WARNING: This article contains minor spoilers for The New Mutants, now available in theaters.
There was originally supposed to be a significant end credit scene in The New Mutants with a future X-Men villain, but director Josh Boone had to remove it from his movie.
The reason was simple: There will be no more Fox-era X-Men movies, Disney planning an eventual reboot. The New Mutants marks the end of the road for the franchise. However, Boone wanted to give viewers something -- and what he came up with was a special treat for fans of the comics.
The end credits start with each character getting a unique credit screen. What is notable here is that every screen is a new piece of artwork by Bill Sienkiewicz. He took each actor from the movie and drew background illustrations behind their faces as an homage to the work he did on the comic series. For fans who grew up loving the New Mutants from the comics, this was a special moment.
Sienkiewicz started as the artist for New Mutants with issue #18 in 1984 and continued the job through 1985. This era was a critically-acclaimed run, where Sienkiewicz teamed with Chris Claremont, Glynis Wein and Tom Orzechowski. It was where he helped create the original "Demon Bear Saga" that the movie used as a reference.
In the comics, the "Demon Bear Saga" had a similar premise to the movie, where Dr. Cecilia Reyes' treatment of Dani caused the Demon Bear to attack. In the comics, it was Professor X who drove Dani to release the Demon Bear -- or, more specifically, a Professor X possessed by the Brood. However, just like in the movie, it wasn't Reyes or Xavier that initially brought out the Demon Bear.
In the comics, the Demon Bear was more than real and wanted to destroy Dani and possess her soul. The movie ending differed drastically from the comics. In the comics, Magik who used the ultimate black magic to slay it.
While the genesis of the Demon Bear appeared in New Mutants #3, it wasn't until New Mutants #18 that it appeared for the first time, meaning Sienkiewicz helped design it. This fact made him instrumental in creating one of the defining storylines in the history of the young team of mutants. What is even more impressive is that this was his debut in the New Mutants comic books.
What was most noticeable about the New Mutants after Sienkiewicz came on board with his unique artistic style was that the comic moved to a lot more mature storytelling. These kids grew up fast, something the movie also hinted at with the young characters forced to become adults long before their time. "Death-Hunt" was Sienkiewicz's first issue and was also where Dani's struggles began. In those three issues of the "Demon Bear Saga," the artist changed how people looked at comic books in that era.
Even better news is that The New Mutants' end credit scene is not the only way Boone is honoring the artist responsible for making New Mutants must-read Marvel Comics in the '80s. When the DVD comes out for the movie, there will be an audio commentary track. Unlike most commentary tracks that are scene-by-scene looks at the film as it plays, this one will have Boone conducting a feature-length interview with Sienkiewicz about the artist's career, a real treat for longtime Marvel Comics readers.