After the Dawn, Comes the "Reign of X"

Marvel.com: “The Reign of X is upon us … and here's a sneak peek of what it will bring! Like Dawn of X and X of Swords before it, Reign of X has been meticulously crafted by Jonathan Hickman and all the other uncanny X-writers of our day, and we can’t wait for you to see what they’ve cooked up!” Editor-in-Chief C.B. Cebulski explains. “In the meantime, eagle-eyed readers should take a close look at this magnificent montage of mutants drawn by Mahmud Asrar. Everything on this image was included for a reason and will have heart-pounding pay-offs in the near future for our favorite Krakoans. After the dawn comes the reign, and what a reign it will be!” 

It all begins in December as the X-Men deal with the fallout of X of Swords and look to the future. Here’s what’s to come next month: 

The search for Captain Britain is underway as Excalibur returns to Otherworld in Excalibur #16 by writer Tini Howard and artist Marcus To. 

Hellions #7 by writer Zeb Wells and artist Stephen Segovia will explore the aftermath of the team’s brutal massacre in X of Swords. 

Writer Leah Williams and artist David Baldeon continue to investigate mutant deaths and explore the complexities that come with resurrection in X-Factor #5. 

Kate Pryde and Emma Frost finally enact their long-awaited revenge on Sebastian Shaw in Marauders #16 by writer Gerry Duggan and artist Stefano Caselli. 

Mutantkind sets their sights on the galaxy and beyond in writer Al Ewing and artist Valerie Schiti’s groundbreaking S.W.O.R.D. #1. 

An old foe rises in New Mutants #14, the beginning of a wild new era for your favorite young mutants by writer Vita Ayala and artist Rod Reis. 

Wolverine reunites with Maverick and Team X in Wolverine #8, a special over-sized milestone issue written by Benjamin Percy with art by Adam Kubert and Viktor Bogdanovic. 

X-Force will stop at nothing to protect Krakoa, even if it means interrogating their own, in the action-packed X-Force #15 by writer Benjamin Percy and Marvel’s Stormbreaker artist Joshua Cassara. 

And Cyclops makes a fateful decision regarding the future of the X-Men in X-Men #16, written by Jonathan Hickman with art by Phil Noto. 

The future of mutantkind is here! Don’t miss X-Men history in the making when Reign of X begins next week!

Women of Marvel Goes Inside the Making of 'Excalibur': Part 1

Marvel.com: After the monumental shift in the X-World after House of X and Powers of X, there had to be an equally epic way to keep the story of the X-Men going. Last week's release of Excalibur #1, written by Tini Howard with art by Marcus To and colors by Erick Arciniega, proved that there was much more story to tell for Marvel's merry mutants. In the latest episode of Women of Marvel, Sana Amanat and Judy Stephens go inside the making of the new X-book with the first part of a tremendous two-parter that reveals how Marvel comics are made, from concept to final product.

In Part 1, they introduce Excalibur with Marvel Comics Editor-In-Chief CB Cebulski, then talk to Senior Editor Jordan D. White, writer Tini Howard, and artist Marcus To. In the gallery below, you can find pages from the issue featuring To's art (with Arciniega's colors). You can also get your copy of Excalibur #1 right now, online or at your local comic shop!

Why Tini and Marcus were the best fit for this series?

CB Cebulski: Tini and Marcus fit this book so well because if you look at other books that Tini has written before, they have a heavy magic bent to them and Excalibur was a book that always played in Otherworld, a separate world with Morgan Le Fay and more magical characters. That's what Tini wanted to explore. She was the perfect character to bring magic into this world of X-Men, and Jonathan felt very strong about that. She's also a huge tabletop game player and loves fantasy. She looked at the X-Men as a campaign that she was doing in a game and each of the mutants that she chose has an archetype from the fantasy world.

Marcus also loves that world. He has this lighter, open style and takes some cues from Japanese manga and classic fantasy art. He's able to visualize what Tini has in her head and put on paper and bring these characters to life in a way that's going to appeal to so many different people who might not like the X-Men, but like magic books, fantasy or young adult titles. This comic really came together as a mix of that in both story and art.

Where did the idea to bring back Excalibur come from?

Tini Howard: What became Excalibur started as a thought exercise. Jonathan Hickman sent a lot of documents and when I read it, it opened up all these questions in my mind. He said there was space for a book for me and asked what in this world spoke to me. I wrote an essay about mutant magic and the idea of mutants pursuing the next evolution. The pitch had a lot to do with magic, beliefs, home and culture and I brought it in to Jonathan and Jordan. They looked at each other and said "This sounds like an Excalibur book". I guess they were right! It's this amazing fantasy world that tied specifically to mutantkind.

