Who is the Demon Bear, the New Mutants’ Scariest Villain?

On Monday, the official trailer for The New Mutants dropped. The Josh Boone-directed film has been stuck in development hell for almost two years. Yet, after getting a recent blessing from Marvel, New Mutants finally has a release date. In the new look at the project, it has been confirmed Demon Bear will play a big role in the movie. But, who is the iconic New Mutants villain?

Introducing the Demon Bear

The Demon Bear was created by Chris Claremont and Bob McLeod and most famously drawn by Bill Sienkiewicz. First debuting in The New Mutants #18 and as the main villain in the Demon Bear Saga from The New Mutants #18-20, the Demon Bear is created after the parents of Danielle Moonstar are genetically mutated and enslaved into the being. The Demon Bear ends up haunting Moonstar’s dreams. When she takes on Demon Bear face-to-face, she’s left seriously injured. It causes further damage to the New Mutants before the group (led by Magik) takes it down and free Moonstar’s parents.

The Demon Bear’s Powers

The Demon Bear is an extremely powerful and dangerous entity. The Demon Bear is essentially a living nightmare with incredible strength, razor-sharp claws, and the ability to teleport and transform. Those transformation powers were on full display in The New Mutants comic, as the Demon Bear turns a nurse and police officer into demonic Native American Warriors. The Demon Bear gains its power from negative human emotion and can corrupt souls. It’s terrifyingly large at more than 30 feet tall which is obviously much, much larger than a normal bear.

Taking on the X-Force

The Demon Bear is one of the few Marvel comic villains who hasn’t been done to death. However, it has reappeared a few times, most notably in 2008’s X-Force series by Christopher Yost and Craig Kyle. In that storyline, the Demon Bear haunts Warpath this time. Like Moonstar, Warpath was almost killed by the Demon Bear but is saved by the Ghost Rider. It’s later revealed the Demon Bear was a corrupted version of the Apaches tribe’s spirits who were turned by villain Eli Bard after he attacked them with Selene’s mystical knife for trying to protect burial grounds.

The New Mutants film is clearly drawing heavy inspiration both storywise and visually from Claremont and Sienkiewicz’s iconic comic run – which makes sense considering it’s the definitive New Mutants storyline. Using Demon Bear as one of the main villains is a smart move, especially in the horror genre. The Demon Bear has the ability to manipulate and corrupt souls around him. That’s scary stuff. Dani and the rest of the New Mutants will have a tough time taking down the Demon Bear. But, it seems taking on the demonic monster is what will bring the group closer together.

New Mutants stars Anya Taylor-Joy, Maisie Williams, Charlie Heaton, Blu Hunt, Henry Zaga and Alice Braga. The film is directed by Josh Boone with a screenplay by Boone and Knate Lee. Originally planned to be released April, 2018, the film was delayed. New Mutants will hit theatres on April 3rd, 2020.

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Liam McGuire
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Lead writer for Screen Rant’s comic team. [email protected]. Find me on Twitter @LiamRMcGuire for comic news and reporting.

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