Dani Moonstar: Cheyenne Valkyrie Appreciation 2022

[BroHomo]

Except they aren't supposed to be. Her arrows weren't like Psylockes knives, they made people live their worst fears (or desires?) in their heads, they didn't just knock people out. That got lost somewhere along the way and it's a real shame.

And thanks, rf2044.

Well maybe people are sooo scared they faint

[Arachne]

LOL That makes sense. I don't think that's what the writers are going for, though.

She's got such an interesting power set, it's too bad the writers don't take advantage of it more. When he returned to the X-men, Claremont revealed that she feels what her targets feels. (Which fits with how she knew what Sam was experiencing when she shot him.) There's a lot to explore there.

Her powers are also a good, quick way to flesh out minor characters. You can tell a lot about a character by what they fear or desire most.

[rf2044]

What's everyone's favorite Dani mode? At the moment I prefer kick ass undercover SHIELD operative from original X-Force and equally kick ass leader of the clean up crew from the second half of New Mutants vol 3.

I have two Dani modes from two completely different comic eras that are my favorites. The first is from the first 17 issues of Volume 1 of the New Mutants, when the world first got introduced to Dani. On an eclectic team of misfits, her personality stood out. Claremont basically made her the main character / focal point of the first several issues, and it was clear pretty quickly that her defiant attitude stood in marked contrast to how teens were written in comics at the time. Who can ever forget her standing up to Professor X like this?

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I know I'm probably going to be in the minority on this, but I also liked the way that Sal Bucema drew her at the beginning, before the Bill Seinkiewicz era made the art way more abstract.

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[rf2044]

I also really liked how she was portrayed throughout Volume 3. Just to put it in context, Dani was depowered, and was originally not chosen to be on the team anymore by her teammate, Cannonball. Despite this, she overcame this opinion and proved herself worthy in battle despite not having her mutant abilities -- even saving the team's bacon in a fight against Legion that kicked off the series.

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She quickly went on to be a team leader...

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[rf2044]

...and of course, who can forget this iconic moment?

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Total bad ass!!!




[sorry to spread that across multiple posts -- the forum limits to 3 images per post].

[rf2044]

I just hate that mask so damn much. It makes her look like a Venom symbiote character IMO. BUT I did like how her psychic arrows worked during this period in particular.

But also I always thought it could be kinda cool if she could learn to 'tailor' her psychic arrows to elicit a specific fear or hallucination or even desire in people she struck with them. So like the psychic equivalent of dipping arrows in different kinds of toxins or poisons to achieve a variety of specific effects with them. Hit a hydrokinetic opponent with an arrow specifically conjured to elicit a fear of water, something like that. Keep a flying opponent grounded by hitting them with an arrow that temporarily overwhelmed them with a fear of falling. Etc. I mean obviously that's more empathy based than illusory as her powers typically work, but I mostly just mean the idea of more directly connecting her psychic arrows as a trigger for specific illusions or mindsets she creates in people, rather than the more generic castings that they're often treated as.

Idk, I do feel like a lot of writers tend to view Dani's powers as an inferior version of the immersive illusionary powers of people like the Wynegardes, when really they should be something entirely different because there's such an inherent emotional component to the things Dani creates, since they're born directly of peoples' fears or desires. I think the more writers lean into the emotional component of Dani's illusions rather than just focusing on the visual, the more she stands out compared to other telepathic illusionists, if that makes sense.

That's an interesting idea -- would have made her kind of like Hawkeye, but instead of "trick" arrows, her powers would imbue them with different effects based upon what she's trying to do / how she's trying to come at her opponent, giving her a somewhat unlimited repertoire of possible effects. I'm surprised that nobody thought of that kind of interpretation -- writers have been struggling to figure out how to make her useful in combat situations ever since Claremont.

Yeah, that makes sense to me. Her powers are cool, but no one wants to take the time to figure out how they work.

I completely agree -- writers have struggled to figure out her powers, because they are so abstract. They make sense high level -- i.e., she causes people to see their worst fears -- but that's hard to quantify. I mean, what's the Blob's worst fear? Or someone like Apocalypse? Most writers could work them against NPC-types, like random mercenaries -- they'd show some illusion, and we just take it at face value, because we don't know them. But when she tries to use them against opponents who are more complex / less 2-D, it's harder to do. So most don't try.

