X-Position: The 2016 That Was, The 2017 That Could Be

CBR: This week, X-PO’s readers sound off about their favorite X-Men moments of 2016 and single out the things they are most looking forward to in 2017. Take a look below for some of the responses, and have a happy New Year!

Who should win X-Character of the year and why?

“Definitely Psylocke. Betsy always goes for extreme over comfort zone and that’s one way we could describe her year. While most X-Men chose to run away and hide in Limbo, Psylocke allied herself with the Master of Magnetism himself in a most proactive fashion. She cares for mutantkind and is willing to do anything it takes to save her species, even if it means breaking up with her friends and joining a team full of psychopaths. That’s some commitment right there. Her journey to save Angel and Archangel and the guilt she feels over his situation was bittersweet and made up for some great reading.” – Ben

Uncanny X-Men #16 Spoilers & Art

Spoilers: The main cast of “Uncanny X-Men” all take the month off as the teen Jean Grey from “Extraordinary” makes a guest starring turn, along with the Stepford Cuckoos. The issue focuses on the Jean scene from “IvX” #1, focusing on Jean and the Cuckoos’ combined attempt to keep Karnak trapped in his own mind. Things have progressed from what we’ve seen before; Karnak is now running around in a mental prison set up by the telepaths to look like New Attilan. Psylocke doesn't appear in this issue, but is among the X-Men projected into Karkak's mind by the mutant telepaths.

Meanwhile, Fantomex struck a deal with one of Cuckoos, Irma, to allow him access to Karnak’s problem-solving skills. Irma would act as the bridge between Fantomex and Karnak, feeding altered analogues of the real problems Fantomex encounters in the World into Karnak’s vision. Then, as Karnak solves the similar problems in his trance, Fantomex knows what to do in the World. This side mission is of importance to Fantomex because he has been in control of the World for a while now, and members of the nefarious Someday Corporation infiltrated the World and stole parts of its tech. Fantomex uses Karnak’s abilities to make his way to where the Someday Corporation broke in. There, he finds the device they used to hack into the World’s systems — a slug-like device. He then places his psi-shielding plates back in his mask, locking Irma out of his mind. Panicked, Irma tells the others of her secret mission with Fantomex — and they aren’t too pleased. Fantomex continues on his quest, completely moving on from the matters of Inhumans and X-Men. “Let them have their war. I’m done with all that,” he says. Fantomex removed Someday’s influence from the World’s system — and filled the void with his own id, ego and super-ego. Calling it the “God-King Virus,” Fantomex prepares himself for a massive transformation — one that he says will render him unrecognizable. “I will become the world,” he says at the end of the issue, teasing a potentially major shift in who — and what — Fantomex is moving forward.

X-Solicits for March 2017

Inhumans Vs X-Men #6 (of 6)

• Charles Soule & Jeff Lemire (W)

• Leinil Francis Yu (A/C)

• Variant Cover by: Michael Cho

• Variant Cover by: Simone Bianchi

• Inhumans Variant Cover by: Ardian Syaf

• X-Men Variant Cover by: Terry Dodson

• The war between the Inhumans and the X-Men takes a dark turn leaving Inhumans hopelessly outmatched. Emma Frost, the White Queen, faces off against Medusa, queen of the Inhumans, as both fight for the future of their people. It all ends here. Don’t miss the epic oversized conclusion of INHUMANS VS X-MEN!

Uncanny X-Men #19

• Cullen Bunn (W)

• Edgar Salazar (A)

• Cover by: Ken Lashley

• When she left the ranks of his X-Men team, PSYLOCKE promised that if MAGNETO stepped out of line, she would end him. And now, in light of the events of INHUMANS VS. X-MEN, Psylocke is going to make good on that promise!

X-Men Prime #1

• Marc Guggenheim (W)

• Ken Lashley (A)

• Cover by: Ardian Syaf

• Variant Cover by: John Cassaday

• Venomized Variant Cover by: Kris Anka

• Connecting Variant Cover by: Elizabeth Torque

• Variant Cover by: TBA

• Resurrxion Begins Here!

