The Marvel Comics Guide: NEW MUTANTS READING ORDER: Renewal (1982-1985)

When the X-Men were believed dead by Professor X, he looked to the next generation of mutants to fight in their place and the New Mutants were born! Only his motivation was much more sinister than that as he was the host of the alien Brood Queen at the time. Despite dark beginnings, the New Mutants continued to train at the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters and began a tradition of always having a young team of trainees at the school while the X-Men were off saving the world that fears and hates them so damn much.

In the early years, the New Mutants would gain some new members and adventure around the world, but they didn't come into their own until Bill Sienkiewicz jumped aboard as series artist with 'The Demon Bear Saga', redefining the title and finally giving it teeth.

As always, I'd like to thank the guys over at the Marvel Chronology Project which I've used as a basis and then worked out my own version of the Marvel Universe continuity.

MCG Notes:
Issue listings in blue & black: The must-read Daredevil stories from this time period, along with any often-forgotten tales that are worth a read.
issue listings in grey: Part of Daredevil's chronology, cameo appearances or stories of note that non-essential or no longer considered 'required reading'.
Chronology: Every Matt Murdock appearance from this period is included in chronological order - mapping out his timeline rather than just the order the issues were released.
Spoilers: The are some spoilers in the story overviews, though I've tried to keep them to a minimum - just be warned!
WANT TO KEEP IT SIMPLE? Scroll down to THE CORE LIST to see a version of this reading order without story descriptions, page-by-page breakdowns or less important appearances - just a list of the essentials.
A few stories of note featuring Magik and Karma before they joined the New Mutants - this section does not include every Magik appearance as she and Karma are not yet members of the team.

Giant-Size X-Men #1 (1975)
First appearance of Illyana Rasputin (unnamed, cameo); Piotr Rasputin rescues his sister, Illyana, from a runaway tractor before he's recruited by Professor X to go to America and join the X-Men as Colossus, leaving her behind in Russia during SECOND GENESIS.

Marvel Team-Up #100[1/2] (1980)
First appearance of Xi'an Coy Manh, Leong Coy Manh, Nga Coy Manh, Father Michael Bowen and General Nguyen Ngoc Coy; General Coy kidnaps Nga & Leong Coy Manh to manipulate their older sister, Xi'an into using her mutant powers for him; Spider-Man's efforts to rescue Nga & Leong are scuppered by the Fantastic Four under Xi'an's control; General's Coy's plan is ultimately ended by the combined might of Spider-Man, Xi'an and the Fantastic Four; Xi'an Coy Manh renames herself Karma.

Uncanny X-Men #145-146 (1981)
Illyana Rasputin is named; Illyana is among the friends and family members of the X-Men who are captured by Arcade; Illyana and the others are freed and she remains in America at the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters with her brother, now called Colossus during AND THE DEAD SHALL BURY THE LIVING.

Uncanny X-Men #160 (1982)
First appearance of Storm & Nightcrawler of Earth-8280, S'ym and the other-dimensional Limbo; Belasco whisks the X-Men and Illyana Rasputin into Limbo, a dimension he now rules; as the escape, Shadowcat briefly loses her grip on Illyana's hand; when Shadowcat regains her grip, Illyana emerges having aged around 7 years and is now in her early/mid-teens.

Marvel Graphic Novel #4: The New Mutants (1982)
New Mutants #1-3 (1983)
Uncanny X-Men #167 (1983)
First appearance of Cannonball (Sam Guthrie), Psyche (Dani Moonstar), Sunspot (Roberto da Costa), Wolfsbane (Rahne Sinclair), Reverend Craig Sinclair, Emmanuel da Costa, the Demon Bear (in a dream sequence) and Project: Wideawake; with the X-Men either lost in space or dead at the hands of the Brood, Professor X (Charles Xavier) forms a new team of trainee mutants; the New Mutants - Psyche, Sunspot, Wolfsbane and Karma - rescue Professor X from Donald Pierce's Hellfire Club minions and convince Cannonball to join them instead of working for Pierce; a much harsher Professor X trains the New Mutants in the Danger Room, pits them against the new Mark V Sentinels from Project: Wideawake, then battle the alien Brood Queen, unaware that it's actually Professor X; the X-Men return, clash with the New Mutants and free Professor X; Xavier's Brood Queen-infected body is killed, while his mind is transferred into a new, cloned body that will allow him to walk again; Professor X tells Sprite (Kitty Pryde) that she'll be transferred from the X-Men to the New Mutants during THE BROOD SAGA.

New Mutants #4 (1983)
The New Mutants track down Stevie Hunter's stalker.

Marvel Team-Up Annual #6 (1983)
The New Mutants meet Spider-Man and Cloak & Dagger while in pursuit of a drug gang.

Special Edition X-Men #1[2/2] (1983)
New Mutants cameo; the team attend Kitty Pryde's surprise birthday party.

