Posted in: Comics | Tagged: demon bear, new mutants

Comparing The New Mutants: Demon Bear, From Comic To Movie (Spoilers)

The New Mutants movie is based on The Demon Bear storyline by Chris Claremont and Bill Sienkiewicz, based on characters created by Claremont and Bob McLeod. Sienkiewicz also created artwork specifically for the movie, for the credit scenes, front and back. But the plot in the movie references other aspects of the comic book as well, going back into McLeod's run too.

New Mutants #5 featured Danielle Moonstar coming face to face with her greatest nightmare, the beast that killed her parents, also the focus of the movie.

It also references the nightmares suffered by other members of the New Mutants, which Dani Moonstar makes real. Sam Guthrie and Rahne Sinclair's nightmares here are specifically brought to life in the movie.

Although in the comic book, she gets to talk to her own specific fears. Not that it helps much. The movie cast and focus of the storyline takes from future issues though, still in the Xavier's School For Gifted Youngsters – and a variety of other locations, rather than the hospital facility of the movie which is almost the only location in the movie. We also have Illyana and not Karma or Magma. And yes, there is even Lockheed – of a sort.

The film definitely refl;ects the darker tone that Bill Sienkiewicz brought to the comic book, with the Demon Bear attaining a religious, iconic look.

And there are scenes such as the "It's magic" "So am I" Illyana that are taken directly from the comic book.

Look, here's the original artwork as well.

The Demon Bear resolves itself very differently in the comic book however.

The kind of reunion denied the characters in the movie.

Maybe that was a supernatural moment too far for the film, which tried to resolve everything into mutant abilities – though they do seem to skip over a lot of Magik's… magic. But at heart, there's a lot more in common between the movie and the comic than you usually find.

The New Mutants, in cinemas now, is a 2020 horror superhero film based on the Marvel Comics team of the same name and distributed by 20th Century Studios. It is the thirteenth and final instalment in the X-Men film series. The film was directed by Josh Boone from a screenplay he wrote with Knate Lee, and stars Maisie Williams, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Heaton, Alice Braga, Blu Hunt, and Henry Zaga. You can read an interview with Josh Boone and BC EIC Kaitlyn Booth right here.

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