• In the wake of their war with the Inhumans, the X-MEN are at a crossroads. Where do they go from here? Luckily, one beloved X-Men has the answer to that question: Xavier’s dream comes full circle as KITTY PRYDE returns to the X-Men, ready to lead them in their mission to protect a world that hates and fears them. The next chapter of the X-Men’s saga starts here!

ResurrXion: Where Is Psylocke?

After a week full of announcements, X-Men fans now know the scope of what lies ahead for Marvel’s mutants in 2017. A whole new slate of titles will arrive in April 2017 under the ResurrXion banner, including “X-Men Gold,” “X-Men Blue,” “Generation X,” “Weapon X,” “Iceman”, “Jean Grey” and “Cable.” As if that’s not enough, “All-New Wolverine” will continue as it is.

“Uncanny X-Men,” a series starring some of the X-Men’s toughest heroes, has seemingly been hit hard by the ResurrXion revamp. M, Psylocke, Archangel, Mystique and Fantomex are all nowhere to be seen in the initially announced lineup. That’s especially surprising for Psylocke, a character that has maintained a consistently prominent role in the line for the last 10 years. And while the adult Archangel has had his ups and downs over the past few years when it comes to his own sense of self, he’s been a mainstay on X-Teams for even longer than that.

X-Men Gold

Writer: Marc Guggenheim & Artist: Ardian Syaf

Lineup: Kitty Pryde, Storm, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Old Man Logan and Rachel Grey.

Focus on more hopeful storylines and tapping into some of the nostalgia of older titles.

X-Men Blue

Writer: Cullen Bunn & Artist: Jorge Molina

Lineup: Jean Grey, Cyclops, Iceman, Beast, and Angel, with Magneto

Dealing with the original five being stranded in the present day, but also be aligning with Magneto, one of their greatest former foes.

Generation X

Writer: Christina Strain & Artist: Amilcar Pinna

Lineup: Jubilee, Nature Girl, Eye Boy, Bling, and Quentin Quire

You’re going to see these kids go through all the growing pains of finding their way, finding out who you love, trust, or don’t,

Weapon X

Writer: Greg Pak & Artist: Greg Land

Lineup: Old Man Logan, Sabretooth, Warpath, Lady Deathstrike, and Domino.

As part of Weapon X's bid to extinguish mutants forever, they’ll primarily be going after the mutants they know are going to “fight dirty.”

Jean Grey

Writer: Dennis Hopeless & Artist: Victor Ibanez

Jean’ll get a premonition that the future she feared is actually a lot closer than she thought. The Phoenix is a very real threat.

Iceman

Writer: Sina Grace & Artist: Alessandro Vitti

The book is primarily focused on older Iceman, because it’s really his journey, informed by the younger Iceman’s journey,

Cable

Writer: James Robinson & Artist: Carlos Pacheco

Focus on Cable traveling back and forth through different time periods in order to fix time itself.

All-New Wolverine

Writer: Tom Taylor & Artist: Leonard Kirk

The new story arc is a science fiction story about an alien contagion spreading throughout a US city, which is connected to Wolverine in some way that she doesn’t understand.

Additionaly, "Uncanny Avengers" writer, Gerry Duggan said he had no plans for Psylocke: "I’ve never had the opportunity to write her, but I hope to someday."

Inhumans Vs. X-Men #2 Unlettered Preview

Inhumans Vs. X-Men #1 Art

Inhumans Vs. X-Men #1 Spoilers

Spoilers: A group of X-Men (Rogue, Storm, Beast, Old Man Logan, Emma Frost, Young Beast, Magneto, Forge) discusses the last Terrigen Mist cloud. Beast reveals that he's out of time, and mutants only have 2 weeks before the cloud spreads across the whole planet. His only options are to leave the planet or die. Emma reveals that she has had a back-up plan in the past 8 months in case Storm's plan of peaceful co-existence fails. Magneto says to fight, refusing the mutants to be gassed. Beast is against this, with first-hand experience on the Inhumans and what they're capable of. Emma next outlines her plan to systematically take out the key Inhuman threats, starting with Karnak, who knows the truce will fail from his ability to sense weaknesses. Logan reminds Emma of the threat Lockjaw presents in jumping Inhumans around. They have a vote. Rogue votes no. Forge abstains. The rest are pro-attacking. Beast is outraged and walks out to warn the Inhumans, but Storm blasts Beast with a lightning bolt, revealing she was a part of Emma and Magneto's plan the whole time.

