Update: Scroll down to learn more about the new Dazzler and Storm titles launching in Fall 2024.
Marvel is bringing the current era of X-Men comics to a close this summer, but what's next for the franchise? Marvel answered that question at SXSW, with a panel focused on an upcoming relaunch called From the Ashes.
Following the conclusion of Fall of the House of X and Rise of the Powers of X this summer, From the Ashes is a new initiative spearheaded by incoming X-Men group editor Tom Brevoort. From the Ashes is built around three core X-Men titles - X-Men by Jed MacKay and Ryan Stegman, Uncanny X-Men by Gail Simone and David Marquez and Exceptional X-Men by Eve L. Ewing and Carmen Carnero.
In some ways, this relaunch appears to be a return to a more traditional status quo for the X-Men. The mutant nation of Krakoa is seemingly no more, with the X-Men themselves becoming fugitives in a world that hates and fears them more than ever. But that doesn't mean they can't still be the heroes Earth needs.
"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!" Marvel teased in a press release. "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 for a more detailed breakdown of each of these new series.
X-Men
Creative Team: Jed MacKay & Ryan Stegman
Team Roster: Cyclops, Magneto, Beast, Psylocke, Kid Omega, Temper (formerly known as Oya), Magik & Juggernaut
Release Date: July 10
This series features Cyclops leading a team of heavy-hitters from a remote base in Alaska. Marvel teases that the team is "battling for the destiny and philosophy of the mutant species."
“The X-Men are fractured in the aftermath of the end of Krakoa, scattered across the globe without a central base of operation,” said Brevoort. “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.”
Uncanny X-Men
Creative Team: Gail Simone & David Marquez
Team Roster: Rogue, Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Gambit & Jubilee
Release Date: August 7
This series looks to be the most traditional of the three, with Rogue leading a team based out of New Orleans and the emphasis on the X-Men as outlaw superheroes. The roster is fairly similar to the iconic Blue Team from the '90s X-Men series, and the series may be aimed at tapping into the nostalgia surrounding the upcoming animated revival series X-Men '97.
Exceptional X-Men
Creative Team: Eve L. Ewing & Carmen Carnero
Team Roster: Kate Pryde, Emma Frost, Bronze, Axo & Melee
Release Date: September 4
No X-Men line would be complete without a series focused on the next generation of mutant heroes, and that's where Exceptional X-Men comes in. In this series, Kate Pryde is summoned back into the fray to shephard a cast of new characters. Naturally, she'll be working alongside her best frenemy Emma Frost.
“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 said. “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.”
X-Force
Creative Team: Geoffrey Thorne & Marcus To
Team Roster: Forge, Rachel Summers, Betsy Braddock, Sage, Surge & Tank
Release Date: July 2024
Marvel is delivering a re-imagined X-Force team as part of the From the Ashes relaunch. This new team is led by Forge, who's determined to harness his brilliant mind to solve the greatest problems facing the world today. He'll assemble a team that includes the new mutant power couple of Rachel Summers and Betsy Braddock. X-Force will also feature a rotating cast of guest stars, beginning with Deadpool.
“I cannot believe the reaction to my pitch with, ‘That sounds like X-Force to us,’” Thorne said in a statement. “It's a new vibe and a different mission, but it's still X-Force. Looking at all the books coming out under this banner, I'll just paraphrase the prophet, Sheryl Crow, ‘All I wanna do is have some fun,’ and looking at what I'm getting to do and what the others are bringing, I'm absolutely not the only one.”
Phoenix
Creative Team: Stephanie Phillips & Alessandro Miracolo
Release Date: July 2024
Building on the events of Fall of the House of X, Jean Grey will again be bonding with the Pheonix Force for From the Ashes. This new series explores what happens when Phoenix ventures into the Marvel cosmos and tries to use her incredible power for good. But no matter what she does, Jean can't seem to escape the curse that is being Phoenix.
"Jean is one of the most powerful characters I've ever written,” writer Stephanie Phillips said. “The beauty and challenge to Jean is that she is imbued with a cosmic force alongside the morals, shortcomings, and empathy of a human being. The dichotomy between those two is something incredibly special about Jean, and means that she is constantly doing a dance between humanity and absolute power. So, that dance is what we hope to have on full display in this story... a cosmic ballet that shows how beautiful the Phoenix Force can be when working in tandem with Jean Grey. And let me assure you, Alessandro Miracolo has made that cosmic dance look absolutely gorgeous."
NYX
Creative Team: Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing, and Francesco Mortarino
Team Roster: Ms. Marvel, Wolverine, Anole, Prodigy & Sophie Cuckoo
Release Date: July 2024
Marvel is reviving NYX as part of From the Ashes. The new series will follow a group of mutants making their way on the streets of New York, as a flood of mutants return to the city in the wake of Krakoa's destruction. As with the original NYX, X-23 (or Wolverine, as she's knwon these days) will be a major character. The series will also focus on Ms. Marvel, who was recently reborn as a mutant.
"This is the kind of book we came to Marvel to create,” Kelly said. “When the Hivemind first formed, Collin and I bonded over books like Runaways, Young Avengers, and the original NYX - stories that showcased that tense, wonderful place where the mundane world and marvels collided. And no book has embodied that more in recent years than Ms. Marvel - Kamala Khan is one of the most definitive protagonists in the Marvel canon, and we're deeply honored to be inheriting the character from Iman [Vellani] and Sabir [Pirzada], while chronicling a whole new phase in her growth as a young adult."
