The X-Men are undoubtedly one of the greatest superhero teams in existence, and easily the most relatable. Defending a world that both fears and hates you is no easy task! Interestingly, most people do not know the team has birthed a number of splinter teams, one of the most popular being the New Mutants! This team was formed when Professor X decided to take on new students after the original X-Men (Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast, Iceman, and Angel)  grew up and departed. Unlike, the older X-Men, Magneto served as their teacher for a time in the Professor’s absence, taking on enemies that were in many cases more deadly or powerful than the original X-Men had ever encountered.

Thankfully, Fox realizes the potential of a film based on this group of young mutants and has decided to announce the team’s line up!

via Movie Pilot

Cannonball

For most X-Men fans (me included), a New Mutants movie without Cannonball simply wouldn’t work. Hailing from Kentucky, Cannonball’s power is to generate a powerful field of energy around himself. This enables enables him to blast into the air like a human cannonball; while in flight, he’s essentially impervious to physical harm. He can also shoot out this energy field as deadly energy blasts, usually from his hands.

Hailing from Kentucky, Sam Guthrie is a smart, good-natured superhero with a heart of gold. He’s a natural leader, and became second-in-command when Cable took over the team. Giving an indication of Cannonball’s potential, he’s the only New Mutant to ever ‘graduate’ into the X-Men, and was seen by Cyclops as a future leader for the entire mutant race. He actually wound up a member of the Avengers, and had a child with a member of the Shi’ar Imperial Guard!

Moonstar

Another of the team’s leading figures, Danielle Moonstar is a Cheyenne superhero with the power to generate the fears and desires of anyone as emotionally-devastating illusions. She’s commonly been used to explore the supernatural side of the Marvel Universe – she was tied to a Demon Bear for a while – and even became one of Asgard’s Valkyries!

While infiltrating the terrorist organization known as the Mutant Liberation Front, Danielle learned to project psychic arrows that, on striking an enemy, would subject them to horrific visions of their worst fears. She briefly became a teacher at Xavier’s School, until she was stripped of her powers in the early 2000s. Since then, Danielle’s remained a constant presence in the X-Men comics, even becoming field-leader of the New Mutants in spite of the loss of her powers!

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Wolfsbane

One of the most popular of the New Mutants, Wolfsbane is a Scottish mutant who possesses the ability to transform into a wolf (or to pause the transformation in various in-between stages, essentially turning her into a lupine warrior). Rahne Sinclair’s background is a haunting one; she was brought up by an abusive pastor named Reverend Craig, who attempted to kill her after learning she was a mutant. Although shy and emotionally repressed, Wolfsbane gradually learned to allow others into her heart, and has been a major figure in the X-Men books ever since her creation. Whether a member of the New Mutants, X-Factor, or X-Force, plots featuring Wolfsbane have often been emotionally charged.

There are strong rumors that Wolfsbane is being played by Maisie Williams, of Game of Thrones fame.

Sunspot

Increasingly important in Marvel’s current comics, the Brazilian mutant Sunspot has the power to absorb and channel solar energy. He uses this solar energy to transform into a physical powerhouse, with super-strength and resistance to injury. Adan Canto played a version of the character in the future portions of X-Men: Days of Future Past.

Sunspot is the son of a wealthy Brazilian businessman, but his powers first manifested on the football field. Targeted after such a public display, Sunspot was rescued by members of the New Mutants, and enrolled at Xavier’s School. Sunspot’s path has often diverged from the rest of the team, and he’s taken tutoring from shady figures such as the immortal mutant Gideon, who amplified Sunspot’s powers, giving him the ability to fly and project energy blasts.

A member of the Hellfire Club (along with many other wealthy mutants, such as Archangel), Sunspot actually attempted to take the Club over. More recently, he became a field-leader of the Avengers. Disturbed by the impending end of the Multiverse, Sunspot used his wealth to buy out Advanced Ideas Mechanics, a terrorist organization with advanced science. He’s rehabilitating A.I.M. into doing good, and put together his own New Avengers team to support his vision.

Magik

Easily the most complex character in the team, Magik is the younger sister of the X-Man Colossus. She was captured by the demonic entity Belasco, and taken into his realm; there, with time passing at an accelerated rate, she had become a teenage sorceress by the time the X-Men managed to rescue her. Magik involved the New Mutants into a whole host of cosmic and mystic adventures, using her powers of teleportation – and the Soulsword, a mystic blade crafted out of her soul – to devastating effect. She was ultimately restored to the form of a child, but tragically died of the Legacy Virus.

More recently, Belasco began the process of giving Magik new life by restoring shards of her fragmented soul. She ultimately rejoined the New Mutants, although this was mostly to manipulate the X-Men into a world-threatening battle with mystic beings known as the Elder Gods. Since then, she’s become a core member of the X-Men, remaining crucial to two series of Uncanny X-Men and the current Extraordinary X-Men. Her mystic powers are continuing to develop, and she’s actually become a student of Doctor Strange!

If HitFix is to be believed, Anya Taylor-Joy – star of the popular The Witch- has been given this role.

Warlock

Hailing from an alien techno-organic race known as the Phalanx, Warlock is unlike the rest of his race in that he possesses a sense of compassion. He’s cultivated this through his relationship with the New Mutants, where he’s been a particularly close friend of Doug Ramsey (a character who doesn’t sound likely to appear in the film). Like the rest of his race, Warlock consumes the life-energy (or “Lifeglow”) of other creatures in order to live.

Warlock’s long struggled with his heritage, helping various superheroes in their battles with the Phalanx – ranging from the New Mutants to the X-Men to the cosmic superhero Nova! His presence in the film proves that, just as rumors suggested, the X-Men franchise is going cosmic…

So there you have it – the six key characters for New Mutants! The team has always been distinctive in the fact that it’s impressively international – characters hail from diverse locations, ranging from Brazil to Scotland – and the teenage antics should be tremendous. In their report, The Hollywood Reporter describes the plot as “angst-driven,” which means we should see some fun interactions between the cast. For this X-Men fan, the idea of seeing the New Mutants come to the big screen is tremendously exciting!

We REALLY love these characters! Still though we wish they would have included Magma, Karma, and Cypher! Who knows though? The X-Men roster has changed quite a bit in the film. There’s can too!