Firestar #1 (1986)
New Mutants cameo; Angelica Jones considers enrolling at the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters.

New Mutants #5-6 (1983)The New Mutants team up with Team America against Viper and the Silver Samurai; Karma agrees to one year of servitude to General Nguyen Ngoc Coy in exchange for Psyche's freedom, though she is still inside Coy's base when the Silver Samurai detonates explosives that destroy it completely.

New Mutants #7 (1983)
First appearance of Axe and Nina da Costa; Sunspots mother takes the New Mutants to Rio to cheer them up; the Hellfire Club and the mutant Axe try to stop Nina da Costa from going on her next expedition.

New Mutants #8-12 (1983-1984)
First appearance of Amara Aquilla, Selene and Nova Roma; accompanying Nina da Costa on her expedition in the Amazon, the New Mutants discover the lost Roman city Nova Roma; they meet the volcanically-powered mutant Amara Aquilla and free her from the city's black priestess, Selene, who is sealed inside a volcano; Emmanuel da Costa agrees to join the Hellfire Club; Amara joins the New Mutants.

New Mutants #13 (1984)
First appearance of Doug Ramsey; first appearance of Amara Aquilla as Magma; Professor X helps Magma control her powers; the New Mutants confront Ariel (Kitty Pryde) for not wanting to join them; Ariel makes a friend outside of the Xavier School.

X-Men and the Micronauts #1-4 (1984)
First appearance of Psyche (Dani Moonstar) as Spellbinder; Professor X's evil self, the Entity, tries to wipe out the Microverse and turn the New Mutants against the X-Men; the combined might of the Micronauts and the X-Men defeat the Entity and restore Professor X during MICRONAUTS TRIUMPHANT.

Magik #1 (1983)
New Mutants #14(p.1) (1984)
Magik #2-4(pp.1-22) (1984)
New Mutants #14(p.2) (1984)
Magik #4(p.23) (1984)
New Mutants #14(pp.3-22) (1984)
First appearance of Illyana Rasputin as Magik; first appearance of Cat of Earth-8280; Illyana Rasputin recalls growing up in Limbo, allying herself with Storm of Earth-8280, trying to resist Belasco's attempts to corrupt her soul and renaming herself Magik; in the present, the demon S'ym comes to the Xavier School to steal Magik back to Limbo; Magik defeats S'ym who swears loyalty to her; Professor X reveals he can walk again; Doug Ramsey gets an offer of a scholarship from the Massachusetts Academy during MAGIK.

New Mutants #15-17 (1984)
First appearance of the Hellions (Catseye, Empath (Manuel de la Rocha), Jetstream, Roulette, Tarot and Thunderbird (John Proudstar)); Magik joins the New Mutants; with the X-Men missing, the New Mutants receive Ariel's distress call and head to the Massachusetts Academy where they're defeated by the Hellions and become prisoners of the White Queen (Emma Frost); Magik and Psyche use Magik's teleportation powers to travel through time and rescue the New Mutants during AWAY GAME.

New Mutants #18-21 (1984)
First appearance of Warlock and Magus of the alien Technarchy; first appearance of Sharon Friedlander and Tom Corsi; first appearance of Psyche (Dani Moonstar) as Mirage; first full appearance of the Demon Bear; Psyche and the New Mutants confront the Demon Bear that killed her parents in the psychic reality called the Badlands; Magik defeats the Bear with her Soulsword, freeing Psyche's parents; with help from Doug Ramsey, the New Mutants befriend the alien Warlock when he crashes to Earth; Warlock and Doug join the New Mutants.

Firestar #2 (1986)
The New Mutants attend a dance at the Massachusetts Academy where Cannonball and Angelica Jones become very close.

Marvel Team-Up Annual #7 (1984)
Warlock cameo; the Collector learns Warlock is on Earth.

New Mutants Annual #1 (1984)
First appearance of Lila Cheney; Cannonball meets his rockstar idol, Lila Cheney, who turns out to be an intergalactic mutant thief; Lila and Cannonball get very close, despite the age gap.

Uncanny X-Men #188 (1984)
Magik helps the X-Men defeat the Dire Wraiths who are out to kill Forge and Storm during WRAITH WAR / THE SURTUR SAGA.

Marvel Team-Up #149 (1985)
Cannonball and Spider-Man team up against the Incandescent Man.

New Mutants #22-25 (1984-1985)
First appearance of the Black Rook (Friedrich von Roehm) and David Haller (in Moira MacTaggart's notes); Selene makes her bid to join the Hellfire Club; the New Mutants train with the X-Men; Sunspot and Wolfsbane exhibit Cloak & Dagger's powers; Magik, Professor X and Rogue help restore the powers back to Cloak & Dagger.

Rom Annual #3 (1984)
The New Mutants battle the mutant/Dire Wraith creature Hybrid and free Rom from Limbo during WRAITH WAR.

