No one will ever value Alex Summers the way Madelyne Pryor and, by turns, Russell Dauterman do on this cover to X-Men Outback #4.
If you’ll recall, Havok ended up on this iteration of the team because he went to the X-Men for help and caught them plotting against their enemies post-“Mutant Massacre” and they decided he knew too much.
X-Factor used him as a government stooge to perpetuate the status quo in Bill Clinton’s America, until he went rogue and joined Dark Beast’s Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Sure, it was an op, but still, if you’ve ever said the words “Alex Summers is a tool,” it’s because of this era.
When he awoke from his cross-dimensional Mutant X-related coma, he found himself right back in the shadow of his older brother, and the object of desire of two women who were both clearly going through something and needed psychological counseling.
Sure, he led the Uncanny Avengers, the so-called Unity Squad that promoted superhuman-mutant harmony in the wake of Avengers vs. X-Men, but all anybody really remembers from that are his bad speech about “the M word” and his kid with the Wasp that disappeared like so many other superhero spawn.
Then he got Axis-ed, and the only thing the new Quiet Council of Krakoa could think to do with him was put him on Mister Sinister’s misfit squad with the other “problem” mutants.
Then he got put on the Krakoan X-Men as a goof to piss off his brother. Then he found himself leading a government X-Factor team again (because Angel got injured), etc.
Some other stuff happened in between those things, but you get my point. Just constantly stumbling into misadventures era after era as writers and editors ponder aloud, “Where should we put Havok? He was created in the ’60s, so he’s Important.”
But, for a brief shining moment, one woman saw the best in Alex. That best just happened to be in a skimpy matching outfit that exposed his perfectly dimpled and rippled buttcheeks to the world.
The Goblin Prince is a bisexual’s dream, a head-empty-no-thoughts himbo completely at the whim of his powerful mistress, who, yeah, is on a mission to collect babies to open a portal to Limbo, but put that aside and look how happy they are. Look how serene Alex looks, directing his gaze toward Maddy while she looks at you and says, “We saw you from across the bar and really dig your vibe.”
In another world, he’ll marry that girl. Literally. It happened in Mutant X. Look it up. I dare you.
Check out our exclusive preview of X-Men Outback #4, out next week, and keep scrolling for the basic deets.
W: Steve Orlando | A: Roi Mercado | CA: Russell Dauterman
THE MORLOCKS OF THE OUTBACK ARE IN TROUBLE – AND ONLY THE X-MEN CAN HELP! HAVOK and MADELYNE PRYOR must help the MORLOCKS of Australia escape from the LAVA MEN! Can even HAVOK withstand the heat? Will these X-MEN be able to establish a truce between the Lava Men and the Morlocks before Maddie’s fiery visions of the future come true?
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Dan Grote is the editor and publisher 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 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 Paul Winston Wisdom. Follow him @danielpgrote.bsky.social.
