Probably for most of you, "meh." But indulge me.
Marvel announced some of its post-Krakoa plans for the X-Men at SXSW, which promptly made it all over the Internet. Here's a Bleeding Cool article about it, from which I'm going to liberally swipe.
I'll structure my commentary around the official Marvel press release:
FROM THE ASHES... THE FUTURE OF THE X-MEN REVEALED!
Straight out of South by Southwest (SXSW), learn about the three flagship X-Titles launching this summer.
Following the Krakoan Age, Jed MacKay and Ryan Stegman’s X-MEN, Gail Simone and David Marquez’s UNCANNY X-MEN, and Eve L. Ewing and Carmen Carnero’s EXCEPTIONAL X-MEN will be the core ongoing series in an all-new era of mutant storytelling.
New York, NY— March 14, 2024 — Krakoa is gone...but the X-Men remain, always.
Just now at the Future of Marvel Comics' X-Men and Digital Comics panel at South by Southwest (SXSW), Editor-in-Chief C.B. Cebulski and VP, Executive Editor Tom Brevoort were joined by writers Jed MacKay and Gail Simone to announce what's coming next for Marvel's line of X-Men comics. In the wake of their acclaimed Krakoan Age, witness the X-Men’s latest evolution this summer in X-MEN: FROM THE ASHES!
Oh yeah, for those of you who might not know, Tom Brevoort -- who has been the Avengers group editor for a bazillion years -- will be the new X-office editor.
This new era of X-Men will be centered around three flagship titles written and drawn by some of today’s most influential and acclaimed creators: Jed Mackay and Ryan Stegman’s X-MEN, Gail Simone and David Marquez’s UNCANNY X-MEN, and Eve L. Ewing and Carmen Carnero’s EXCEPTIONAL X-MEN. Each series will offer different explorations of the mutant mythos as they take Marvel’s Merry Mutants into bold and untrodden territory.
I'm most excited about Gail Simone being on board, because A) I like her stuff and B) I don't know the other two.
I'm being flip. I've read stuff by the other two. But they're just writers. Gail Simone is a *Star.*
Over their 60-year history, the X-Men have been many things. Outcasts. Teachers. Revolutionaries. Heroes. Above all, they’re a species, and the future is still theirs for the taking! Krakoa showed the world what homo superior is truly capable of, and now, the X-Men have to fight harder than ever to keep Professor X’s dream alive. These three core series will approach the X-Men’s vital mission with distinct and relevant perspectives while remaining faithful to the storytelling power of the mutant metaphor!
Read on to discover what awaits!
On Sale 7/10
X-MEN #1
Written by JED MACKAY
Art and Cover by RYAN STEGMAN
KRAKOA IS NO MORE…BUT THE X-MEN FIGHT ON!
From their new base in Alaska, the X-Men raise a flag of defiance! Join CYCLOPS, BEAST, MAGNETO, PSYLOCKE, KID OMEGA, TEMPER (formerly OYA), MAGIK and JUGGERNAUT as they assemble against new forces, battling for the destiny and philosophy of the mutant species. Mutant business is their business.
“It’s not just those three titles in this relaunch, there’s a lot!” MacKay shared at the panel. “[My X-Men title] is where we'll see the first inklings of what the X-Men will look like in 2024. I’m very excited for you guys to see it when it comes out. If you look at that line-up, they’re a group of people who are not well suited to integrating into the world. And in these books, we’ll see what that means and what it looks like going forward.”
I assume this a new/old, time-displaced Beast from back when he had a sense of humor and wasn't, you know, murder-y. I've read that a Beast from the past will replace the "real" one, which I assume will happen soon. Maybe in X-Factor #50, which comes out March 27, and is supposed to bring the Beast storyline to a close in some fashion.
Of this group, Cyclops and Magik are my favorites. And what's Magneto doing in a hover-chair? "To me, my X-Men," I suspect. Don't really care much for the rest of them.
This one's set in Scott Summers' native Alaska, with Cyclops using Cerebro to find struggling mutants. A pretty traditional set-up.
On Sale 8/7
UNCANNY X-MEN
Written by Gail Simone
Art by David Marquez
OUTLAW HEROES ONCE AGAIN, THE X-MEN EMBARK ON A NEW MISSION!
Making themselves at home in the Big Easy, the X-Men protect a world that hates and fears them! Join ROGUE, GAMBIT, NIGHTCRAWLER, JUBILEE and WOLVERINE on explosive superhero adventures. Uncanny as ever, the X-Men are back to saving the day mutant-style!
"I think X-Fans are special in that we identify with having something different about us...and you're going to feel that in this book, and what it means to have that thing about you that's different, or exceptional. We go deep into the emotional part of that,” Simone told the crowd.
“David Marquez is the perfect artist for this book,” she continued. “He does amazing action, amazing character work, and he’s really excited about getting into the characters appearing in this book. I knew from the very first panel that this book was going to be super exciting and gorgeous. He just knows how to knock it out of the park!”
Wait, Wolverine's only on one team? The Canucklehead must be getting old and tired.
Aside from him, I'm not terribly thrilled about the rest of the cast. My interest in Nightcrawler waxes and wanes, but mostly I don't care. I have, on occasion, actively despised Gambit and Jubilee. (Is Jubilee still a vampire? Does she still have her baby, or he still a dragon in Otherworld? Is she still annoying and useless? That last one's rhetorical.)
If anybody can make me care about all these characters with irritating speech patterns (French, German, Southern, Valley Girl), though, it's Gail Simone.
This one's set in Gambit's native New Orleans.
