Rahne Sinclair.com - Wolfsbane of the New Mutants, X-Factor, Excalibur, and New X-Men

Interview with Nunzio DeFillipis and Christina Weir Here Comes The Rahne Again
23Oct03

Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina Weir, possibly the industry's most fan-friendly comic writers, are understandably cryptic when giving answers to the fans clamoring to ask about coming events in New Mutants (no "the" this time around). You can't blame them of course, but you can't blame a fanboy for trying either. I posed 11 questions to them about Rahne, to inaugurate the opening of the site (which is timed with the release of issue #6 and has Rahne on the cover). They sent me back 11 answers, for which I am very grateful. Rock on N & C!

Rahne-Sinclair.com: Christina, you said you had an instant attraction to Rahne when you discovered her recently. Can you tell us what it is about her that you like so much, and how the decision was made to include her in the concept for the new book?

Christina Weir: I have a thing for redheads. :) I also like the shy girl types. There's something sweet and innocent about her, yet there's so much more she's struggling with. And she's a romantic. I'm a sucker for that. She seemed like a character that we could have a lot of fun writing. I also liked that she was a little bit younger. It seemed like an interesting idea to include her in this book because she'd fall somewhere inbetween teacher and student. Who does she relate to more? Her field experience makes her much more like Dani and Shan. But in reality, she's only a couple years older than these high school students.

R-S.com: New Mutants is on its second story arc already, and the new students are all but assembled. Now there are two more teachers to re-introduce: Amara and Rahne. We have already seen thought-provoking cover illustrations of both characters. Will Rahne arrive before Amara recovers from her coma, or after?

CW: Amara wakes up in issue 7. Rahne arrives in Issue 10.

R-S.com: How will Rahne feel about the White Queen being a teacher at the Institute, since she (along with the other returning NMs) were held captive by her, and experienced her villainy first-hand (as children, no less)?

Nunzio DeFilippis: All the New Mutants have some issues with Emma. She was not only a villain, but one who hurt our characters directly. We touch on these issues in the second arc. We'll be dealing with them more in the third arc, and Rahne may have a chance to voice her opinion there.

R-S.com: Fans have speculated about a natural teacher-student relationship between Rahne and Laurie. Should we expect to see Rahne helping Laurie come out of her shell? Will Rahne be a mentor to Laurie or any of the other students? Will she teach classes at Xavier's?

CW: Rahne will make a definite impression on Laurie, and Laurie will subsequently make a strong one on Rahne. Issues 10-12 are about Rahne's return and Noriko's arrival, but Laurie has a huge role in those issues, and a lot of it has to do with Rahne. We'll see what develops in the third arc.

R-S.com: We know that you can't tell us if or how Rahne will ever get her powers back. Can you tell us whether the loss of them has had a positive or negative effect on her? Will she compare this experience to the period where she was unable to become fully human?

ND: That's a tough one to answer. We want to keep the details of Rahne's return to ourselves, so as not to ruin the story - which we're very proud of. Her reaction to the loss of her powers is mixed, which is to say, some positive effects, some negative ones, and she may not be sure which are which.

R-S.com: Rahne's mother, Moira MacTaggert, was murdered by Mystique. To jump right to the point: will we be seeing Mystique and Rahne face off in New Mutants? How about Cameron Hodge?

CW: No definite plan for Mystique just yet. We'd like to touch on it, and it seems like in the pages of Mystique, there's some debate as to which of Mystique's crimes she actually comitted (or she may just be conning everyone). It would be worth pursuing, but no crossover or guest appearances are planned right now. No plans for Hodge, either. He's less likely, as Mystique's crime (killing Rahne's mother), gives us far better story dividends.

R-S.com: Rahne and Dani were once the closest of friends, but they have spent many years now being mostly apart. Has their off-screen relationship ceased, or are they still close? Do either of them have hard feelings about being so out of touch for so long?

ND: There's definitely been some drift between the two, and that's a huge part of our plans for 10-12. Dani and Rahne get some big scenes together, and we'll find out if their bond will be what it once was, or if time and change have taken too strong a toll.

R-S.com: Rahne has been a hopeless romantic since day one, but has never found lasting happiness. You have mentioned before that she might find love in New Mutants-can you say if it will last a while this time? Will the lucky guy be a character we already know?

CW: Well, we've definitely planted seeds in 10-12. No true love or true happiness just yet, just a possibility we hope people will get into. We'll see where it takes us.

