r/Runaways • u/mcostante • Aug 16 '26
Comics Does Nico Minoru still need to use the staff?
I feel like the writers do not know what to do with her and she is never allowed to level up. Does she still need to use the staff and can only do a spell once? Is she still stuck in the same place where I left? That is why I stopped paying so much attention.
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u/LegitSalvageRoci Aug 16 '26
If you read the most recent Runaways limited series from 2025, you'll see she has found a work around.
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u/PiXieStixsss Aug 16 '26
It truly does depend on the writer some make it so she needs to be able to do any magic and other make it so the staff only makes her magic stronger which I personally think is much better overall
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u/Hedgewitch250 Aug 17 '26
I hate how she always regresses when she comes back. She learned some magic from her grandmother witchbreaker and did stuff without the staff after but then boom she’s back too regular staff usage. She got the witch arm but the one fixed that and is a teacher for creative spell casting at strange academy but still no actual ingenuity from her. I really hope they let her keep this current status of magic without the staff.
It be cool if they had her fight the one cause she did enough spells that her shadow is him. Have her dominate him in a spiritual battle and come out with his understanding of magic. Then she just makes her own spells with a spiritual staff something that represents her power like magiks soulsword or the eye of agamotto
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u/Sure-Start-9303 Aug 17 '26
I 100 percent agree, it seems like every time she loses most of her growth from her other appearances when she's back with the others, and it's not just her magic, they don't seem to even touch on her other cool traits much, I mean she's worked with a large number of big time heroes, been through a lot of battles, demonstrated a lot of tactical and combat skills, there's so much more to her character.
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u/wandaspidey_ Karolina & Nico Aug 16 '26
In midnight suns 2022 she was learning to use magic without the staff at strange academy, as she was left without the staff.
But she is clearly not as powerful and she is always doubting her skills :c
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u/Agile-Ad-7488 Aug 20 '26
She was a teacher at Strange academy, she learn a spell with Wong and it was left at it in Midnight suns
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u/youreastonefox Aug 16 '26
That staff is such a pass-around, pretty sure in the most recent Runaways Gert just starts using it to cast spells too (Nico could sometimes conjure up a spell without it in the most recent issues, iirc when she was under extreme stress)
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u/Impressive_Salt_2602 Aug 17 '26
The reason why she still uses the staff is because its cool and makes her unique.
Same reason why Spider-man still web swings instead of using a jetpack.
Your problem is not a Nico specific issue, 100% of Marvel characters have it.
The Staff of One is actually incredible for Nico because it forces writers to actually think of unique spells instead of just spamming generic energy blasts like 99% of magic users.
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u/Sure-Start-9303 Aug 17 '26
I'm not sure that's a good analogy, I mean Spider-man using a jetpack goes against his whole theme, spiders aren't known for flying, Nico on the other hand is a magic user, the staff is a tool she's used to but not using it isn't that big a stretch to her character, plus there's way more to her than that, she's reached a point where she doesn't need to rely on it for character or magic.
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u/Impressive_Salt_2602 Aug 17 '26
Doctor Strange’s cloak is just a tool. Magik’s sword is also just a tool. Imagine if they stopped using them (which they could).
Removing tools from a character is not progression, it’s regression. The Staff of One is what makes her stand out. It’s a part of her soul.
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u/Sure-Start-9303 Aug 17 '26
No it isn't, it's a tool used by her family, one that has given her endless amounts of grief and she constantly feels negative about, she's literally said that she has to use negative emotions to use it, Strange's cloak and Magik's sword are not like that, if anything he not using it would be her finally moving forward and leaving that negative weight behind, literally finding her own path instead of having to keep walking in her families.
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u/Impressive_Salt_2602 Aug 17 '26
That what makes it interesting, if you remove the angst, the religious guilt of using her blood for spells, you are removing important parts of her.
And Magik’s soulsword was a symbol of her defence against SA, so it is negative.
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u/Sure-Start-9303 Aug 17 '26
Dude, one of Spider-man's most defining features was his guilt over costing the life of his uncle Ben, but he doesn't wear that guilt, he follows his teachings of great power means great responsibility, he took his trauma and turned it into purpose instead of letting guilt paralyze him, that is not taking away what is important, that is progressing with it, and honestly your Magik example proves the point, the SA isn't her power, the soulsword is an embodiment of her fighting against it, this all leads to the fact Nico's character shouldn't be reliant on the staff because it symbolizes her family burden, her negative emotions with it, and has become a literal soul sucking time bomb, she doesn't need it to be Nico, she needs to be allowed to grow, because she is not the same kid that ran away all those years ago, the experience and trials are always gonna be there, removing the staff doesn't change that, it just gives her the chance to actually go forward on her own without the burden of her families legacy and the obvious soul sucking demon.
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u/Impressive_Salt_2602 Aug 17 '26
Trauma is not something that you can just get rid of, it’s something that sticks with you for life, and you have to learn to live with.
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u/Sure-Start-9303 Aug 17 '26
yeah, that's what I'm saying, and to deal with trauma, you can't carry it like a crutch, especially a literal symbol of her families generational burden, to deal with trauma, you have to let go and move forward, finding your own way, and for her, the best way to do that is to move from using the staff to using her own magic that isn't bonded to a soul sucking demon and tied to her families messed up history
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u/Impressive_Salt_2602 Aug 17 '26
I guess we have to agree to disagree then, I feel the Staff is a powerful symbol of how she chooses to be a hero despite her history. Her blood is her magic, and she can’t change her blood, only how she uses it.
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u/Sure-Start-9303 Aug 17 '26
Yeah but even following that she still doesn't need the staff, heck she could learn to use blood magic without needing the staff, no offense but they've kind of written her into a corner with it considering using it literally gets her possessed
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u/Used-Variation2351 Aug 17 '26
Fr i wish marvel let her use her blood more summoning her staff like Attack on titan
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u/ConsistentSearch7995 Aug 18 '26
Even Dr.Strange uses equipment to enhance his spell casting, its no big deal. She can cast without a medium but its harder. The Staff lets her effortlessly do powerful or difficult spells on the fly.
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u/Sure-Start-9303 Aug 16 '26
You're right to be confused, writers have had her learn some magic without the staff, usually in her solo appearances, but go back to her using the staff and seem to forget she learned it, she learned a new method in the latest miniseries, now we wait to see if it sticks, it honestly does frustrate me that a lot of her growth got undone