On Sale 9/4
EXCEPTIONAL X-MEN
Written by Eve L. Ewing
Art by Carmen Carnero
MUTANTKIND’S TWO GREATEST TEACHERS MOLD THE NEXT GENERATION OF X-MEN!
KATE PRYDE has returned home to Chicago following the war with ORCHIS. Having stepped away from the world of mutantdom, she is nevertheless called back into action as she crosses paths with a trio of new young mutants, BRONZE, AXO and MELEE, who clearly need training and guidance. Unfortunately for Kate, EMMA FROST thinks so as well!
“Long-time fans of Kitty Pryde can count on the kinds of adventures you expect from her as a classic favorite, while I hope new and old readers alike will get to love this all-new team of young mutants,” Ewing shared. “Kitty, the one-time kid sister figure of the X-Men, has to reckon with her own memories—good and bad—of being a child of Xavier as she navigates a role as leader and mentor for a new generation of mutants who are trying to make their way in a time of crisis. I always try to strike a chord between appealing to veteran comics fans and new readers, but since so many people fell in love with the X-Men as teens and this book is about a team of young folks, that feels especially important to me here. I hope that for some 13- or 14-year-old readers, this might be the first comic book they pick up. Working on this series has been a ton of fun already, as Carmen Carnero's art is bringing so much dynamism to these pages and the entire X-team of writers is in a flurry sharing scripts and feedback and ideas.”
Marvel stumbled on a great "buddy cop" pair with Emma Frost and Kate Pryde, who could not be more different and yet find themselves working in the same direction time and again. They've ended up in a snarky love/hate relationship that's pretty fun. Emma makes fun of Kitty's idealism, and Kitty makes fun of Emma's sluttiness.
That's really enough to hang a book on for me, and since I don't know these new characters yet, it will have to be. Don't we have enough mutants by now, that we should focus on ones we know? Ah, well. I guess you don't find the next Wolverine playing it safe.
This one's set in Kitty's native Chicago.
“The X-Men are fractured in the aftermath of the end of Krakoa, scattered across the globe without a central base of operation,” Marvel Comics VP Executive Editor Tom Brevoort explained. “What that means in practice is that all three titles carrying the name X-MEN are core X-MEN series—they all center around one of the major aspects of what the team has been about at different points. This is very much by design. We want to field a wide assortment of X-titles with different styles and tones and approaches, an X-MEN book for virtually any taste.”
This is only the beginning, and fans shouldn’t fret if they don’t see their favorite mutant icons just yet! In the coming weeks, get ready for more X-Men title announcements including new ongoing team books, solo series, and more. Catch a glimpse at some of the future titles and stay tuned for full announcements plus the main cover reveals and first looks for X-MEN #1, UNCANNY X-MEN #1, and EXCEPTIONAL X-MEN #1.
Check out all three cast lineups on Ryan Stegman and Marte Gracia’s X-MEN: FROM THE ASHES promotional image and get a sneak peek at what’s to come in the X-MEN: FROM THE ASHES trailer, featuring never-before-seen artwork that teases new villains AND the mystery of INMATE X! And don’t forget to take your first steps into the new era on May 4 with a special prelude tale by Gail Simone in FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2024: BLOOD HUNT/X-MEN #1 AND in June’s X-MEN #35, the 700th issue of Uncanny X-Men, which will feature stories by both Simone and MacKay. For more information, visit Marvel.com.
The press release doesn't say it, but Bleeding Cool reports that other upcoming new X-books will include Phoenix, X-Factor, Storm, NYX, X-Force and, of course, Wolverine.
I assume Jean Grey will be resurrected again for Phoenix, Storm will star in Storm, Wolverine will star in Wolverine, and God only knows who will be in the three team books. Maybe other missing major characters? Like Professor X, Colossus, Havok, Iceman, the rest of the New Mutants and others I'm probably forgetting.
Well, that was my hot take. Thoughts?
Replies
I'm probably the only person that wants this, but I would like to see the occasional X-Story that isn't all about "Mutant Angst". I realize that "Mutant Angst" has been an inherent ingredient of the X-Franchise from the Time of the Beginning, but I think that it would actually be more realistic if, once in a while, they had run-ins with traditional super-villainy. If they let me write an X-Men two-parter, it would involve the Mad Thinker leading a team of villains in stealing a shipment of plotconvenienceite, and a team of X-Men just so happened to be the nearest heroes in a position to stop them. The first part would end with our heroes caught in an Honest-to-God, Straight-Outta-Batman (1966) Death Trap ("You'll become new, limited-edition X-Men action figures", laughs the Thinker, "and those 'nerdboys' that unwittingly purchase your remains will never know just how 'authentic' their prize collectibles really are!")
Oh, and just so people would know that it was an X-Men story, one of the villains would be a hardened, cynical alternate future version of Kate Pryde, who - as a parting shot near the end of the second part - would say to her younger self, "'Mutant Pride' is for suckers, kiddo! You're gonna learn soon enough why 'Looking Out for Number One' is the only way to go!"
What's my response? Okay, you asked for it.
...the three flagship X-Titles launching this summer.
Oh, joy. more "new number ones."
Eve L. Ewing and Carmen Carnero’s EXCEPTIONAL X-MEN
Again I ask, are all the good adjectives taken?
Krakoa is gone...
Good riddance.
Generally speaking, I would assume the title with Cyclops as leader would be the main one, but who knows? Judging the books by the cover art alone, it looks like there's a Cyclops team, a Wolverine team, and... what? It look like there's a character missing from that "Exceptional" X-Men cover. Jean Grey? You know what I'd really like to see? One X-men book with a huge cast, like the Legion of Super-Heroes during the Levitz/Giffen years. Oh, well. I can dream, can't I?