What is Excalibur about?

Jordan D. White: At some point, we thought what makes a book Excalibur rather than just another X-Men book. One of the elements was the magical element and the fantasy element, the other being probably England and then a little bit more Captain Britain. Our Captain Britain in this book is a different Captain Britain.

Tini Howard: There are a lot of mutants in Excalibur that are not from the UK. But they're all Krakoan now. Betsy Braddock, formerly known as Psylocke, is called to defend one of her nations. When we first met her, she was this English telepath that the X-Men didn't really trust, and then she becomes part of the family. For a long time, she was in the body of a ninja called Kwannon and recently they were sort of amicably divorced. Kwannon is having her own adventures in Fallen Angels, and Betsy Braddock is taking up the mantle of Captain Britain. That was really exciting to me, making a new Captain Britain and giving her a hero's journey.

Jordan D. White: Tini, I think all but Betsy were your choices that you pitched originally, right?

Tini Howard: The original pitch was more like a statement and then we did a draft where we sat down with cards where we wrote the names of all the mutants we could use. I picked a lot of my cast because they were my favorites, also because they had a place on the team that makes sense to me. A lot of the book is about connection. For me, it was about looking for these characters that I thought had a connection in their lives that seemed right for the kind of exploration I wanted the characters to deal. We have the Braddocks, Rogue and Gambit, a married couple, Jubilee, who's a mother and has her son with her in a place that not a lot of humans go. These connections are a big part of the story.

What was your process to make the world of Excalibur come to life?

Marcus To: I like to read the script first and get the idea of what we want to do with it. I tried to look at what was done before by Alan Davis, some of the power signatures that each character has, what other artists had done with it, see what I could elaborate on what was already there. I looked up references for English mythology to give an idea of style, especially when we’re in other worlds and dream worlds, a lot of things that end up being very different from what we look at in other X-Books.

Jordan D. White: Your design for Captain Britain is great. It's a great combination of a suit of armor with a superhero costume. It doesn't go too far into suit of armor. It still looks like she can fly around and kick butt.

Tini Howard: I love a tough girl in armor. At the beginning, I was like 'Make her Joan of Arc! Make her big and tough!' But that's not really Betsy. Marcus did a really good job at looking at my references.

Jordan D. White: Two other details that I want to mention about the designs is that I love Gambit's little hood and I love Rictor's new costume because it's a callback to his earlier costumes, but it looks cool and modern.

How do u decide when it's time to redesign a character or to keep a classic look?

Jordan D. White: For the X-Line now, it's a mix between new looks and classic looks. For Excalibur in particular, because of that fantasy element, we pushed to redesign the characters a little bit to add that fantastic element. Gambit is a good example. There are some things about his costumes that you don’t want to change. The headsock, the jacket... the fact that he added this hood makes him look like a DnD character.

How is it writing something that is part of an event series?

Jordan D. White: The book itself spins out of House of X/Powers of X, which set up the status quo for mutants. We are doing as much as we can to keep the X-line cohesive. It stands on its own, but it also feels like it's connected to Marauders, X-men... in fact, there’s a Marauders cameo in issue #2.

Tini Howard: We've been taking time to build this world. When I want to use other characters from other books, it feels like less of a mandate and more like storytelling. When you need something shipped in this world, who would you call? The Marauders. If you need dirty jobs? You call the X-Force. This world feels real and lived in. I feel like I spent the past year of my life nation-building Krakoa.

The next big arc is really going to get big. We're going to touch on a lot of the new X-men universe. We're going to have a couple of really massive issues. If you're big into the mythos of what Jonathan is doing, you'll love it. Jonathan and I are working really close on that.

How 'Excalibur' #1 Anoints a New Captain Britain and Her Team

Marvel.com: Just over three decades ago, Chris Claremont and Alan Davis drew the sword with Excalibur (1988), a unique X-Men spinoff that also revitalized Captain Britain and his place within the Marvel Universe.

Now, as part of the Dawn of X, writer Tini Howard and artist Marcus To have launched a new Excalibur #1. And while the new team doesn’t share any members with the original group, its lore is deeply tied to the legacy of Captain Britain.

The new Excalibur team features four of the seven members from the X-Men Blue squad circa Chris Claremont and Jim Lee’s X-Men (1991) run. Even the costumes for Rogue, Gambit, and Jubilee reflect their ‘90s incarnations. But one Betsy Braddock isn’t quite the same woman she used to be...