Uncanny X-Men #189-191 (1985)
Selene is fully indoctrinated into the Hellfire Club as the Black Queen; Magma and Rachel Summers infiltrate the Hellfire Club to get to Selene; Kulan Gath magically transforms Manhattan Island as it would have looked in the Hyborian Age; Gath is opposed by the Black Queen, along with members of the New Mutants and X-Men who form part of this reality's Avengers.

Uncanny X-Men #192(pp.1-21) (1985)
Magik cameo; Magik sneaks Lockheed into the airport to be reunited with Shadowcat (Kitty Pryde) during HONOR.

Uncanny X-Men Annual #8 (1984)
The X-Men and New Mutants share campfire stories; Magik makes up a tale based on the teams' recent experiences.

X-Men and Alpha Flight #1 (1985)
New Mutants cameo; Magik comes to Doug Ramsey's rescue when he's threatened by a thug during ASGARDIAN WARS.

Uncanny X-Men #193-194 (1985)
The New Mutants train with the X-Men; Magik cameo.

Nightcrawler #1-4 (1985-1986)
Magik and Shadowcat desperately try to save Nightcrawler and Lockheed from the Well at the Centre of Time.

New Mutants: Truth or Death #1-3 (1997-1998)
The New Mutants travel to the future and meet their older selves, only to learn Magik and Doug Ramsey are dead, while Karma is alive; Magik's brother, Mikhail Rasputin, offers to help change her fate and save her life; Mikhail infects Magik with a trace of the Legacy Virus in an effort to inoculate her, though this fails; Karma makes the young New Mutants forget their experiences before they return to their own time.

New Mutants #26-28 (1985)
First full appearance of Legion (David Haller); Professor X and a handful of New Mutants head to Muir Island where Gabrielle Haller's son is causing havoc, only to end up being drawn into the comlex reality in his mind; Professor X learns Legion is his son; Mirage ends Legion's secondary personalities' battle for control of his mind; Lee Forrester nurses Magneto back to health after the destruction of Asteroid M; Professor X senses the Beyonder approaching Earth.

New Mutants #29 (1985)
First appearance of Guido Carosella; Sunspot and Magma are kidnapped; Magik, Cannonball and Lila Cheney track them to an underground gladiatorial arena in Hollywood which also features Dazzler; their rescue attempt is interrupted by the arrival of Magneto who recruits them to battle the Beyonder, but Sunspot and Magma to refuse to come during UNDERGROUND MUTANT THEATRE.

Secret Wars II #1 (1985)
New Mutants #30 (1985)
The New Mutants and X-Men confront the Beyonder, the god-like being fully transforms Magik into her Darkchylde form, making her teleport herself, her teammates, Shadowcat and Rachel Summers away; Shadowcat helps Magik regain control and the group head back to Hollywood to rescue Sunspot and Magma; Shadowcat sneaks in, but is captured by the arena's mystery master during UNDERGROUND MUTANT THEATRE / SECRET WARS II.

New Mutants #31 (1985)
Shadowcat breaks free of the arena boss's control; the boss is revealed to be a grossly-overweight Karma who threatens to cut her own slaves' throats if the New Mutants don't allow her to escape; Karma gets escapes during UNDERGROUND MUTANT THEATRE.

Secret Wars II #5 (1985)
First appearance of Boom-Boom (Tabitha Smith); the New Mutants and the X-Men attack the Beyonder when he calls at the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters during SECRET WARS II.

New Mutants #32-34 (1985)

The New Mutants give chase to Cairo where, with help from Storm, the group discover Karma is possessed by the Shadow King; Karma is freed from the Shadow King's control, but retains her obese form.

New Mutants Special Edition #1(pp.1-25) (1985)
First appearance of Brightwind, Hrimhari and Princess Kindra; Storm and the New Mutants are whisked up to Asgard by Loki; while Loki transforms Storm into a 'Goddess of Thunder', the New Mutants are spread all over the Nine Realms during ASGARDIAN WARS.

Thor #362 (1985)
Magma cameo; Magma is seen in shadow, lost in Asgard during INTO THE VALLEY OF DEATH.

New Mutants Special Edition #1(pp.26-64) (1985)
Uncanny X-Men Annual #9 (1985)
The X-Men come to the reunited New Mutants' rescue, joining forces with them against Loki; Mirage keeps her winged horse, Brightwind, during ASGARDIAN WARS.

Uncanny X-Men #200 (1985)
The X-Men and New Mutants are returned to Earth in time for Magneto's trial in Paris; the trial is interrupted by Fenris; Professor X is taken into space by Lilandra Neramani; Magneto is left in charge of the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters, making him a member of the X-Men and the New Mutants' new mentor during THE TRIAL OF MAGNETO.

A version of this reading order without story descriptions, page-by-page breakdowns or less important appearances - just a list of the essentials: