The New Mutants Annual #6
New Mutants Annual #6 occupies a genuinely crowded crossroads in Marvel's 1990 publishing calendar: it serves as the second chapter of 'Days of Future Present,' the four-part summer crossover that acted as a sequel to the seminal 'Days of Future Past' storyline from Uncanny X-Men #141–142 (1981), bringing together the Fantastic Four, X-Factor, the New Mutants, and elements of the X-Men against the time-traveling mutant-hunter Ahab — a villain making his debut across the crossover. Beyond the main story, the issue contains Rob Liefeld's 'Glimpse Into the Future' pin-up, which gave readers their very first visual of Shatterstar — a warrior who would go on to become a founding member of X-Force and one of Marvel's most discussed LGBTQ characters — nearly a full year before the character appeared in an actual story. The backup tale 'Tribute the Second,' written by Peter David, also used Doug Ramsey's ghost to give readers and Wolfsbane a form of narrative closure on Cypher's death, making this annual work on multiple creative levels simultaneously.
In "The Once and Future Mutant," adult Franklin Richards returns to Xavier's School, rebuilding it exactly as he remembers—complete with a team of New Mutants. When Ahab attacks, the adult and young versions of Franklin must face off in a clash that blurs past and present. Written by Louise Simonson and illustrated by Terry Shoemaker with contributions from Chris Wozniak, the story unfolds with emotional weight and unexpected tension, all rendered in bold visuals by cover artists Rob Liefeld and Scott Williams.
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The primary story, 'The Once and Future Mutant,' was written by Louise Simonson and penciled by Terry Shoemaker and Chris Wozniak — with interior art handled by fill-in artists because regular series artist Rob Liefeld, already providing fill-ins on the monthly book, contributed only the cover (with Scott Williams) and two pin-up pages, including the historically significant Shatterstar preview. The backup, 'Tribute the Second,' was scripted by Peter David with art by Gavin Curtis and Dan Panosian, forming part of a loosely connected series of elegiac short stories David contributed to the 1990 annuals. Editor Bob Harras shepherded the issue under editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco; a notable production error placed a 'Part 3 of 4' label on the cover, when the story's events actually occur second in the crossover's internal chronology — an error the issue itself addressed with an explanatory essay by Marvel intern David Schwartz.
Trivia · 8 facts
- The issue is Part 2 of the 'Days of Future Present' crossover (despite the cover's 'Part 3' label), continuing from Fantastic Four Annual #23 and proceeding to X-Factor Annual #5; the mislabeling was acknowledged in an editorial note inside the book itself.
- The first-ever visual appearance of Shatterstar (Gaveedra-Seven) appears in Rob Liefeld's 'Glimpse Into the Future' pin-up, titled 'A Vision to Come,' predating the character's first story appearance in New Mutants #99 (March 1991) by roughly nine months; Shatterstar was co-created by Liefeld and writer Fabian Nicieza.
- Ahab (Rory Campbell), the cyborg mutant-hunter and master of the Hounds, makes his debut across the 'Days of Future Present' crossover; this issue develops his role as a time-traveling enforcer dispatching Hounds and Sentinels to eliminate the adult Franklin Richards.
- The story introduces a future incarnation of the New Mutants conjured by adult Franklin Richards, including a version of Doug Ramsey who has merged with Warlock and taken the name Magus — an Earth-811 alternate-future variant designation later retroactively formalized in Marvel's official handbooks.
- The backup story 'Tribute the Second,' written by Peter David with art by Gavin Curtis and Dan Panosian, features the ghost of Cypher (Doug Ramsey) in a graveyard scene that serves as an emotional coda to his death, and gives Wolfsbane implicit permission to pursue new feelings — hinting at her growing attachment to Rictor.
- The issue's creative credits include: main story by Louise Simonson (writer), Terry Shoemaker and Chris Wozniak (pencilers), Scott Williams, Al Milgrom, Art Thibert, and Harry Candelario (inkers), Brad Vancata (colorist), and Joe Rosen (letterer); cover by Rob Liefeld and Scott Williams.
- The main story has been reprinted multiple times, including in the X-Men: Days of Future Present trade paperback (1991), Essential X-Factor Vol. 4 (2012), Essential X-Men Vol. 10 (2012), Fantastic Four Epic Collection Vol. 20: Into the Timestream (2014), X-Men: Days of Future Past hardcover (2014), and the New Mutants Epic Collection Vol. 7: Cable (2020).
- The backup 'Tribute the Second' was separately reprinted in the X-Factor by Peter David Omnibus hardcover (2021), reflecting the story's standing as part of Peter David's celebrated run on X-Factor-adjacent material.
Cast · 34 characters
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Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
The adult Franklin Richards visits Xavier's School, re-creating it just the way he remembers it, complete with New Mutants. Banshee, the Invisible Woman, Mr. Fantastic, and young Franklin arrive. Ahab attacks. Adult and child Franklin confront each other.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).