She’s not Psylocke anymore, and following a brief interaction with Kwannon—the current Psylocke—on Krakoa, she begins a quest that calls into question her identity. Betsy’s journey sends her back to her family, which allows readers to check in with her brother, Brian, his wife, Meggan, and their daughter, Maddie. Unfortunately for Betsy, her other brother, Jamie Braddock, is also back from the dead; Jamie’s reality warping powers and his insanity have caused his family no end of grief. While Jamie doesn’t seem to be inherently sinister this time, Betsy is rightly wary of his intentions.

However, the biggest development for Betsy occurs on Otherworld, when Brian desperately slips her the medallion that makes him Captain Britain. This isn’t Betsy’s first time as Britain's defender, but this may be the time that it sticks. Brian has been bewitched by Morgan le Fay and transformed into her loyal knight. Morgan views Krakoa’s encroachment on Otherworld as an act of war by the mutants.

Back on Krakoa itself, we get to see Rogue and Gambit together for the first time since their ongoing series ended. Surprisingly, it picks up with a continuation of a thread from Mr. and Mrs. X #12 (in which they discussed the real possibility that they could have children). We wonder if Nightcrawler could have guessed that his “Make More Mutants” decree would influence his adoptive sister. Rogue’s line about not bringing a power inhibitor to Krakoa also makes us wonder about whether she still has her abilities under control; Mr. and Mrs. X #10 finally gave Rogue the chance to reclaim what she had lost in Uncanny Avengers (2015).

The mutant formerly known as Apocalypse also plays a large role in Excalibur #1. En Sabah Nur has taken a Krakoan name (good luck pronouncing it), but his ultimate motivations are his own. It’s also unknown if he played a role in setting up the tensions between Krakoa and Otherworld. En Sabah Nur enlisted Rogue’s help in opening the gate to Otherworld, and he didn’t seem surprised at all when she was ensnared by its magic and put to sleep like a fairy tale princess. Somehow, we suspect that it will take more than a kiss from Gambit to wake up Rogue from her slumber.

Gambit and Apocalypse do have a history together. In X-Men #184 (2004), Apocalypse transformed Gambit into the Horseman of Death. During Mike Carrey’s X-Men Legacy (2008) run, Gambit’s Death incarnation occasionally asserted itself over Gambit’s true self. Perhaps it’s worth noting that we never saw Gambit fully break free of Death. That corruption may still be a part of him. It certainly could go a long way towards explaining his animosity towards Apocalypse.

With the exception of Rictor, this unlikely team has come together to face Morgan le Fay, awaken Rogue, and save Krakoa from Otherworld. Now it’s time for the new Excalibur to see if they can truly function together in the Dawn of X.

Hickman's X-Men Overhaul Introduces a New Psylocke and Captain Britain

CBR: During Marvel's Next Big Thing panel at Comic-Con International in San Diego, C.B. Cebulski and Johnathan Hickman had quite a bit to reveal about the publisher's new line of X-Men comics.

Among the biggest reveals was the news that Betsy Braddock will trade in her Psylocke mantle to become the new Captain Britain. Meanwhile, Kwannon will be taking on the role of Psylocke.

Cebulski compared Betsy's transition to Carol Danvers taking on the mantle of Captain Marvel in Kelly Sue DeConnick's 2012 Captain Marvel run. Betsy's brother, Brian Braddock has long been the name associated with the Captain Britain moniker but once the new Excalibur series drops, it's Betsy who will take the name.

The Excalibur series has strong ties to the Captain Britain title as it was Brian who was on the team in earlier years. Just recently, Braddock and his wife, Meggan (also an Excalibur alum) were a part of an Excalibur reunion of sorts in Leah Williams and Alitha Martinez's X-Men Gold Annual #1.

It's worth noting that Betsy briefly held the Captain Britain mantle before, but there is no indication regarding how the transition occurs this time.

Kwannon, on the other hand, is the Japanese woman with whom Betsy swapped minds with back in Uncanny X-Men #256. The character reemerged to the scene when Betsy got her old body back and most recently, she's been seen in writer Matthew Rosenberg's Uncanny X-Men run.

Written by Tini Howard and drawn by Marcus To, Excalibur #1 hits shelves on October 2019. Kwannon, on the other hand, will appear as Psylocke in Fallen Angels #1. Written by Bryan Edward Hill and drawn by Szymon Kudranski, Fallen Angels #1 hits stores in November 2019.

Marvel Comics Announces Historic X-Men Milestone with 'House of X' and 'Powers of X'

Marvel.com: After weeks of speculation from comic book fans around the world, Marvel revealed the next monumental chapter for the X-Men during this year’s Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo. During Marvel’s Next Big Thing Panel, critically-acclaimed creator Jonathan Hickman announced two new series: HOUSE OF X and POWERS OF X, beginning this July!