Later, at Black Bolt's club, a mysterious VIP wants to speak to him, whilst new performer 'Lady Shine' has been very successful. Emma is in the club, chatting with Black Bolt. She invites 'Lady Shine' in the room and declares the truce is over. Lady Shine pulls a gun out on Black Bolt, and he uses his power, saying "Don't". Lady Shine is actually Dazzler. Emma punches Black Bolt in the throat with her diamond form "for Cyclops" and Dazzler redirects the energy stored into Black Bolt, leaving him down.

Emma sends a mutant on Karnak's way. The mutant visiting Karnak is actually Jean Grey, and she's keeping him distracted in a time loop, replaying conversations six times over. Gorgon and Crystal are helping rescue a Russian mutant in Chechnya just before the cloud arrives. The Russian rescued mutant is actually Magneto, and he destroys the ship and holds everyone on board in metal, claiming he is the only one who saves mutants. Cut to Ms Marvel walking Lockjaw, when the dog suddenly disappears whilst she is on the phone. Fantomex knocks out Lockjaw with some drug.

At New Attilan, Medusa and Johnny Storm prepare new children to undergo terrigenesis until Torch notices something coming. Johnny flames on, Medusa wants to maintain their truce and talk, but if they want a fight, they will fight. The X-Men then dash towards New Attilan, including Storm, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Old Man Logan, Magik, Iceman, Magneto, Psylocke, Sabretooth, Monet, Archangel, Sunfire, Strong Guy, Youn Cyclops, Young Angel, Young Iceman and Oya.

X-Men '92 #9 Art

X-Men '92 #9 Spoilers

Spoilers: The main X-Men, along with Lila Cheney, Abigail Brand, Death's Head and the X-Brood, are rushing back toward Earth aboard their stolen Shi'ar craft when the ship comes across a tear in space... and an enormous hand reaching through it. On Earth: Apocalypse exposits to Cassandra Nova and Joseph about the big hand's owner: back in the day, the M'Kraan race produced the first mutants, which in turn grew into the Celestials. One specific Celestial would come to be known as Xodus the Harvester: a galactic-scale warmonger who purged the mutant races of many a world, fearing that they might one day evolve into some new form of life superior to his Celestial brethren. The other Celestials disagreed with this, and banished him to another dimension. Xodus the Harvester became Xodus the Forgotten. It was inevitable that one day he would return, and Dead Girl unleashing the Montesi program caused the barriers between spaces to weaken enough that 'one day' has been fast-forwarded to 'today'. Apocalypse has known of Xodus for millennia, and claims that every hardship, battle and devastation he's inflicted on the X-Men over the years was done to toughen them up and prepare them for the horror to come. Now he wants to know if Nova and Joseph will join him. Back at Lilapalooza, President Kelly is complaining, until Xodus' form becomes so large as to be visible in the sky. A panicked riot starts, but the Professor is able to telepathically calm everyon as Lila teleports the space crew in. Happy reunions are had before everyone is distracted by Xodus again. Brand seems to know what it is but Kelly prevents her from sharing, blaming a need for secrecy on the X-Brood's presence. Brand is forced to depart to the Peak along with the X-Brood and Death's Head, then Kelly rounds on the Professor. He claims his bad attitude isn't about anti-mutant racism, but the X-Men failing in their role as the world's protectors, since most of the problems they solve stem from their own causes. He would rather trust another - and pulls an ankh-shaped key from his pocket, summoning Apocalypse, along with Nova, Joseph, the Upstarts and the remaining Horsemen (Mystique, Bastion and Exodus). Before Apocalypse can explain, Wolverine attempts to claw him, and a big fight breaks out. In the middle of all this, Apocalypse rounds on the Professor and lets him peek into his mind freely. Xavier sees the truth behind the words, and begs the X-Men to stop fighting and listen. Cable then shows up with X-Force and blasts a five-foot hole through Apocalypse's torso, killing him.

