Danielle Moonstar/Mirage Appreciation 2023

[Devaishwarya]

Poor Dani. Nobody wants to write her in a lead role. I know we fans like to bitch and moan about how this or that writer is not telling this or that story with our faves, or they're treating our faves as "less than" but...at least our faves are being constantly written in multiple stories and books. This is a New Mutant book and Dani is not even the lead. That is galling.

Ayala wrote her in their last NM arc but it was just to nag Illyana. Before that she was dismissive towards Dream Girl (I forget her name). Neither of which she, as one of the most experienced leaders, had any major page time or story presence. I love Dani but the writers clearly don't have her in their sights for anything important. And that's a crying shame. It would have ben nice to see her nominated for the X-Men vote.

[Agent Z]

https://www.deviantart.com/ultimatet...star-402780457

[Thirteen]

I liked Dani very much in her Valkyrie period and was extremely happy when she was starring in the Valkyries mini with Rana and Jane.

I would love her to get a new winged horse and use her Valkyrie and mutant powers combined.

Did Brightwind/Darkwind die again? What was the horse she was riding when she became repowered as Hela's Valkyrie etc?
I always thought it would be interesting if Dani got a version of the Black Knight's Atomic Steed from Wundagore.

Here's the issue:

Marvel Comics Presents vol 1 #121 - Of Faith and Fable
Mini story where Dani struggles between returning to her people and staying in Asgard with the Valkyries


Issue came out in 1993, a few years [real world time] after Dani left the New Mutants to stay in Asgard with the Valkyries. The Marvel Presents format was to have several short stories with random characters that were generally untethered to a main book, in each issue. Dani's story was a glimpse into what she was up to with the Valkyries. This doesn't give anything away, but her training is interrupted when a Cheyenne deity [Hotamintanio] arrives in Asgard to bring her back to Earth.

Worth checking out, but dated. And they drew Dani weird.

Attachment 129093

Attachment 129094

Early pre-Superstar Joe Madureira art!

[Arachne]

I think she referred to that horse as Brightwind, but now I'm not sure...

Does anyone know the artist here? I hate not being able to give credit, especially for something that's this gorgeous. (Even if the costume is a bit tight.)

d23766d0578e6a2203edfa772fd58eb7.jpg

[Thirteen]

I think she referred to that horse as Brightwind, but now I'm not sure...

Does anyone know the artist here? I hate not being able to give credit, especially for something that's this gorgeous. (Even if the costume is a bit tight.)

d23766d0578e6a2203edfa772fd58eb7.jpg

Dave DeVries

[Arachne]

Thank you! I couldn't make out the signature. Didn't realise it was a poster, either. Very nice.

[rf2044]

Wow -- I go away for a few days for work, and a posting spree breaks out! Will try to get caught up on all the good chatter some time today...

[JB]

Dani appears in today's Bishop: War College #1 and she plays a pretty significant role in the issue. I was happy to see her.

[Arachne]

Thanks for letting us know! I'll be sure to pick it up.

[rf2044]

Dani appears in today's Bishop: War College #1 and she plays a pretty significant role in the issue. I was happy to see her.

Thanks for pointing that out -- Dani played a prominent role in the first part of the story. Cool art depicting her, too.

badass2.jpg


Issue ended on an intriguing cliff-hanger -- going to be interesting to see how the rest of the mini-series unfolds.

[rf2044]

I think she referred to that horse as Brightwind, but now I'm not sure...

Does anyone know the artist here? I hate not being able to give credit, especially for something that's this gorgeous. (Even if the costume is a bit tight.)

d23766d0578e6a2203edfa772fd58eb7.jpg

Yowza!

Dani's never been afraid to flaunt what she's got, but that seems painted on! But then I realized that all of their costumes appear that way, so it wasn't just Dani.

Cool image!

[Arachne]

Yeah, I might have bought the print, but they don't seem too open to international orders.

The final issue of Karma in Love came out today. I haven't read it yet*, but Dani made the cover.

Screenshot_20230209_183426_Marvel Unlimited.jpg

*I got distracted writing a New Mutants fan fic and playing with a new ink in my fountain pen.

[rf2044]

Broken record here, but I really wish Moonstar could break free from the mentor role. Dani really should be leading a team of X-Men IMO. I was honestly hoping to see her on the X-Men vote this year, so she could be on the premiere X-Men team, but she unfortunately wasn't. Would have been nice to see Dani interacting with Cyclops.

Mirage always had the potential to be a full time X-Man IMO, and I hate that she is constantly stuck with training/caretaking for the next generation. Moonstar's personality can work well in those roles, but she way too much potential to always be this sidelined.

Poor Dani. Nobody wants to write her in a lead role. I know we fans like to bitch and moan about how this or that writer is not telling this or that story with our faves, or they're treating our faves as "less than" but...at least our faves are being constantly written in multiple stories and books. This is a New Mutant book and Dani is not even the lead. That is galling.

Ayala wrote her in their last NM arc but it was just to nag Illyana. Before that she was dismissive towards Dream Girl (I forget her name). Neither of which she, as one of the most experienced leaders, had any major page time or story presence. I love Dani but the writers clearly don't have her in their sights for anything important. And that's a crying shame. It would have ben nice to see her nominated for the X-Men vote.

I think there are two main reasons why Dani has never been called up to the "bigs" as a member of the X-Men.

First, her powers are too abstract. Claremont created her, and had a good sense of her powers and how to use them [even when she was inexperienced and couldn't control them]. That's why I think there's an over-reliance on her psi-arrows, because that application is easy to understand and straightforward in terms of how it applies in battle. But at the X-Men level, there's a greater emphasis on powers that deal damage, so she's a tough sell for many writers.

Secondly, her personality is too dominant for her to take a back seat role. When Dani's on a team, she's generally the focal point or one of the top characters. She isn't going to be a good soldier following orders -- SHE'S the leader. And justifiably so, given her history. Cyclops recognized this inherent leadership aptitude, as well. So she's a tough person to bring on a team, without her overpowering some other personalities on the squad. Used properly, she's a great team player. But you can't just throw her in a background role [a la Fearless Defenders] -- it's out of character for her.

Just my opinion.

[rf2044]

BTW, rf2044, I listened to that Cerebro podcast about Dani you linked to a few pages back. Your right, it was really interesting. A great overview of her character, and some great insights from Darcie Little Badger. (I started the Nate Grey one, too, but it might not be so good as the podcasters don't seem to like him as much.)

Oh, cool -- glad to hear you enjoyed it!

Highly recommend that podcast to any Dani fans out there, it was an extremely in depth discussion between the host and Darcie.

[rf2044]

https://www.deviantart.com/ultimatet...star-402780457

Cool pic, Agent Z! Are you the artist?