Ever since Stan Lee and Jack Kirby introduced the X-Men, fans everywhere have followed the extraordinary stories of the X-Men through seminal moments like GIANT-SIZE X-MEN, 1991’s X-MEN #1, AGE OF APOCALYPSE, and NEW X-MEN. Each of these moments introduced a new era for mutantkind—and starting this summer, the world will experience the next seminal moment in the history of the X-Men with HOUSE OF X and POWERS OF X.

“We are excited to have Jon back with the Marvel family, and we could not have asked for a better creative team to help usher the X-Men into a whole new era,” says Marvel Editor in Chief C.B. Cebulski. “While we can’t reveal too much about the story just yet, these new stories will redefine the X-Men and their place in the Marvel Universe. This is a historic moment both new and passionate fans won’t want to miss.”

These two new series—written by Jonathan Hickman with art by Pepe Larraz, R.B. Silva, and colorist Marte Garcia—will build from every major X-Men milestone since 1963 up through the current X-Men series and storylines fans know and love, including some of our most iconic characters from over the decades. Each series will be released on an alternate weekly schedule, starting with HOUSE OF X, followed by POWERS OF X. Fans will be able to follow along each week this summer and witness history unfold.

HOUSE OF X and POWERS OF X will go on sale this July!

Zub, Silas & Cebulski On Hunt for Wolverine’s Madripoor Mystery

CBR spoke with Jim Zub, Thony Silas, and Marvel Editor-in-chief, C.B. Cebulski, about Hunt for Wolverine: Mystery in Madripoor, which sends Rogue, Storm, Psylocke, Domino and Jubilee to Madripoor to investigate rumors that Wolverine has returned from the dead. It’s a story that will bring them face to face with new and old villains, and force them to confront and reevaluate their memories of their beloved teammate.

CBR: It looks like Mystery in Madripoor, along with the other one-shots and miniseries that make up the Hunt For Wolverine event, are designed to appeal to longtime fans of Logan and the X-Men.

C.B. Cebulski: Uncanny X-Men was the first comic I ever read and I’ve been a fan for life. These stories really being back the adventure, intrigue and emotional connections that longtime X-heads like me all know and love. And I can assure you, there will be surprises… both new and old. All the Hunt For Wolverine series each contain shocking moments that are sure to leave readers’ heads spinning.

Jim, Mystery in Madripoor is part of the overall Hunt for Wolverine storyline, so will it give you a chance to really dive into and explore Logan’s psyche? Or is this more of a tale about the legacy of Wolverine and what he means to your cast?

Jim Zub: Each Hunt For Wolverine miniseries has a different approach. Mystery In Madripoor is definitely about the relationships Logan has had with many of the X-Women over the years. Kitty Pryde leads a team to the infamous Island of Ill-Repute to follow up on clues they have for the whereabouts of Logan’s body, but it ends up being a trip into unexpected parts of their own pasts as well.

Storm and Domino are two very different types of heroes who have been comrades of Wolverine, and in romantic relationships with him. What does this mission mean for them? What’s it like bouncing these characters off of each other?

Zub: Deep-diving into the emotional content and memories these characters have of Logan and the connection they’ve had with him is a big part of this story, absolutely. Storm has seen Logan grow from a hair-trigger animalistic killer to an honorable warrior and teacher. Domino first met Logan in his wild days, but they’ve both changed and that’s one of the things we dig into here. Accumulated scars. Tough memories and lessons learned.

Every character in Mystery In Madripoor has such a strong personality. Playing them off each other, especially during such a tense mission full of twists and turns, is an absolute blast.

You’re pretty familiar with Rogue in her role as an Avenger, having written her in Uncanny Avengers and the current “No Surrender” event, but what’s it like writing her in the world of the X-Men? And have you written Psylocke before? What do you find most interesting about Betsy Braddock?

Zub: I loved writing Rogue as an Avenger, but having her back in her X-element has been wonderful. There’s a reason why she’s kept that “X” on her costume. It’s her home. That said, being home with the people who know you best isn’t always a pleasant experience. In issue #1 Rogue’s going to discover something Logan kept from her, something from her past. That little unspoken nugget is something she never wanted confirmed and she’ll need to deal with it.

Psylocke has the most to lose in Mystery In Madripoor and this story is going to leave its mark upon her. Betsy’s inner thoughts open our first issue and, through her, we’ll gain insight into the other team members on this mission.