R-S.com: From the recent Chris Bachalo cover, it is easy to see that Rahne is going through changes. I have always wondered how Rahne would reconcile such a personalized and devout faith with a way of life that demands frequent battle and bloodshed. Other series, like Uncanny X-Men, portray such personal struggles of faith (such as Kurt Wagner). Will we see her faith come out tested and strengthened, or discarded as the weakness it is too often depicted as?

ND: She's not the girl she once was, and part of her first storyline is figuring out what kind of woman she will be. The religion issue is touched upon in that story, but not in a direct way. We can't say where she winds up on the subject, for reasons of toying with you guys... I mean, keeping from ruining our story by spoiling too much.

R-S.com: Aarrgh! Ok... Will we see Reverend Craig, and does Rahne have any desire to see him, now that Moira is gone?

CW: We'd love to use him, but no definite plans right now. We're locked into the school for a while, so we'd need a story that brought him to her, not the other way around. As for desire to see him, who knows? She's been through a lot, and family, even hateful and cruel family, might be important.

R-S.com: Last question-since requests for guest characters keep stacking up, and you have plenty of characters to deal with right now, maybe this will help stop the requests. Which of these characters is the most likely to show up eventually in the pages of New Mutants, if any: Sam Guthrie, Roberto DaCosta, Illyana Rasputin, Warlock, Kitty Pryde, Hrimhari, Alex Summers, Bridgit Shane, Guido Carosella, or Bird Brain? Which are least likely?

ND & CW: [this is more a list than an answer, so it's from both of us]

Already happening: Alex Summers (but it's a tiny part, nothing major)
Most likely: Sam Guthrie, Roberto DaCosta
Possible: Kitty Pryde
Who Knows?: Bridget Shane, Warlock
Unlikely: Illyana Rasputin (unless we use the Exiles version, we have to assume dead still means dead for us), Guido Carosella, Bird Brain

R-S.com: That's more information than I expected. Thanks a lot to both of you, see you at the Grind Stone!

Errors, omissions, and updates may be sent to RahneFan.