Inhumans Vs. X-Men #0 Art

Inhumans Vs. X-Men #0 Spoilers

Spoilers - 8 months ago: After the events of Death of X, in which Cyclops succumbed to the Terrigen Mist and died, Emma Frost created a Cyclops projection who was murdered by Black Bolt on Medusa’s orders and mutants have managed to destroy one of the Terrigen Mists, Beast has agreed to move to New Attilan and work on a cure for mutantkind alongside the inhuman Iso. Meanwhile at Muir Island, Emma Frost is working on changing into her diamond form more quickly, often leaping off a cliff as an incentive to trigger the change. She plans to face Black Bolt again.

6 months ago: Beast builds a Cerebro-like device for Crystal’s Royal Inhuman Vessel to track mutants nearing the remaining Terrigen Mist. Hank also detects that the Inhuman cloud is shrinking. Meanwhile in Poland, Emma Frost meets Magneto and his team (Psylocke, Sabretooth and Monet). Erik tells her the Inhumans will do anything in order to protect the remaining cloud. Emma assures him she has a plan to destroy the mist, Medusa, Black Bolt and just asks for his and his team’s help.

4 months ago: Beast and Iso head to the Savage Land where they hope to find out why the Terrigen Mist is shrinking. Meanwhile, in Detroit, Emma Frost seeks the young Beast, Iceman and Cyclops and asks them for their help for what’s to come. She insists that young Jean Grey will have a particular role to play in all this. The youngsters agree to help her.

2 months ago: Beast reveals to Medusa that in order to save mutantkind, he would have to find a unique cure for each mutant, as the Terrigen creates a new attack for the specific genome of every individual mutant in different ways. Medusa warns her Inhumans that while they won’t start a war with mutants, they must be ready to win it in case there’s one. At NY, Emma Frost meets a mysterious woman at the Hellfire Club, enlisting her help to move her plans against the Inhumans further along.

Yesterday: Beast analyses the Savage Land terrigen saturation rate rising and hides this data from Iso. At X-Haven, in Limbo, Emma Frost decides to visit Storm. Ororo tells Emma that Beast has called and demanded a meeting with every mutant on Muir Island. Hank sounded worried. Emma Frost assures Ororo that she has a plan and she’s here to save the day.

Marvel Reveals X-Men Blue, Gold Teams, Creators & Shipping Info

CBR: “X-Men Gold,” written by Marc Guggenheim with art by Ardian Syaf, will star Storm, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Old Man Logan and Rachel Grey, with Kitty Pryde as team leader.

Yes, Kitty will no longer be a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy. Guggenheim explained to IGN that the ever-popular character is returning home where she’ll lead her new team in a battle with a new incarnation of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.

“There’s more going on here than just another new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, the umpteenth iteration,” the writer says. “One of the things that I wanted to get back to and really sort of drill down is what does it mean to be a mutant in the 21st century, in a world where you’ve got Inhumans and you’ve had mutants for all this time and you’ve had M-Pox and Genosha and all the things that have happened to mutants throughout the years. Why does this racism still exist? In fact, the very first page sort of sets out my anti-mutant treatise. I really tried to put on my racism hat and justify hatred of mutants for the 21st century. And the brotherhood really plays into that.”

“X-Men Blue,” written by Cullen Bunn with art by Jorge Molina, stars the time-tossed team of Cyclops, Iceman, Beast and Angel, with Magneto as their mentor-figure. Jean Grey will be present as well, but in “Blue,” she’s taking on the mantle of leader for the first time.

“Magneto is the oldest enemy of these X-Men. This was the first ‘evil mutant’ that they battled way back in X-Men #1. And now here he is taking on this mentor role with them,” Bunn told IGN. “That immediately raises a lot of questions. Why would these X-Men be working with him? What is he trying to accomplish now? Do they feel that he’s changed his ways? And that really is what I was excited about. It opened up a lot of really interesting questions for us. There’s some mystery involved in terms of why the X-Men are working with him and what they’re trying to accomplish. There’s a little bit of intrigue there because knowing Magneto, you know he’s got ulterior motives. He’s Magneto. The original five X-Men aren’t stupid. They know this. And maybe they have some ulterior motives of their own.”

As for Jean’s new position as team leader, Bunn explained to IGN, “Jean is really the catalyst for bringing them all together… I kind of feel like readers of X-Men have always felt that Jean was supposed to be the leader of the team. And now Jean is definitely taking the leadership role in this group.”

