| "Child's Play" | |
|---|---|
Cover of X-Force vol. 1, 32 (Mar, 1994).Art by Tony Daniel. |
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| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| Publication date | March – April 1994 |
| Genre | Crossover |
| Title(s) | X-Force (vol. 1) #32-33 The New Warriors (vol. 1) #45-46 |
| Main character(s) | New Warriors X-Force Upstarts |
| Creative team | |
| Writer(s) | Fabian Nicieza |
| Penciller(s) | X-Force Tony Daniel The New Warriors Darick Robertson |
| Inker(s) | X-Force Jon Holdredge The New Warriors Larry Mahlstedt |
| Letterer(s) | X-Force Chris Eliopoulos The New Warriors Anthony Avon |
| Colorist(s) | X-Force Marie Javins The New Warriors Ovi Hondru |
| Editor(s) | X-Force Tom DeFalco Bob Harras Lisa Patrick The New Warriors Rob Tokar |
"Child's Play" is a 1994 Marvel Comics crossover featuring the New Warriors, X-Force, and the Upstarts. It is also the first time Karma reunites with the New Mutants since she left the team in New Mutants #54 (1987).
Contents |
The Upstarts continue their series of games to prove their power and worth to one another. This time, they devise "the Younghunt", a mission to capture all of the surviving members of the New Mutants (some of who are now members of X-Force) and the Hellions. This competition also brings the Upstarts into conflict with the New Warriors (as Firestar is a former Hellion). The Upstarts acquire most of their targets, who are pitted against X-Force and the New Warriors during the crossover's climax. However, Paige Guthrie, who secretly followed X-Force on the rescue mission, is able to convince the Gamesmaster to play another game—instead of killing mutants, the Upstarts should compete with the mutant leaders of the world to try to find and train young mutants like herself. The Gamesmaster is intrigued by the proposition and cancels the competition.
This crossover marks a watershed moment for several characters. Moonstar, still affiliated with the Mutant Liberation Front, unmasks herself to her former teammates during this event, and reveals that she is, in fact, Dani Moonstar and not an imposter. She maintains her cover and does not reveal she is working for S.H.I.E.L.D. to her teammates at this juncture, but this marks the first hint that she does not buy into the MLF’s agenda.
The retcon of the origin of Nova Roma is very much a part of the storyline. (This retcon was in turn retconned in more recent comics.) Accordingly, during this story, Magma divorces herself from the Amara Aquilla persona and decides to uncover her origins as “Alison Crestmere.” In the process, she demands Empath keep his distance.
| No. | Target | Upstart | Result |
| 1. | Magma | Fenris | Captured in Nova Roma; Ensnared by energy-dampening steel coils. |
| 2. 3. |
Cannonball Boomer |
Siena Blaze | Captured at the Guthrie farm in Kentucky; Incapacitated by Siena's Electromagnetic force blast. |
| 4. | Empath | Fenris | Escaped capture in Nova Roma due to Moonstar paralyzing the Fenris siblings with her psi-arrows. |
| 5. 6. - |
Karma Moonstar Empath |
Siena Blaze | Averted capture in Madripoor by Karma taking control of Siena's mind; the three attempt to infiltrate the Upstarts and Younghunt by pretending to be captured. |
| 6. | Firestar | Graydon Creed | Resists capture by defeating Creed's armored goons with the New Warriors' help in Manhattan. |
| - | Firestar | Shinobi Shaw | Delivered to Shinobi in Tokyo by Justice. |
| 7. 8. |
Warpath Rictor |
Trevor Fitzroy | Resist capture by defeating Fitzroy with X-Force's help in Kentucky. |
| 9. | Wolfsbane | Fenris | Resists capture by apprehending Fenris with X-Factor’s help in Washington. |
Despite the large number of characters involved, many former members of the Hellions and New Mutants do not appear.
Deceased members of the New Mutants and the Hellions certainly not available for capture include: Cypher, Warlock, Jetstream, Beef, Bevatron, Catseye, Roulette and Magik.
Sunspot was a surviving New Mutant who was not targeted by the Upstarts because he and Locus were lost in the timestream at that time. Rusty and Skids, also former New Mutants, were not targeted in the Younghunt, likely because of their affiliation with the Acolytes and were under Magneto's protection, far from Earth on Avalon.
Depending on Tarot's mysterious rebirth, which has not been fully explained, she may or may not have been alive and eligible for capture at the time of the Younghunt.
As Husk, Paige Guthrie has powers extremely different that she exhibited in this storyline (where she shapeshifts into a bird at one point). This is likely attributable to the writer not being fully informed of the character's concept. Husk came to prominence a few months later during the Phalanx Covenant crossover and the formation of Generation X.