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Five Ways Barry is Like the Old Barnell
Okay, so the first issue of the fourth volume of New Warriors left us Beak fans scratching our heads. The last time we saw him, he'd lost his powers and seemed content with it, minus a few snarky remarks about needing a nose job and still not being able to fly. He was happy to be reunited with his family, and showed no inclination of returning to superhero work. Oh, yeah, and he had a big honking schnoz and goofy Dumbo ears. Not to mention being only slightly less scrawny than when he was part-bird.
Flash-forward an undetermined amount of time later. A young man who claims to be Barnell Bohusk shows up at the diner where Sofia Mantega works, hoping to recruit her into the New Warriors. Only this guy is gorgeous, smooth-talking and built like a male model. And he's not Barnell anymore, oh no. He goes by Barry now, which I guess is a slightly more credible name than Barnell. But the question remains: who is this dude and what did he do with our insecure, self-deprecating, fugly-ass Beak?
Well, I'm not here to provide any answers. It's up to Kevin Grevioux, the writer of New Warriors, to show us how Beak got from Point A to Point Z, if he so chooses. The purpose of this (loosely termed) article is to show the small ways that Barry still resembles the old school Beak. You can call it grasping at straws but I, in a fit of optimism, choose to believe that these are deliberate moves on Grevioux's part to harken back to the old Beak: punk rocker, teenage father and sometime hero. 1. Adoration of Angel
This would be a hard one to get wrong. Since the first time they kissed, Beak has been madly in love with Angel Salvadore. Though his attachment to her might have been initially caused by the excitement of any girl giving him the time of day, Beak soon proved his love for her by trying to take the blame for the shooting of Emma Frost --- a crime Angel committed while under the telepathic control of Esme of the Stepford Cuckoos.
In New Warriors, Barry's affection for Angel is immediately apparent. In fact, they're a lot sweeter together and more open with their affections than before. That's fairly understandable, as they were forcibly separated when Beak was recruited into the Exiles and were clearly miserable the entire time. Obviously, they've developed a greater appreciation for one another.
2. Pessimism
One of the best things about Beak is his refusal to give up even in the direst circumstances. Of course, he rarely, if ever, feels good about his chances. A guy with an inferiority complex as massive as his is bound to expect the worst at all times. Take for example, the X-Men's assault on New Genosha. When told that the X-Men and the local police force are mounting an attack on Magneto's fortress, his first reaction is that they haven't got a prayer.
Compare this with a brief moment from the New Warriors' fight with Zodiac. His teammate Longstrike has just been vaporized by Cancer, and the rest of the team is under heavy fire and forced to run for cover. His immediate reaction is, "We're not gonna make it." Ah, Barry, the eternal optimist.
3. Self-Pity
If there was ever a teenager who could justify wallowing in self-pity, it would be Beak. Puberty's hard enough by itself; Beak's was combined with a mutation so ugly he became an outcast among his fellow mutants.
But self-pity seems to be a difficult thing to grow out of, even after he's suddenly and magically gotten good-looking. Here's Barry feeling down after Night Thrasher announces he's disbanding the New Warriors. Aww. Buck up, emo kid.
4. Questioning Authority
Whether it's Magneto or the Timebroker, Beak is often the first among his peers to question the morality or the wisdom of blindly following the orders of the guy in charge.
This is admittedly a bit of a stretch, but it still works out if you squint and look sideways. In New Warriors, Barry espouses a theory that superhuman registration is part of a massive, longstanding goverment conspiracy to create an army of superhumans for militaristic purposes. He even names Tony Stark's father as one of the conspiracy's progenitors. Given Beak's experience with the Exiles and his opportunity of seeing behind the curtains of the multiverse, it's not out of the question that he would begin seeing conspiracies and hidden connections among the movers and shakers of the world.
5. Devotion to His Kids
It was a case of love at first sight. Beak dreaded the birth of his children, unsure of what form they would take. But once they were born, he instantly fell for them, and became as loving and protective a father as anyone could ask for. Case in point: even beaten and battered, he returns to Magneto's fortress in New Genosha and attempts to rescue Angel and his kids in what is still the single most awesome moment in the character's history.
In New Warriors, Barry's kids are his chief personal concern and a big part of the reason he's joined the team. In his own words, he doesn't want them "to grow up in the United States of Stark Enterprises." He expresses concern over how it would affect his family if people began to perceive the New Warriors as terrorists. He's also shown to be as affectionate with his kids as he was in the past. 
ProductivityOkay, so the title of the article is "Five Ways Barry is Like the Old Barnell." Let's just consider this one a bonus. There is one more way Barry resembles the Beak we all know and love.
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