Both series will ship twice-monthly, meaning X-Men readers will be treated to four issues per month between the titles. “X-Men Blue” and “X-Men Gold” debut in April 2017 as part of Marvel’s ongoing ResurrXion initiative.

Inhumans Vs. X-Men #0 Preview

Inhumans Vs. X-Men #0

Writer: Charles Soule

Art by: Kenneth Rocafort

Covers by: Alan Davis, Andy Smith, Kenneth Rocafort, Mark Farmer, Matt Hollingsworth, Rachelle Rosenberg, and Ron Lim

The Story:

This issue sets the stage for the upcoming Inhumans vs. X-Men mega-event! Learn who the major players will be, plus the seeds of the incredible plan that will unfold in IVX #1. Beast and Iso travel the world to learn a desperate truth, the X-Men assemble their ranks and the Inhumans prepare for the war to come. It all begins with one choice — see it here.

In Stores: November 30, 2016

X-Solicits for February 2017

Inhumans Vs X-Men #4 (of 6)

Writer: Charles Soule & Jeff Lemire

Art by: Javier Garrón

Cover by: Leinil Francis Yu

Variant Cover by: Michael Cho

Variant Cover by: Ryan Sook

Inhumans Variant Cover by: Ardian Syaf

X-Men Variant Cover by: Terry Dodson

Corner Box Variant Cover by: Joe Jusko

• The young Inhumans devise a crazy plan to infiltrate Muir Island…The only thing standing in their way: the master of magnetism himself, MAGNETO.

• Meanwhile, Medusa and the other royals mount a desperate effort to escape from the mutants’ prison in Limbo...

• ...and an X-Man changes sides

Inhumans Vs X-Men #5 (of 6)

Writer: Charles Soule & Jeff Lemire

Art by: Javier Garrón

Cover by: Leinil Francis Yu

Variant Cover by: Michael Cho

Variant Cover by: Gabrielle Dell’otto

Inhumans Variant Cover by: Terry Dodson

X-Men Variant Cover by: Ardian Syaf

• It’s Karnak vs. Fantomex in the world, as Medusa and her team attempt to liberate their secret weapon — Black Bolt.

• Storms are brewing as the X-Men make their move on the remaining Terrigen Cloud — will they be able to destroy it before it ends their entire species?

Uncanny X-Men #18

Writer: Cullen Bunn

Art by: Edgar Salazar

Cover by: Ken Lashley

IvX Variant Cover by: Juan Doe

An Inhumans Vs. X-Men Tie-In!

• Occupy New Attilan!

• With the mutant invasion of the Inhuman capital city now complete, MAGNETO seeks to lock it down by deploying his newly-acquired army of mutant sleepers.

• But will he take his mission a step too far?

First Look: Inhumans Vs. X-Men #1 Rob Liefeld Variant

X-Men Assemble For New IvX Variants

New variant covers from the upcoming Inhumans vs. X-Men event have been released. Jorge Molina does the same for December 28's Extraordinary X-Men #17.

EXTRAORDINARY X-MEN #17

Writer: Jeff Lemire

Art by: Eric Koda

Cover by: David Yardin

Variant Cover by: Jorge Molina

INHUMANS VS. X-MEN TIE-IN!

• The X-Men have just learned that the Terrigen Mist—the source of the Inhumans’ powers that through a cruel twist of fate is lethal to Mutants—has reached an irreversible saturation point, rendering Earth uninhabitable to their kind.

• And now they see no other option than to strike against the Inhumans to ensure their own survival.

• But one X-Man doesn’t take the decision lightly.

• STORM has literally led the X-Men through hell and back, but will she lead them against their longtime friends and allies?

X-Position: Bunn Teases IvX’s Impact On Uncanny X-Men

CBR: This week in X-POSITION, “Uncanny X-Men,” “Deadpool and the Mercs For Money” and “Deadpool: Back in Black” writer Cullen Bunn joins us and answers all of your questions about everything from Archangel’s future to what ResurrXion has in store for his “Uncanny” run.

First, thank you for showing Psylocke much needed love and attention. My question: given that Psylocke initially joined Magneto’s X-Men because she believed in the cause, and — more importantly — Archangel. Now that she’s left the team, what will happen to their relationship? Will Archangel return to field duty?

