The New Warriors #21

Name: The New Warriors #21
Brand: Marvel
Availability: InStock

Mar 1992 · Marvel · 1.25 USD; 1.50 CAD; 0.70 GBP

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“The Folding Circle”

★ 1st appearance — Hybrid

About this Issue

New Warriors #21 is the debut of the Folding Circle — one of the most carefully constructed villain groups in the Nicieza-Bagley run — whose origin was seeded across the series from its very first arc and is directly entangled with Night Thrasher's own backstory via the Vietnam-era Pact and the Well of All Things. The issue introduces five new characters in a single chapter (Left Hand, Smiling Tiger, Bloodstrike-as-costumed-identity, Silk Fever as Firewall-reborn, and Scott Washington, the unnamed Guardsman who would eventually become the symbiote anti-hero Hybrid), making it one of the densest first-appearance issues in the title's 75-issue run. Structurally, the story also marks the moment Night Thrasher formally breaks from his own team and joins the antagonists, a bold narrative pivot that raises genuine dramatic stakes for the 'Nothing But the Truth' arc. The simultaneous escalation of Marvel Boy's manslaughter charge to murder-one after his father's death adds a second slow-burning crisis, cementing the issue as a convergence point for multiple long-running threads.

In "The Folding Circle," the New Warriors face a chilling turning point as Night Thrasher joins the ranks of a dangerous new faction. When Tai confronts Silhouette at Chord's hospital bedside, the truth of their connection erupts in a violent moment that leaves the team reeling. Written by Fabian Nicieza and brought to life by Mark Bagley’s dynamic art and Larry Mahlstedt’s sharp inks, this pivotal issue deepens the stakes with emotional revelations and shocking consequences. The cover by Mark Bagley and Larry Mahlstedt captures the tension perfectly.

writer Fabian Nicieza · artist Mark Bagley · artist, inker Larry Mahlstedt · colorist Joe Rosas · letterer Joe Rosen · cover Mark Bagley, Larry Mahlstedt

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History

The issue is part of the sustained Nicieza-Bagley collaboration that defined New Warriors Vol. 1; Nicieza scripted while Bagley provided breakdowns and Larry Mahlstedt finished the pencils — the same core production team responsible for the series from its launch. Editor Danny Fingeroth oversaw the book under editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco. The Folding Circle concept grew organically out of backstory Nicieza had planted in the series' earliest issues around Tai, Andrew Chord, and the Dragon's Breath cult, meaning the villains' debut in #21 functioned as a payoff rather than a new introduction.

Trivia · 8 facts

First appearance of the Folding Circle as a team — created by Fabian Nicieza and Mark Bagley — including Left Hand (Diego Casseas), Smiling Tiger (Conrad Mack), Silk Fever (Min Li Ng, formerly Firewall), and Bloodstrike in his costumed identity (Eric Conroy had appeared in civilian form as early as New Warriors #17).
First appearance of Scott Washington, introduced anonymously as 'Guardsman Number Six' during Marvel Boy's courthouse scenes; he would later become the symbiote anti-hero Hybrid in the 1996 Venom: Along Came a Spider miniseries.
Night Thrasher (Dwayne Taylor) defects to the Folding Circle in this issue, abandoning the New Warriors and becoming an antagonist for the 'Nothing But the Truth' story arc that runs through issues #21–25.
Vance Astrovik's father Arnold dies of injuries sustained from his son's mutant-power outburst, converting Marvel Boy's legal charge from assault to first-degree murder — a development that runs as a parallel dramatic thread throughout the arc.
Tai attacks Silhouette and reveals that Andrew Chord is her biological father, a revelation that reshapes the mythology around Night Thrasher's guardian and the series' central conspiracy.
The Folding Circle's shared origin — all members are children of American Vietnam veterans who made a mystical pact with the Cult of the Dragon's Breath, granting their offspring power drawn from the Well of All Things — is introduced here and explored across issues #21–25.
Written by Fabian Nicieza, penciled (breakdowns) by Mark Bagley, finished by Larry Mahlstedt, colored by Joe Rosas, lettered by Joe Rosen, and edited by Danny Fingeroth; cover date March 1992, on-sale January 28, 1992.
The issue — along with the full 'Nothing But the Truth' arc — is reprinted in the New Warriors Classic Omnibus Vol. 1 (also published as the New Warriors Omnibus Vol. 1), which collects New Warriors #1–26 alongside related annuals and tie-in issues.