Wolfsbane teams up with the Shadow King in New Mutants #17 preview

New Mutants #17 panel
(Image credit: Rod Reis (Marvel Comics))

Can you really trust the Shadow King?

That's the question you'll be asking yourself after reading this short, but potent preview to next week's New Mutants #17 by writer Vita Ayala and artist Rod Reis. Take a look:

For decades it was believed the Shadow King was merely a terrorizing name for the mutant Amahl Farouk, but it's been recently established that Farouk is the host for an ancient deity called the Shadow King (much like Jean Grey and the Phoenix Force), and can't quite control their actions.

After being brought to the mutant paradise of Krakoa during 'Empyre,' Farouk was able to reveal the details to his fellow mutants. But then just as quick as this victim side of the man they knew as Shadow King came to light, Farouk's sinister Shadow King side has shown itself again with the island's most defenseless individuals: the children.

"WHAT'S LEFT OVER WHEN YOU GO HOME? With a mutant child lost in Otherworld, it's up to the NEW MUTANTS to find and extract him...without losing themselves in the process," Marvel's description of New Mutants #17 reads. "Meanwhile, on Krakoa: Warlock makes a friend. Wolfsbane makes a friend. Magik makes some enemies."

From the looks of that preview, it appears Wolfsbane's friend is Amahl Farouk.

And from what Marvel says about the next issue, "How wrong could it go? The NEW MUTANTS are about to find out."

Christian Ward has drawn the main cover to New Mutants #17, with a variant by New Mutants co-creator Bob McLeod. Take a look:

New Mutants #17 goes on sale April 28.

Keep track of this and ALL the new mutant titles with our constantly updated list of new X-Men comics, graphic novels, and collections in 2021 and beyond.

Chris Arrant

Chris Arrant covered comic book news for Newsarama from 2003 to 2022 (and as editor/senior editor from 2015 to 2022) and has also written for USA Today, Life, Entertainment Weekly, Publisher's Weekly, Marvel Entertainment, TOKYOPOP, AdHouse Books, Cartoon Brew, Bleeding Cool, Comic Shop News, and CBR. He is the author of the book Modern: Masters Cliff Chiang, co-authored Art of Spider-Man Classic, and contributed to Dark Horse/Bedside Press' anthology Pros and (Comic) Cons. He has acted as a judge for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, the Harvey Awards, and the Stan Lee Awards. Chris is a member of the American Library Association's Graphic Novel & Comics Round Table. (He/him)