Bunn: For now, Psylocke and Archangel are on two very different paths. Archangel is going to return to active duty. You’ll be seeing a big Archangel issue coming up that will give him a new focus and goal. As for Psylocke, in many ways, she still believes in Magneto’s cause. She just can’t bring herself to be in the same room with the man.

Regarding “IvX” issues of “Uncanny,” how will they read? In terms of, will they be more “IvX,” more “Uncanny X-Men” or a true middle ground? As a big fan of what’s come before and what (hopefully) lies ahead in this series, the idea of “IvX” having a disrupting effect has me quite anxious.

Bunn: I hope the “IvX” issues will occupy a true middle ground. Yes, the events of “IvX” play a huge role in the issues, but I’m using each issue to highlight, elevate, and resolve some of the stuff I’ve been building up to all along. These are not issues that must be read to follow the main event, although I feel like they add some interesting depth to the main series. Likewise, I think you could follow these books (for the most part) without reading “IvX.” The next few issues focus on Fantomex, Sabretooth and Monet, Xorn and Archangel, and Magneto and Psylocke respectively.

Will the Uncanny X-Men remain whole leading into ResurrXion? Will we see a shift in the roster, or worse yet, a complete disband of the team?

Bunn: Sadly, I can say nothing about this, Dylan. I can’t tell you if the book will continue, if the team will exist, or if I’ll be writing an X-book at all. I bet more information on this will be revealed soon.

Uncanny X-Men #15 Art

Uncanny X-Men #15 Spoiilers

Spoilers: In Maryland, Psylocke reminisces about quitting Magneto’s team while pursuing and putting down a band of Omega Sentinels by herself. It is revealed Betsy is following a list of targets endangering mutantkind. Next on her hit list is Sauron in Cambodia. Sauron is using his powers to enslave mutants and humans alike. Psylocke decides she’s beyond talking about the focused totality of her power, instead she just lets Sauron feel it and defeats him. Next location: Chinatown in San Francisco. Betsy thinks Magneto’s allies might be more dangerous than his enemies, and comes across a mutant hormone growth lab run by the Nasty Boys. Psylocke wonders if they’re working for Magneto, but after scanning them, she finds out she’s just being paranoid. She knocks down every Nasty Boy and destroy their labs. On her way out, Betsy is followed by a strange man who reveals himself to be Mystique in disguise. They engage in a fight, and Mystique says Magneto is somehow behind her following Psylocke. Betsy senses Mystique’s chaotic thoughts twisting her personality and determines Magneto only sent her to follow Betsy, but Raven decided to kill her. Psylocke chooses to help Mystique, stabilizing her id, ego and super-ego, making her whole and eliminating radical mood swings. Betsy explains Mystique is still the same person, only a little more in control and trustworthy. Mystique decides to leave and promises to kill Betsy next time, while Psylocke wonders if she just made her a more valuable asset to Magneto.

Uncanny X-Men #15 Preview

Uncanny X-men #15

Writer: Cullen Bunn

Art & Cover by: Greg Land

The Story:

Psylocke and Magneto don’t see eye to eye. Whereas Magneto is willing to do anything it takes to ensure the future of mutantkind, Psylocke believes there are some lines that shouldn’t be crossed. And when she stands in Magneto’s way, he may just decide that in the quest to safeguard his race, Psylocke is an acceptable sacrifice to make!

In Stores: November 9, 2016

X-Men #8 Art

X-Men #8 Spoilers

Spoilers: In Egypt, Gamesmaster is revealed to be Mystique working under the orders of Apocalypse, who admits the purpose of their contest was to hone the X-Men into the saviors mutantkind needs in a war against humans. Meanwhile, Forge scans Lila’s teleportation energy in order to track the X-Men while X-Factor and the students fight the concert-goers led by Adam the X-Treme. Elsewhere in another planet, Gladiator and the Shi’ar Imperial Guard meet the X-Men and warn them the mutant Brood must be eliminated. Storm sets out to defend the Brood and order the X-Men to fight the Imperial Guard. While Rogue distracts Gladiator, Gambit steals the Shi’ar ship. Beats teleports all X-Men to the ship, leaving the Imperial Guard behind. Back on Earth, X-Factor finally controls the concert-goes, before being told off by President Kelly. Meanwhile, in Thailand, Fitzroy and Shinobi Shaw are on vacation. Mangeto’s clone Joseph and Cassandra Nova have kidnapped the Von Struckers and Fabian Cortez and are now asking Shaw and Fitzroy the whereabouts of Gamesmaster. Apocalyspe presents himself before them with Mystique by his side, looking to recruits disciples.

