Mutant Rock!
February 11, 2016 10:16 AM   Subscribe

If you like relatively obscure teenage superheroes and Joan Jett-style rocking out, block out six minutes to watch this fan film of Marvel's New Mutants at a Lila Cheney concert, by Greasy Pig Studios.

A brief dramatis personae: Lila Cheney is Marvel's only rock star/intergalactic master thief, and the New Mutants are the group of teenagers who enrolled at the Xavier Institute after the X-Men aged out. Lila's backup dancer is Dazzler, showing uncharacteristic humility by not taking over the show completely. Greasy Pig previously produced a short video starring her.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish (29 comments total) 10 users marked this as a favorite
 
A) How many geek points do you get if you recognize every character when they first show them, before they talk or show their powers, including Stevie Hunter?
B) Roberto's mulatto, much darker than he was cast here.
C) I don't get what Lila sees in Sam in the comics, and I don't get it here.
posted by signal at 10:38 AM on February 11, 2016 [2 favorites]


You guys, Stevie Hunter dropped them off at the rocknroll discotheque!!!
posted by elr at 10:40 AM on February 11, 2016 [2 favorites]


Warlock's mirage slipping make me so so happy.
posted by elr at 10:41 AM on February 11, 2016 [2 favorites]


A) How many geek points do you get if you recognize every character when they first show them, before they talk or show their powers, including Stevie Hunter?

Depends, could you pick out Warlock before he went all squiggly?

(If yes, the answer is INFINITE.)
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 10:44 AM on February 11, 2016 [1 favorite]


Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish: "Depends, could you pick out Warlock before he went all squiggly?"

Yes, but only by process of elimination.
posted by signal at 10:47 AM on February 11, 2016 [2 favorites]


How many geek points do you get if you recognize every character when they first show them, before they talk or show their powers, including Stevie Hunter?

I don't know, I got most of them but one was a real cypher.
posted by MartinWisse at 10:54 AM on February 11, 2016 [11 favorites]


Arrrghhh I love Lila Cheney in the weird way only someone exposed to her as a twelve year old girl can and am counting the hours until I can get out of work and watch this. Thanks for posting it!
posted by skycrashesdown at 10:57 AM on February 11, 2016 [1 favorite]


I don't get what Lila sees in Sam in the comics, and I don't get it here.

More trolling than love perhaps, but Sam does have that sort of bland kindness and charm of your average harem protagonist; i can see a rock chick like Lila being attracted to his earnestness.
posted by MartinWisse at 10:58 AM on February 11, 2016 [1 favorite]


If You like relatively obscure teenage superheroes and Joan Jett-style rocking out

FTFY.

This music video is wonderful.

Also, wow the 1980s X-Men were diverse! I had honestly forgotten.
posted by greenland at 11:40 AM on February 11, 2016 [1 favorite]


...the New Mutants are the group of teenagers who enrolled at the Xavier Institute after the X-Men aged out.

PEDANTIC NERDY POINT OF ORDER#1!
The New Mutants were formed after Professor X thought the X-Men had been killed. He vowed not to take on any more students, but someone needed help with her powers, so he took on Karma, then others followed. Charles was just going to train them in the use of the their powers, not send them into combat, but you know how it goes with young mutants and combat, stuff just happens!

Lila's backup dancer is Dazzler, showing uncharacteristic humility by not taking over the show completely

PEDANTIC NERDY POINT OF ORDER#2!
Dazzler one took over that one show because she was possessed by a Marauder, who was hiding out her choker.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 11:40 AM on February 11, 2016 [7 favorites]


I loved the New Mutants so much until Mr. Big-Guns-No-Feet-and-Lots-of-Pouches showed up and ruined it.
posted by entropicamericana at 11:50 AM on February 11, 2016 [8 favorites]


PEDANTIC NERDY COUNTERPOINT! Technically the X-Men aged out and were believed dead-by-space-alien. There was a whole thing in the preceding arcs where it was clear they no longer needed the Professor as an authority figure -- which is why they're the New Mutants and not the new X-Men, and why when the X-Men did come back the two classes weren't just merged together.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 11:56 AM on February 11, 2016 [1 favorite]


New Mutants was my favorite comic back in the 80's, so I can't wait to check this out after work. I mean, one of the heroes ruled over a freakin' hell dimension, and Warlock actually seems alien instead of just being essentially a human born on another planet like most aliens in fiction.
posted by Thoughtcrime at 12:28 PM on February 11, 2016 [3 favorites]


The '80s were their golden years, of course, but the 5 or so years ago storyline where Magick tricks them into helping her kill the elder gods is good, too.
posted by signal at 12:34 PM on February 11, 2016 [1 favorite]


My X-Men RPG (still over on Livejournal, yes, we're all ancient) (not really) went EPIC SIDEWAYS over this yesterday, like Extreme Fanishness. (We have Rahne, Doug, Amara, Illyana, Alison, and Longshot in the game, though Not As You May Recognize them, and their players were particularly delighted)

I think our Dazzler player made noises only feral mutants with enhanced super hearing could hear. I KNOW our Doug player did, just because Doug was a) included and b) not in a "lol Cypher's useless" way.