And we're left with her being able to channel her psychic energy into arrows, which have straightforward combat application.

I remember in an OLD Defenders issue, where that team [which included several original X-Men] were being brainwashed to attack and kill Xavier's current students [i.e., the New Mutants], Moondragon remarked that Dani was the most dangerous of the group. Claremont seemed to get that concept and used her accordingly, but others have not, IMO.

[rf2044]

I think it is supposed to be her skin, though I wish it weren't
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I really want to see a scene with Dani talking to Tempo. I feel like there is a history there worth exploring. She spent a long time with the MLF and I don't feel like her time with them comes up enough


I think the last time Dani was written to her full potential was in King In Black: Return Of The Valkyries
She shows off her warrior side, and all the interesting aspects of her power. Plus she kicks a$$ with a spear. It's the side of her character that , IMHO we don't currently get in New Mutants

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That was really cool. She should use spears more often.

It seemed physical to me, not psychically channeled. I wonder why, where she got it, why she was carrying it this one random time, etc.

[norj]

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That was really cool. She should use spears more often.

It seemed physical to me, not psychically channeled. I wonder why, where she got it, why she was carrying it this one random time, etc.

She can't stab people with the same thing everyday, girls got to change things up once in a while.

[Arachne]

She can't stab people with the same thing everyday, girls got to change things up once in a while.

A gun might have been a bit more practical. It's not like she doesn't no how to use them...

[rf2044]

She can't stab people with the same thing everyday, girls got to change things up once in a while.

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Moonstar concurs!!!

[Thirteen]

That was really cool. She should use spears more often.

It seemed physical to me, not psychically channeled. I wonder why, where she got it, why she was carrying it this one random time, etc.

Recalling the Spirit-Spear era, I wasn't a fan of that power set.

Don't think so. I'm not sure I really care. Teacher is not my favourite Dani mode, at the moment.

I don't mind her being a teacher but more along the lines of her lesson to Nightmare's son Trauma in AVENGERS:INITIATIVE and less like the smock wearing supervisor from NEW MUTANTS/NEW X-MEN/ACADEMY X.


Costume-wise, I wish this unused design by Bill Sienkiewicz would see the light of day, it sort of coordinates with Magik's X-suit.

[Arachne]

What's that pic with the baseball bat from? I'm sure I've seen it, but I'm not sure where.

[rf2044]

What's that pic with the baseball bat from? I'm sure I've seen it, but I'm not sure where.

Volume 3, later issues when they were in San Francisco. Don't remember the exact issue.

A team member woke up in the middle of the night screaming for some reason, waking everybody in the house up. They all came scrambling into the bedroom, Dani wielding a bat.

[rf2044]

Recalling the Spirit-Spear era, I wasn't a fan of that power set.

That Avengers Initiative series was pretty lame overall, but that was a cool scene with Trauma. My favorite part was the deranged berserker look on Dani's face as she took on Trauma's bear form:


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[Arachne]

Recalling the Spirit-Spear era, I wasn't a fan of that power set.

I don't mind her being a teacher but more along the lines of her lesson to Nightmare's son Trauma in AVENGERS:INITIATIVE and less like the smock wearing supervisor from NEW MUTANTS/NEW X-MEN/ACADEMY X.


Costume-wise, I wish this unused design by Bill Sienkiewicz would see the light of day, it sort of coordinates with Magik's X-suit.

Yeah, that power set wasn't my favourite, either. Just too unwieldy, and she didn't seem to know what she'd get ahead of time -- making it too dangerous to use.

The Trauma scene was cool, but you don't see much of that whenever she a teacher.

That costume is cool. I'd love to get a closer look of the details.

Volume 3, later issues when they were in San Francisco. Don't remember the exact issue.

A team member woke up in the middle of the night screaming for some reason, waking everybody in the house up. They all came scrambling into the bedroom, Dani wielding a bat.

Thanks. I have vague recollections of it, now.