New Mutants - The New Mutants, Vol. 2

The New Mutants, Vol. 2

The second incarnation of the New Mutants debuted in 2003 with an ongoing series of the same name, written by Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina Weir. The series would continue for 13 issues, until June 2004, before being relaunched as New X-Men: Academy X in July 2004, with a new #1.

The series featured a handful of the dozens of mutant teenagers attending the Xavier Institute, as well as their instructors, which included various X-Men as well as former members of the original New Mutants (Dani Moonstar, Karma, Wolfsbane and Magma).

The featured group of students were only formally dubbed the "New Mutants" with the series relaunch as New X-Men: Academy X in 2004, and the reorganization of the Xavier Institute student body into various training squads. The New Mutants, advised by Dani Moonstar, were:

• Prodigy (David Alleyne) - David was the team's co-leader who could temporarily gain the knowledge and skills of those near him. Although he was de-powered after M-Day, he is still alive (he wasn't on the bus that Stryker bombed) and has retained all the knowledge he had acquired prior to the Decimation. This makes him valuable to any team. He is currently a recruit of the X-Men on Utopia.
• Wind Dancer (Sofia Mantega) - Sofia was the other co-leader and she could manipulate the wind. Unfortunately, she was depowered after M-Day; however, she wasn't on the bus that Stryker bombed and is alive. She is currently a member of the New Warriors.
• Wallflower (Laurie Collins) - Laurie is a shy girl who generates highly potent pheromones that influence people's emotions. She was one of the 27 students at the Xavier Institute to retain her powers after M-Day. Tragically, Laurie was later killed when she was assassinated by one of Stryker's men.
• Elixir (Josh Foley) - Josh is an Omega-Level mutant who can manipulate his or others’ biologies to heal or harm. In addition, Elixir possesses gold skin which converts to black when he uses his powers offensively. He was one of the 27 students at the Xavier Institute to retain his powers after M-Day.
• Surge (Noriko Ashida) - Noriko is Japanese. She absorbs electricity from her environment which she can discharge as powerful electric blasts or utilize as superhuman speed; she requires mechanical gauntlets to prevent overcharge. Surge was one of the 27 students at the Xavier Institute to retain her powers after M-Day. She is currently a recruit of the X-Men on Utopia.
• Icarus (Joshua "Jay" Guthrie) - Jay possesses red angelic wings on his back that allow him to fly and which grant him an accelerated healing process. Furthermore, he possesses the ability to manipulate his own voice. He was one of the 27 students at the Xavier Institute to retain his powers after M-Day. Sadly, Jay's wings were later amputated by Stryker and he also got killed by the same man.

Another such group, advised by Emma Frost, were known as the "Hellions" and, like their predecessors, were the arch-rivals of the New Mutants.

After M-Day, the cataclysmic event that decimated the world's mutant population, only 27 of the 182 students enrolled at the Xavier Institute retained their powers. The New Mutants and the other training squads were disbanded, and the remaining students were folded into a single junior team, the New X-Men.