Psylocke Funko Dorbz First Look!

Marvel Announces New X-Men Books

Marvel.com: You asked for it—and you’re going to get it. After years in the darkness, the X-Men step back into a colorful tomorrow.

  

Coming in Spring 2017, the X-Men family of titles regroups with a diverse line-up of ongoing series including CABLE, GENERATION X, ICEMAN, JEAN GREY, and WEAPON X. Leading the ResurrXion will be two new flagships: X-MEN BLUE and X-MEN GOLD.

While exact details on this upcoming initiative remain scarce, we spoke with editors Mark Paniccia and Daniel Ketchum about the heart of the X-Men, why this shift should please longtime fans, and much more.

Marvel.com: What is the mission statement of ResurrXion?

Mark Paniccia: Easy. X-Men are heroes. Of the Marvel Universe. These mutants have saved the world enough times they deserve to be called what they are.

Daniel Ketchum: Without spoiling too much about the ending of INHUMANS VS X-MEN, the X-Men have been living with a cloud hanging over their heads—literally. The current roster of X-Men titles has been defined by this pervading sense of doom, the fact that mutantkind is on the brink. Well, one way or another, the impending threat of extinction subsides, and this is the story of what happens next. The X-Men have a future. Now what are they going to do with it?

Marvel.com: What are the most important elements of the X-Men books that will be present in ResurrXion?

Mark Paniccia: The same stuff that made these stories and characters we love so much stand out time and time again. Crazy cool adventures. Awesome super powers. Groundbreaking science fiction and heartbreaking romance. And the element of surprise. When I was first introduced to the X-Men as a reader back in the [Chris] Claremont/[John] Byrne days I was always on the edge of my seat. I want readers to feel like they are on that same emotional roller coaster that made me come back month after month. I want to tap into that same creative energy that had us feeling what the characters were feeling, rooting for your heroes and cheering them on during battles where you thought they had no chance. And those quiet moments that made you smile because they were so real and relatable. I can’t tell you how excited I am about this line and the stories we’re going to be telling.

Daniel Ketchum: Extinction is no longer staring them in the face, so the X-Men can exhale and turn their attention back to doing what’s defined them since the beginning: Protecting a world that hates and fears them. These new titles won’t cast the X-Men as members of a species fighting for their survival but rather as big, bright, colorful super heroes who want to demonstrate to the world that they want to walk with them hand-in-hand into the future. They’ll have costumes with capes, a school, and softball games. Oh, there will be softball games. The goal is to tell exciting new X-Men stories while keeping an eye on the tropes and touchstones that longtime X-Men fans cherish.

Marvel.com: Why give solo books to Iceman and Jean Grey?

Mark Paniccia: These are characters rich with stories to tell. And characters readers want to read about. We’ve given a lot of face time to other characters and felt it was time to put the spotlight on two of these beloved cast members.

Daniel Ketchum: Because it’s about time, isn’t it?

Jeff Lemire wisely identified that there’s much story to be told when it comes to both Iceman and Jean Grey, which is why he included them in EXTRAORDINARY X-MEN. But one of the pitfalls of writing a team book is that you can really only spend so much time with any one member of the cast. So while we did get hints of larger stories, we didn’t really get to delve deep with either one of these characters. Doing solo series will give writers and readers that opportunity.

Marvel.com: What can we expect from the new books with old names, GENERATION X and WEAPON X?

Mark Paniccia: With GENERATION X we’re tapping into the demand for the school book. The school is such a big part of the X-Men mythos it feels wrong not to have a series devoted to it for this long. And I think readers will like the cast and the creative team. This will be a book that will seem familiar but it’s going to have a very fresh vibe to it and I can see it being a very endearing run for fans of this kind of book.

