvel's own database as making her first appearance under the codename 'Boomer' in this issue, signaling her identity shift as the team transitions to X-Force.
- The 'Domino' appearing throughout this issue is later revealed to be the shapeshifter Vanessa Carlysle/Copycat, impersonating the real Domino — a twist disclosed in X-Force #8.
- The issue's closing cliffhanger — Stryfe removing his helmet to reveal Cable's face — was designed by Liefeld to suggest the two characters were the same person at different points in time, though the actual resolution (Stryfe as Cable's clone) was shaped by concurrent editorial decisions in the X-Factor title.
- Three distinct printings exist: the first printing carries a purple background cover, the second a gold metallic enhanced cover, and the third a silver metallic enhanced cover; the issue is a 52-page giant, plotted and drawn by Rob Liefeld, scripted by Fabian Nicieza, colored by Brad Vancata, lettered by Joe Rosen, and edited by Bob Harras.
Cast · 32 characters
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Reprints
Reprinted in Titans #157 (1992), Titans #158 (1992), Cable and the New Mutants #[nn] (1992), X-Force Megazine #1 (1996), Cable: Second Genesis #1 (1999), X-Force: A Force to Be Reckoned With #[nn] (2011), X-Force Omnibus #1 (2013), Nous sommes les Nouveaux Mutants #[nn] (2020), New Mutants Epic Collection #8 (2022)
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