Jubilee went through a lot in the recent Generation X series where she regained her humanity. So what’s your sense of the character? How’s she dealing with the return of Logan when you pick up with her?

Zub: Jubilee very much wants to get things back to “normal”, whatever normal is for an X-Man, and this mission, searching for an old friend and causing trouble along the way, is very much what she needs. She’s all sass, but that attitude is a defensive mechanism and she’s going to be put in a tough spot.

Thony, Which of the cast have you especially enjoyed drawing?

Thony Silas: I think Psylocke is one the most important characters of the book, so I’m taking a more careful look at her, but Rogue has always been my favorite X-Woman. I can say that it has been very enjoyable to draw them both.

I imagine the cast is part of the big fun of this series, but another enjoyable element has got to be the setting you’re sending them to. What do you enjoy most about Madripoor?

Zub: Madripoor is a classic “city of sin,” with exotic visuals, larger than life characters, and shadowy corners. It’s the perfect place to take chances, be bold, get sexy, change your identity, or hide a body, and we’ll be doing all of those things in this miniseries.

Silas: I see Madripoor as a darker city than has been shown, but that still keeps its many colored lights. If have a place that hides so many secrets, it needs more shadows. I’m putting more contrast into some night scenes.

Thony, what else can you tell us about the style and tone of your art for Mystery in Madripoor? How does it compare to your recent work on the X-Men Blue and X-Men Gold books?

Silas: I’d say there’s something new on the way. My work on X-Men Blue and X-Men Gold was a road and evolution for that moment. I was doing short fill-in jobs and in this project I was able to think bigger and produce a visual concept. It’s been an exciting experience to say the least.

Another big difference is having great characters in the game, a good context for the series and brilliant writer. In short we have the beginning of one of the main miniseries about one of the most iconic characters in the Marvel Universe, so, all this tells me to do more and be better.

There’s a lot of mystery in this book, but when I read Jim Zub’s fantastic scripts they took me on a real and exciting trip to the ’90s. It wasn’t just to review things though. I thought about Wolverine through each character and the experiences each of them have with him. So there is a strong touch of deep, violent and beautiful nostalgia. I think these words are sort of the defining characteristics of this miniseries, or at least the first issue.

Zub: Thony understands how important this miniseries is, and the mixture of big emotion/big action at the center of it. The artwork he’s been sending in so far is career-making stuff, a sweet mix of elegant and bad ass I think X-fans are going to eat up.

In addition, Thony has been sketching up redesigns of some unexpected villains who haven’t been around for quite a while and I think these new outfits will become their standard look going forward. They’re sleek and modern-looking without getting too far away from their super villainous roots.

Can you leave us with some more hints about some of the supporting players and antagonists your cast will interact with as Mystery in Madripoor unfolds?

Zub: With six powerful X-Men on the hunt and a mixture of new and old villains with big secrets and bigger plans close by, it doesn’t take long for things to explode in Madripoor. Logan provides constant inspiration and nostalgia for our team, but at each stage their memories of Wolverine are confronted by new information or unexpected turns.

The X-Men on this mission are intent on finding Magneto and he seems to be keeping something big from them. At the same time, Viper will appear for the first time since Secret Empire and she’s been busy recruiting some new allies…

I’m hoping Mystery In Madripoor will keep people guessing right up until the end. Once it’s all over I want readers to look back and wonder how they made it through the whirlwind because it is going to be a wild ride.

Silas: I’ve been dreaming of this day since I was playing around with the X-Men books, and this is definitely the project of my dreams. I’m doing my best to put all my energy, strength and beauty here. I hope you guys enjoy the miniseries.

X-Infernus no More

Since Marvel has announced that Psylocke is coming back to the main Marvel Universe at the Diamond Retailer Summit, there's been a lot of rumours going on about when and where that will take place.

Marvel Assistant Editor Ben Morse told some Psylocke fans to check out X-Infernus, out in December at his board. Not once, but twice. But now, unfortunately, the plans have changed.

According to X-Infernus writer, C.B. Cebulski, Psylocke won't show up in X-Infernus... anymore:

"Now I hate to have to burst your bubble, but unfortunately Betsy will not be showing up in X-Infernus. I love the character and will admit that there was some initial talk of maybe including Psylocke in the series. However, in the end, it felt like we were unnaturally shoehorning her in and we decided it was not in the best interests of the character to have her play a role here. While I regret not being able to write her, I think we did make the best decision for the lovely Miss Braddock.

Hopefully we'll be seeing more of Psylocke in the Marvel Universe in the future in some way, shape or form. I know I'd love to have her back as soon as possible!"

Too bad! That would have been great...