WEAPON X is our darkest book and that’s an understatement. I’m asking my writer to push the boundaries on this, go as far as we can take it in the rating. I haven’t done a lot of dark books in my career at Marvel. I’ve always had that itch I wanted to scratch. This is going into the abyss. Visceral. Shocking. You’ll step back and for a minute and be like “What the [expletive] just happened? Did they really do that? I’m loving this!!!”

Daniel Ketchum: GENERATION X and WEAPON X follow in the footsteps of their predecessors in terms of tone and spirit, but otherwise they blaze their own trails.

So, GENERATION X will bring you plenty of teenage drama, school uniforms, awkward kissing, and young X-Men being thrown into peril that would test the mettle of even the most seasoned veterans. And—of course—Jubilee. Because how could you do a GENERATION X book without Jubilee?

Marvel.com: How will the flagship Blue and Gold books appeal to X-Men fans?

Mark Paniccia: These are the return to the quintessential X-Men team books. Rosters you’re going to love. The kinds of stories we all grew up on. You’re going to dig them and maybe even feel a little competition between the books, trying to outdo each other. If I do my job right, there will be readers who are Team Blue or Team Gold. Don’t get me wrong. You’ll enjoy both but you will have a home team.

Daniel Ketchum: Let’s not skip over the fact that we titled these books X-MEN BLUE and X-MEN GOLD! From the top down, we conceptualized these series as our love letters to the characters and stories that made us the stalwart X-Men fans we are today. Both books boast all-star lineups and the adventures they embark upon are fitting of their statures. These are the classic heavy-hitter X-Men, doing what they do best.

Marvel.com: How were the creators working on ResurrXion selected?

Mark Paniccia: It wasn’t easy. There are lots of great creators with great X-Men stories to tell. All I can say is that everyone involved has a particular love for the X-Men, a passion that’s only rivaled by my editorial team. With that kind of energy behind the books I can tell you these are going to be some amazing runs and I couldn’t be prouder of the lineup of talent we have.

Daniel Ketchum: Well, Mark wanted to put a bunch of pictures on the wall and throw darts, but I thought that might give people the wrong idea. So instead we just reached out to creators we love, who we knew had X-Men stories to tell. Some are creators readers are familiar with and others are new voices we’re bringing to into the mix.

What else can you tease about this initiative?

Daniel Ketchum: Some random thoughts I’ve had in the past week:

• If I say, “A beloved X-Man returns and will lead the X-Men into the future,” who will readers think I’m talking about?
• It's always the Phoenix. Always.   

Psylocke Funko POP First Look!

X-Solicits for January 2017

IvX #2 (of 6)

Charles Soule & Jeff Lemire (W) • Leinil Francis Yu (A/C)

Variant Cover by Michael Cho

Variant Cover by Arthur Adams

Inhumans Variant Cover by Ardian Syaf

X-Men Variant Cover by Terry Dodson

• The Inhumans have failed to find a way to stop the deadly effect the Terrigen Cloud has on Mutantkind, so the X-Men have taken matters into their own hands.

• New Attilan is under attack!

• The Inhumans aren’t surrendering their home without a fight, but is there something larger a stake?

IvX #3 (of 6)

Charles Soule & Jeff Lemire (W) • Javier Garrón (A/C)

Cover by Leinil Francis Yu

Variant Cover by Michael Cho

Variant Cover by John Cassaday

Inhumans Variant Cover by Terry Dodson

X-Men Variant Cover by Ardian Syaf

• New Attilan is conquered. Medusa and her generals are being held prisoner as the X-Men prepare to cleanse the world of the Terrigen Cloud.

• Could this be the end of Inhuman progeny?

• Now, the only hope for the Inhuman legacy rests in the hands of an unlikely crew of young Inhumans.

Uncanny X-Men #17

Cullen Bunn (W) • Ken Lashley (A/C)

Variant Cover by TBA

Inhumans vs. X-Men Tie-in!

• The X-MEN have waged war on the INHUMANS!

• But as the X-Men fight for their future, one X-Man fights for her humanity.

• Driven mad by the influence of her vampiric brother, M desperately tries to stop herself from feeding on the marrow of her enemies…and her friends!

• Will she succeed? Or will she add to the body count?