Yes, Berto was too white, and I'm not sold on all the wigs, but WHO CARES IT WAS GLORIOUS. And both songs - this and the one from the Dazzler video (which has Longshot in it btw) are super catchy!
posted by FritoKAL at 12:43 PM on February 11, 2016 [1 favorite]


(well, who cares about the wigs. 'Berto being too white is absolutely worth caring about, Roberto DeCosta is Afro-Brazilian)
posted by FritoKAL at 12:44 PM on February 11, 2016 [3 favorites]


PEDANTIC DON'T-CALL-ME-NERDY POINT OF ORDER:
If you like "Joan Jett-style rocking out", the Real Thing was on The Muppets this week. (And yes, I'm wearing my pig tail... lots better than a man bun.)
posted by oneswellfoop at 12:46 PM on February 11, 2016 [1 favorite]


MORE PEDANTRY:

the Xavier Institute

That's Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters to you, sir.

I, too, can't wait to get home from work and check this out.
posted by praemunire at 1:38 PM on February 11, 2016 [2 favorites]


Well, this was a real treat. The New Mutants at their peak before all of their characters were ruined.

Also, yes, bonus for inclusion of Guido/Strong Guy, even if he wasn't quite as massive as he should be.
posted by Joey Michaels at 1:53 PM on February 11, 2016 [1 favorite]


> "(If yes, the answer is INFINITE.)"

I WIN!

And Sam's a good kid. Plus, he's nigh invulnerable when he's blastin'.
posted by kyrademon at 2:17 PM on February 11, 2016 [6 favorites]


Reminder that if you enjoy (or are just curious about) the X-books, you should consider listening to Rachel and Miles X-Plain the X-Men (previously), a really lovely podcast hosted by Jay Rachel Edidin and Miles Stokes. They're delightful and the last several episodes have had lots of New Mutants-y stuff.
posted by jdherg at 2:28 PM on February 11, 2016 [3 favorites]


I seriously grooved on this- it got everything I loved about New Mutants down.
posted by happyroach at 2:55 PM on February 11, 2016 [1 favorite]


Greg Nog: The sad fact ix that the overlap between 'muscular people' and 'people into this sort of thing' is probably not very big.

I really feel for people who make fanfilms. It must be hell finding actors, getting permission to use locations, avoiding getting in trouble when using locations without permission etc. And on top of all that they (probably - Gearbox isn't as shitty about it as as Nintendo, Square-Enix, Disney, etc.) can't crowdfund and (definitely) can't sell the final product.
posted by BiggerJ at 4:03 PM on February 11, 2016 [1 favorite]


It's not just that it got the New Mutants right, it's a great early 80s vid, right down to the questionable production values. Adorable.
posted by praemunire at 7:08 PM on February 11, 2016 [2 favorites]


Where is the New Mutants show in the style of Degrassi and awesome-cheesy CW dramas that this world deserves?
posted by jason_steakums at 9:11 PM on February 11, 2016 [4 favorites]


They're making a film, but it's stuck in development hell, and if Brian Singer has anything to say about it, the film will feature 143 minutes of Wolverine and 15 minutes of the New Mutants dressed in black paintball gear. Also, no Lockheed because he's "not realistic."
posted by entropicamericana at 9:58 PM on February 11, 2016 [2 favorites]


Damnit. I wanted to post this! And I want more.

No joke, I got a bit choked up watching this, because New Mutants (Chris-Era, not Weezy-era) is my favourite comic book run of all time (1-55-ish as I recall, ESPECIALLY the Jackson Guice era.)

As someone said above, as far as comics went, this was my Degrassi on paper.

It not might be the greatest, or the most intelligence, but it was the one I read at the right time, and it imprinted on me the most. And, as bad as Weezy was... ugh. The Liefeld era was exactly when I quit, and I admit, I was hanging on too long.

Also: Longshot!
(but the Dazzler clip is not so good, and needs more Disco.)
posted by Mezentian at 3:46 AM on February 12, 2016


HOLY SHIT

MY JOAN JETT SUPERHERO AU IS REAL

WHY HAS NOBODY TOLD ME ABOUT LILA CHENEY
posted by divabat at 6:34 PM on February 12, 2016 [2 favorites]


You're going to love Cat's Laughing.
posted by Mezentian at 2:15 AM on February 13, 2016 [1 favorite]


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