History Profile Name Friends Loves Enemies Creators FanFics FanArt Fan Sites Games Desktops Checklist Trading Cards Figures X-Men: Evolution X-Movies	Here Comes The Rahne Again 23Oct03 Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina Weir, possibly the industry's most fan-friendly comic writers, are understandably cryptic when giving answers to the fans clamoring to ask about coming events in New Mutants (no "the" this time around). You can't blame them of course, but you can't blame a fanboy for trying either. I posed 11 questions to them about Rahne, to inaugurate the opening of the site (which is timed with the release of issue #6 and has Rahne on the cover). They sent me back 11 answers, for which I am very grateful. Rock on N & C! Rahne-Sinclair.com: Christina, you said you had an instant attraction to Rahne when you discovered her recently. Can you tell us what it is about her that you like so much, and how the decision was made to include her in the concept for the new book? Christina Weir: I have a thing for redheads. :) I also like the shy girl types. There's something sweet and innocent about her, yet there's so much more she's struggling with. And she's a romantic. I'm a sucker for that. She seemed like a character that we could have a lot of fun writing. I also liked that she was a little bit younger. It seemed like an interesting idea to include her in this book because she'd fall somewhere inbetween teacher and student. Who does she relate to more? Her field experience makes her much more like Dani and Shan. But in reality, she's only a couple years older than these high school students. R-S.com: New Mutants is on its second story arc already, and the new students are all but assembled. Now there are two more teachers to re-introduce: Amara and Rahne. We have already seen thought-provoking cover illustrations of both characters. Will Rahne arrive before Amara recovers from her coma, or after? CW: Amara wakes up in issue 7. Rahne arrives in Issue 10. R-S.com: How will Rahne feel about the White Queen being a teacher at the Institute, since she (along with the other returning NMs) were held captive by her, and experienced her villainy first-hand (as children, no less)? Nunzio DeFilippis: All the New Mutants have some issues with Emma. She was not only a villain, but one who hurt our characters directly. We touch on these issues in the second arc. We'll be dealing with them more in the third arc, and Rahne may have a chance to voice her opinion there. R-S.com: Fans have speculated about a natural teacher-student relationship between Rahne and Laurie. Should we expect to see Rahne helping Laurie come out of her shell? Will Rahne be a mentor to Laurie or any of the other students? Will she teach classes at Xavier's? CW: Rahne will make a definite impression on Laurie, and Laurie will subsequently make a strong one on Rahne. Issues 10-12 are about Rahne's return and Noriko's arrival, but Laurie has a huge role in those issues, and a lot of it has to do with Rahne. We'll see what develops in the third arc. R-S.com: We know that you can't tell us if or how Rahne will ever get her powers back. Can you tell us whether the loss of them has had a positive or negative effect on her? Will she compare this experience to the period where she was unable to become fully human? ND: That's a tough one to answer. We want to keep the details of Rahne's return to ourselves, so as not to ruin the story - which we're very proud of. Her reaction to the loss of her powers is mixed, which is to say, some positive effects, some negative ones, and she may not be sure which are which. R-S.com: Rahne's mother, Moira MacTaggert, was murdered by Mystique. To jump right to the point: will we be seeing Mystique and Rahne face off in New Mutants? How about Cameron Hodge? CW: No definite plan for Mystique just yet. We'd like to touch on it, and it seems like in the pages of Mystique, there's some debate as to which of Mystique's crimes she actually comitted (or she may just be conning everyone). It would be worth pursuing, but no crossover or guest appearances are planned right now. No plans for Hodge, either. He's less likely, as Mystique's crime (killing Rahne's mother), gives us far better story dividends. R-S.com: Rahne and Dani were once the closest of friends, but they have spent many years now being mostly apart. Has their off-screen relationship ceased, or are they still close? Do either of them have hard feelings about being so out of touch for so long? ND: There's definitely been some drift between the two, and that's a huge part of our plans for 10-12. Dani and Rahne get some big scenes together, and we'll find out if their bond will be what it once was, or if time and change have taken too strong a toll. R-S.com: Rahne has been a hopeless romantic since day one, but has never found lasting happiness. You have mentioned before that she might find love in New Mutants-can you say if it will last a while this time? Will the lucky guy be a character we already know? CW: Well, we've definitely planted seeds in 10-12. No true love or true happiness just yet, just a possibility we hope people will get into. We'll see where it takes us. R-S.com: From the recent Chris Bachalo cover, it is easy to see that Rahne is going through changes. I have always wondered how Rahne would reconcile such a personalized and devout faith with a way of life that demands frequent battle and bloodshed. Other series, like Uncanny X-Men, portray such personal struggles of faith (such as Kurt Wagner). Will we see her faith come out tested and strengthened, or discarded as the weakness it is too often depicted as? ND: She's not the girl she once was, and part of her first storyline is figuring out what kind of woman she will be. The religion issue is touched upon in that story, but not in a direct way. We can't say where she winds up on the subject, for reasons of toying with you guys... I mean, keeping from ruining our story by spoiling too much. R-S.com: Aarrgh! Ok... Will we see Reverend Craig, and does Rahne have any desire to see him, now that Moira is gone? CW: We'd love to use him, but no definite plans right now. We're locked into the school for a while, so we'd need a story that brought him to her, not the other way around. As for desire to see him, who knows? She's been through a lot, and family, even hateful and cruel family, might be important. R-S.com: Last question-since requests for guest characters keep stacking up, and you have plenty of characters to deal with right now, maybe this will help stop the requests. Which of these characters is the most likely to show up eventually in the pages of New Mutants, if any: Sam Guthrie, Roberto DaCosta, Illyana Rasputin, Warlock, Kitty Pryde, Hrimhari, Alex Summers, Bridgit Shane, Guido Carosella, or Bird Brain? Which are least likely? ND & CW: [this is more a list than an answer, so it's from both of us] Already happening: Alex Summers (but it's a tiny part, nothing major) Most likely: Sam Guthrie, Roberto DaCosta Possible: Kitty Pryde Who Knows?: Bridget Shane, Warlock Unlikely: Illyana Rasputin (unless we use the Exiles version, we have to assume dead still means dead for us), Guido Carosella, Bird Brain R-S.com: That's more information than I expected. Thanks a lot to both of you, see you at the Grind Stone! Errors, omissions, and updates may be sent to RahneFan.	Adams Barberi Blevins Buscema Chang Grant Jones Liefeld McLeod Middleton Ryan Sienkiewicz Sook Stroman Other Artists --- Alternates Avatars Team Portraits Classic Scenes Site Splashes