The New Mutants #55

Name: The New Mutants #55
Brand: Marvel
Availability: InStock

Sep 1987 · Marvel · 0.75 USD; 0.95 CAD; 0.40 GBP

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“Flying Wild!”

★ 1st appearance — Bird-Brain

About this Issue

New Mutants #55 marks a genuine creative watershed for the series: it is the first issue written by Louise Simonson and penciled by Bret Blevins, a pairing that would shape the book's tone and cast for more than three years, steering it from Chris Claremont's measured psychological drama toward a more kinetic, adventure-forward style. The changeover was not merely cosmetic — Simonson's run would kill off Cypher, introduce Bird-Brain, and eventually set the stage for Cable and X-Force, making this issue the quiet origin point of an entire branch of 1990s Marvel. Beyond personnel, the issue's 'Just Say No'-era drug subplot — Cannonball is drugged by alien coercion at a rock-star party — illustrates how even the cosmic corners of the X-line were pressed into service for social commentary in the late Copper Age. The first appearances of the Zyndarian alien Raek, his associate Gyrk, and the Zyndarian race itself also quietly expand Lila Cheney's interstellar mythology, which would pay dividends across Cheney's decades-long role as an X-Men ally and cosmic teleporter.

In "Flying Wild!", the New Mutants crash a party with their friend Lila, only to find themselves tangled in a strange plot when aliens from her past drug Cannonball and pressure her into stealing a priceless artifact. With quick thinking and a well-timed teleport, Magik sends the intruders straight to Limbo, leaving the team to untangle the mystery. Written by Louise Simonson and illustrated by Bret Blevins, with inks by Terry Austin and colors by Glynis Oliver, this 1987 issue delivers a high-stakes, supernatural twist on a night out. The cover by Bret Blevins and Terry Austin captures the chaos perfectly.

writer Louise Simonson · artist Bret Blevins · inker Terry Austin · colorist Glynis Oliver · letterer Tom Orzechowski · letterer Buhalis · cover Bret Blevins, Terry Austin

ComicBooks.com Value

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Raw (VF) $5

CGC 9.8 · 18 in census $45

CGC 9.6 · 4 in census $21*

CGC 9.4 · 2 in census $20*

CGC 9.2 · 2 in census $20*

CGC 9.0 · 1 in census $20*

CGC 8.5 · 1 in census $20*

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CGC 8.0 · 2 in census $20*

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Raw / ungraded ▾ $1.89–$110 28 listings

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History

With Chris Claremont departing New Mutants to launch Wolverine and Excalibur as ongoing titles, Marvel needed a replacement scripter quickly; veteran X-editor and then-current X-Factor writer Louise Simonson was tapped, though the arrangement was initially conceived as a short-term fill-in of roughly six months. Simonson, who had originally edited New Mutants at its 1983 debut under her then-byline 'Louise Jones,' was therefore returning to a series she knew intimately from the editorial side. Bret Blevins, who had already filled in on issue #49, joined as the new regular penciler, inked by the reliable Terry Austin, with Ann Nocenti editing under editor-in-chief Jim Shooter.

Trivia · 8 facts

First issue written by Louise Simonson, who would remain on the title almost through its cancellation and transformation into X-Force — a run of over three years, far exceeding the originally planned six-month fill-in.
First issue with Bret Blevins as the incoming regular series penciler (he had previously filled in on #49); Terry Austin provided inks on this debut installment.
First appearances of antagonists Raek and Gyrk, as well as the Zyndarian alien race — extraterrestrial thieves from Lila Cheney's criminal past who attempt to coerce her into stealing the 'Jewels of Ikerno.'
Story title is 'Flying Wild!'; the plot involves alien villains drugging Cannonball (Sam Guthrie) at Lila Cheney's album-release party in Manhattan, with Magik ultimately banishing Raek and his gang to Limbo.
Contains the first in-series mention and a brief visual tease of 'Bird-Brain,' a mysterious creature being held at Governors Island — a seed for the arc that would culminate in Cypher's death in issue #60.
Full creative team: Louise Simonson (writer), Bret Blevins (penciler), Terry Austin (inker), Glynis Oliver (colorist), Tom Orzechowski & Lois Buhalis (letterers), Ann Nocenti (editor), Jim Shooter (editor-in-chief).
Magneto appears in a supporting role as the team's headmaster, setting a curfew before the New Mutants head to Lila's Manhattan party — consistent with his tenure leading Xavier's School during this era.
The issue has been collected in: X-Men: Fall of the Mutants (Marvel, 2011), the X-Men: Fall of the Mutants Omnibus (Marvel, 2021), and the New Mutants Omnibus Vol. 3 (Marvel, 2023), as well as the New Mutants Epic Collection: Sudden Death (which collects #55–70 and Annual #4).