In the pages of New Mutants, Xi’an Coy Manh (Karma) can be seen to function as a constant disruption of some key elements of the superhero fantasy, most prominently through her sense of priorities, which essentially never include actually being a superhero #xmen #newmutants 1/8
First and most obviously, her backstory is truly horrific. She debuts in Marvel Team-Up #100, co-created by Claremont and Frank Miller with a backstory connected to the Indochina Refugee Crisis. Her parents died shipboard, and Xi’an was subjected to sexual assault. 2/8
Xi’an’s younger siblings survived with her, however, and they become the focus of her life. She was appointed the first leader of the New Mutants, but never thrived in that role. She was, simultaneously, the school’s secretary to bring in income to support her siblings. 3/8
New Mutants #1 made clear that Xi’an’s polite demeanour hid a traumatic past, deep shame, and a powerfully suppressed anger. When Dani accidently projects Xi’an’s trauma, Karma flies into a violent rage that shockingly contrasts her usually reserved personality. 4/8
Xi’an’s calls to heroism tended to orbit her need to care for her siblings. Most all of her major life choices in the series were made in order to safeguard them. This includes leaving the team behind when her siblings need her. 5/8
For the benefit of Leong and Nga, Karma will – without hesitation – align with her villainous uncle, abandon her friends, and constantly put herself in danger. It’s whatever it takes, all the time. 6/8
This caregiving priority – which can be a symptom of trauma, btw – also shows up in Xi’an’s “Asgardian Wars” story, which (riffing on earlier stories) shows her surviving the Asgardian desert solely for the sake of a young ward, who was not even real. 7/8
Through this depiction, Claremont gives us a superhero whose priorities simply don't include superherodom. Xi’an is wildly overpowered, yet more or less disinterested. It’s a fascinating subversion that adds something to the spectrum of different motivations on the team. 8/8
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