New Mutants #5 - Marvel

This issue is really just the wrap-up for the first story-line in this title. In it our team finds and encounters Legion, David Haller. Karma, while looking for Marci, a small town girl, instead finds David and ends up being absorbed into his psyche. He fights most of the team to a stand-still, until Illyana decides to go in and put an end to all of this. She ends up killing off quite a few of his various personalities with her soul-sword. That helps to scare them a bit, and her and Shan can then find David and Marci. There's also a doll represented in his psyche. Whomever has control of it, also controls the personality reflected by David in the material world. Illyana and Shan are also able to get David back in control of this. We find out this issue that Marci was trapped in David's head because one of his personalities had murdered her and then absorbed her. We also find out that it was Shan that killed him . . punishing him . . not Illyana. Although, Illyana is willing to accept the blame and punishment for it. So now, back on the X-Island the Science Squad is working on separating and isolating all of David's various personalities. So far they're up to 143, and they still have a long way to go. Also Dani and Sam finally have it out. This was a confrontation that had been in the making for quite a while. Suffice it to say . . I think they've worked through most of their issues. Anyways, the reason we're wrapping this story-line up is because we're getting ready to get started on a story revolving around Warlock. Yes he's back! This issue he starts out at the old site of the Xavier Institute. But while there he finds out that his friend, Doug Ramsey's grave seems to have been desecrated. I wonder if that has anything to do with Bastion? I'm just guessing, but . . I think it does. Anyways, I thought Zeb Wells did a great job with this story. I like what he's done with the team so far, and where it seems to be heading. Zachary Baldus does the art this issue. It has moments of brilliance, but . . it's just not consistent. And he spends most of his effort on characters. There's almost no background art. Sometimes that's ok, but when he occurs through pretty much the whole issue, it kind of hampers the story flow. You don't really have a sense of where the characters are, or where they're going. I don't know. Parts of it looked great . . while other parts were just mediocre. The guys definitely got talent, and potential. If he's going to be the regular artist, I'll just have to look forward to seeing how he improves. We do however get a fantastic Adam Kubert cover. Overall I enjoyed the issue. I'm glad that the teams back to it's original line-up . . more or less. And I'm looking forward to seeing where we go. It should be an interesting ride.