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Much to my optimistic take on the situation, Marvel has decided to offer readers a new incarnation of the New Warriors. Of course, as with all incarnations after the original, most of the members are not original members. Some characters have moved on to other things/teams (not necessarily "better" ones), and other characters are dead (at least for the time being).
This is the second incarnation of the New Warriors to exist since Marvel's "Civil War". The last team really wasn't much of a New Warriors team to me. They were too closely connected to the "Civil War" and "Dark Reign" events. Personally I didn't like either event, and I think the impact of both hurt the possibility of a continuing team, especially the "Civil War".
Let me say this right now. I couldn't stand the "Civil War". My main reason is that it started by taking a humorous take on the Warriors and making it serious (the "Reality Check" storyline). After that, the Civil War era continued to crap on the Warriors by making Robbie Baldwin abandon his personality and become what I call "Emo-Robbie". When Emo-Robbie came about so did the Penance identity. I'm sorry, but anyone that read New Warriors just wouldn't take Robbie down that road in my eyes. Retire for a time? Sure. Question himself? Sure. Become some dark and brooding schmuck that had a masochistic slant? No.
During his time with the Warriors Robbie went through some pretty nasty stuff, including being stuck between his parents personally (divorce) and legally (his parents' differing stances on Springdale's superhero ordinance). Robbie always bounced back (pun intended). Turning him into Penance was simply a gutting and bastardization of the original character. To me, Penance was as much Speedball as the Superior Spider-Man is the Amazing Spider-Man. Get it? Good.
Now, you may be wondering why this is such a huge issue for me. Well, in my eyes Speedball is to the New Warriors what Martian Manhunter is to the Justice League or what Cyborg is to the Titans. They are each the "heart" of that team. Any takes on the team without them don't seem "right". Just like the characters being away from the team doesn't seem "right". It can be done, but it's just going to feel like something is off. Emo-Robbie/Penance was the end of Robbie and successful future shots at the Warriors. Needless to say, when I saw Speedball would be back (as his "normal" self) in the new incarnation of the New Warriors, I had faith the series was going to be starting out "right" on a fundamental level. Now that I've read the first issue I feel much more confident in my belief.
In two pages of the first issue writer Christopher Yost fixed the past problems of the Warriors and Speedball via the words of Justice (Vance Astrovik). After a misunderstood "interaction" between the Warriors (Speedball and Justice) and the Salem Seven, Justice spends some time making things right with Vertigo. Early on Justice says, "Yeah, Robbie's a people person." as the two of them watch Speedball playing a game with Brutacus. To me, this indicates that Robbie is finally Robbie again and that's who we'll be seeing in this series. Emo-Robbie is gone and not to return. That's how I'm seeing it anyway. I think Yost understands Speedball.
Later, as Justice and Vertigo continue to talk, Stamford is mentioned. However, right before that Justice briefly comments on how the Warriors aren't remembered for the times they save the world. In case you missed it, he said "times" (as in more than once). This tells me that Yost also knows the New Warriors. While they will always be connected to Stamford in Marvel's history, Yost appears to understand they did a lot more good in the Marvel Universe than they've done wrong. Additionally, Marcus To's art only enhances Yost's writing of the Warriors. To has a style that works wonderfully for the characters.
Overall, the first issue of this incarnation of the New Warriors is solid. It has a familiar feel even as things move forward towards the new team forming. Yost has shown the core (in Speedball and Justice) of the upcoming Warriors is strong. The new take looks to have just the right mix of old and new, both in characters and in feel. I'll revisit the new incarnation of the team again for an article so I can comment more on the non-founding members of this team of Warriors. If you're someone that enjoyed the original New Warriors or have heard about those times and you were interested in them, then you need to at least pick up this first issue of the new series. I don't think you'll be disappointed.
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