"The opportunity to take on these characters is both an incredible challenge and an amazing honor,” Lanzing added. “Sophie, Anole, and Prodigy have been personal favorites since their time on the New Mutants and New X-Men - in a sense, we've become who we are right alongside them. And returning Laura to NYX - while in a radically different context that centers her heroism over her victimhood - feels like the chance to really bring the character full circle and help her grow into the next phase of her life."
X-Factor
Creative Team: Mark Russell & Bob Quinn
Team Roster: Angel, Havok, Pyro, Feral & Frenzy
Release Date: August 2024
The newest incarnation of X-Factor appears to be a throwback to the '90s version of the team, once again casting them as a government-sanctioned alternative to the regular X-Men. Led by Angel, this group is part superhero team and part mutant celebrities, and they'll be forced to deal with the sinister politics behind their organization as much as the new mutant villains threatening the world.
“The thing I've always loved about the X-Men is that they're characters first, super heroes second,” Russell said. “So being able to write characters like Havok and Angel and Frenzy in a post-Krakoa reality is an opportunity to write about what I really care about, which is how do we help each other survive the apathy of the world we live in?”
Wolverine
Creative Team: Saladin Ahmed & Martín Cóccolo
Release Date: September 2024
Wolverine's newest solo series sees Logan retreating from the X-Men and public life and returning to his animalistic roots. However, as Nightcralwer tries to bring his friend back, Wolverine will be forced to unsheathe his claws once more to confront a powerful new villain with roots in the ancient history of the Marvel Universe. Marvel teases this villain is a major new addition to Wolverine's rogues gallery, and one who spark significant revelations about Logan's past.
“When I was a kid, Wolverine was the coolest character in comics,” Ahmed said. “That hasn't changed a whole lot for me, so when Marvel approached me about a new solo Logan book, it was an instant YES.”
“Logan is simultaneously a mythic hero, an abused animal, and a man of flesh, blood, and adamantium,” he continued. “Our story is about what happens when these parts of him all pull in opposite directions – and threaten to rip Logan to pieces that won't come back together again.”
Dazzler
Creative Team: Jason Loo & Rafael Loureiro
Roster: Dazzler, Domino, Strong Guy, Multiple Man, Shark-Girl & Wind Dancer
Release Date: September 2024
Dazzler will be getting her own solo comic again in September (which also lends credence to the rumors that she'll be appearing in the upcoming Deadpool & Wolverine movie). This mutant superstar will be hitting the road on a new world tour, and she'll be joined by a crew that includes her new head of security Domino, her bodyguard Strong Guy and her roadie Multiple Man.
“Rafael and I are giving everyone backstage access to the greatest show of the decade: the Dazzler World Tour!” Loo said. “Sounds exciting? Not for Dazzler when she’s facing tons of pressure from all sorts of people trying to cancel her shows. But she’s not going down without a fight.”
Storm
Creative Team: Murewa Ayodele & Lucas Werneck
Release Date: October 2024
Storm may be conspicuous in her sabsence from books like X-men and Uncanny X-Men, but only because "Marvel's mightiest mutant" is flying solo in the From the Ashes era. Storm will star in a new monthly series that sees her operating out of a headquarters in Atlanta and dealing with the biggest and most profound threats to mutantkind.
"As a fan of Storm, her duties to the X-Men, and what she stands for in various real-world communities, I would like to assure the audience that Storm is in danger. Extremely so," Ayodele said. "We love Ororo Munroe, and that is why we have crafted a thrilling story that will put the strength of her character on wide-open display. But when you’re an Omega-level mutant, few things can test your limits, and even fewer things can shatter those limits. For our STORM series, one thing we would like fans to remember is that there are threats that are beyond Omega. Prepare yourselves for an extraordinary display of superheroism that leaves knuckles bloody, knees bashed in, and mountains cratered.
"We are building towards gargantuan conflicts that will shake the universe from Planet Earth to the Dimension of Manifestations,” Ayodele continued. “We are crafting stories filled to the brim with humanity, love, mystery, adventure, heartbreak, and ALL-OUT ACTION. Tom Brevoort, the editor behind Marvel’s most universe-shattering events, Lucas Werneck, the incredible artist known for his genius-level attention to design and character work, and I are cooking with supernovas on this series. So join us on this journey that promises to be exciting till the bitter-sweet end. Get ready for an ETERNAL STORM."
The Avengers
Creative Team: Jed MacKay & Valerio Schiti
Roster: Storm, Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Captain Marvel, Black Panther, Vision & Scarlet Witch
Release Date: August 2024
Jed MacKay's ongoing Avengers series is forging a new link to the X-Men franchise in August, as Storm joins the current roster in issue #17. In addition to fighitng her own battles in her new solo series, Storm will join Earth's Mightiest Heroes to lend a hand in their battles against Kang the Conqueror, the Twilight Court and other growing threats. And we expect no small amount of tension as Storm reunites with her ex-husband, Black Panther.
"When we were putting together thoughts for X-Men, one problem kept coming up—Storm needed to have a presence in a book befitting her status, but it would be weird for her to be on an X-Men team if she wasn't the leader," MacKay said. "The solution was simple—she needed to be on the global stage, among equals, and what better place for that than the Avengers? We're excited to bring Storm back to the Avengers and show what adventures she'll get up to as part of Earth's Mightiest Heroes!"
For more on the X-Men franchise, learn about the ways in which X-Men: The Animated Series changed the franchise forever, and learn about the time when X-Men was the biggest comic on Earth.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.