The X-Men have had many generations of new mutants, from, well, the New Mutants, to Generation X, to the Morrison era/Academy X kids, to, technically, the O5 X-Men who got pulled forward in time, to whatever little ferals were running around Krakoa and apparently are being shunted off to the White Hot Room for not being important enough.
And in the upcoming “From the Ashes” era, we’ll be getting some more of those.
Marvel on Thursday shared new info about Exceptional X-Men, the third of its new tentpole series, written by Eve Ewing (Black Panther) and drawn by Carmen Carnero (Captain Marvel).
The series will see Kitty Pryde – who I guess we’re calling Kitty again – putting her days as a drunk bi-curious pirate-turned-murder ninja on Krakoa behind her to work once again as a bartender in her hometown of Chicago. But Emma Frost comes calling with a new batch of students: Bronze, Axo and Melee. Together, they will learn to fight, live and love in a world that hates and fears them. And, in the case of Bronze, Axo and Melee, find a way not to be buried at the kids’ table alongside Magma, Skin, Wallflower, those two French twins, Rain Boy and all the other oodles and oodles of young mutants who don’t have the benefit of being Kitty or Emma or any of the other important ones.
Exceptional X-Men is one of nine series announced so far for the X-Men’s “From the Ashes” era. The others are Uncanny X-Men by Gail Simone and Dave Marquez, X-Men by Jed MacKay and Ryan Stegman, X-Force by Geoffrey Thorne and Marcus To, Phoenix by Stephanie Phillips and Alessandro Miracolo, NYX by Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly and Francesco Mortarino, X-Factor by Mark Russell and Bob Quinn, and Wolverine by Saladin Ahmed and Martin Coccolo. Still to come is an announcement for Storm.
And according to MacKay on The ComicsXF Interview Podcast, there are still more X-books to come.
Check out the cover by Carnero to issue #1, out Sept. 4, and keep scrolling for Marvel’s press release.
From the New Mutants to the Hellions, discovering you’re a mutant in the Marvel Universe has never been easy, and in the wake of Krakoa, it’s going to be harder than ever! While the X-Men reintegrate into society after the fall of their mutant nation, mutants around the world still need protection, community, and guidance. In EXCEPTIONAL X-MEN, a group of young mutants will luckily be trained by two of the greatest teachers in X-Men history—Kitty Pryde and Emma Frost! Today, fans can learn more about the series and see the reveal of the first issue cover!
Written by acclaimed author Eve L. Ewing and drawn by superstar Marvel Stormbreaker artist Carmen Carnero, EXCEPTIONAL X-MEN will be the final flagship X-Title to launch in the upcoming From the Ashes era. The series will introduce three all-new mutants who turn to Kitty and Emma for help with their emerging gifts: the metallic and whip-wielding Bronze, the emotion-stirring Axo, and the stealth-skilled fighter Melee! Under Kitty and Emma’s tutelage, they’ll learn not just how to survive—but to thrive! But Kitty and Emma haven’t always seen eye-to-eye, and they’ll also have lessons to teach each other, as they take up the call once more—for the children!
EXCEPTIONAL X-MEN begins with Kitty trying to get as far away from all things X as she possibly can. After the actions she took during Fall of X, Kitty craves normalcy and takes a job as a regular-degular bartender. She’s definitely NOT getting ready to head up an all-new team of wayward young mutants while avoiding the watchful gaze of Emma Frost. Nothing but work, dating and staving off depression. That’s it. Let’s see how long it lasts…
“Longtime 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.”
“The story Eve brought up really hooked me from the beginning,” Carnero said. “I found it very interesting to see Kitty away from the X-Men and trying to live a normal life in Chicago, but finding herself with young mutants who have to deal with this post-Krakoa world and Emma’s plans.”
On how the new cast will connect with both new and longtime fans, Ewing said, “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.”
“Regarding the young mutants, I think the whole team fell in love with all three of them,” Carnero added. “I love that they are such opposites. Eve had very clear personalities, hobbies, musical tastes, how they feel… And when it came to designing them, it all developed naturally, and the whole team had a clear vision of what their final looks would be. I can’t wait for readers to meet them.”
With three flagship titles and a host of additional satellite series, the upcoming From the Ashes era will present fans with a wide range of different approaches to the X-Men storytelling! Gail Simone and David Marquez’s Uncanny X-Men are outlaw heroes protect a world that hates and fears them from their home in New Orleans. Jed MacKay and Ryan Stegman’s X-Men navigate the uncertain future of mutantkind while preparing for the worst in their base in Alaska. Meanwhile, Ewing and Carnero’s EXCEPTIONAL X-MEN exemplify that even in the darkest times, hope can always be found in the next generation!
See Emma, Kitty, and the three new mutants they take under their wing in the debut issue’s cover and pick up EXCEPTIONAL X-MEN #1 when it arrives in September. For more information, visit Marvel.com.
Dan Grote is the editor-in-chief of ComicsXF, having won the site by ritual combat. By day, he’s a newspaper editor, and by night, he’s … also an editor. He co-hosts WMQ&A: The ComicsXF Interview Podcast with Matt Lazorwitz. He lives in New Jersey with his wife, two kids and two miniature dachshunds, and his third, fictional son, Peter Winston Wisdom.
