GamesRadar+: The X-Men have their work cut out for them in the wake of Avengers: Armageddon. As announced by Marvel Comics back at SDCC 2026, writer Christopher Yost and artist Tony S. Daniel will be getting the team back together, so to speak, while the Avengers pick up the pieces in Maximum X-Men this December – and we've got an exclusive preview of the interior art as well as some answers from Yost about what to expect from the new ongoing series.
"In the wake of the events of AVENGERS: ARMAGEDDON, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes are no more," the official announcement of the Maximum X-Men series reads in part. "So who will stand in defense of the Earth? The X-Men will! Storm gathers an elite team for just that task, including Wolverine, Colossus, Bishop, Iceman, Psylocke, Firestar, and Justice! Mutants by birth, heroes by choice! And their first challenge is a full-on invasion from the Negative Zone! Is this Annihilus again—or something far, far worse?"
One might argue this is answering the question of what the X-Men would be like if they were Avengers, but it's not exactly like it's the first time we've seen mutants step up in this way. As Marvel Comics and Marvel Studios continue to become more aligned, it's also worth noting that Avengers: Doomsday releases later the same month, though it doesn't seem like there will be much in the way of overlap.
Read on to see what Yost has to say about the X-Men, the new ongoing series, and more. You can also see the exclusive interior art, as well as previously revealed covers, for Maximum X-Men #1 below:
GamesRadar+: You previously described this run as having "a classic Claremont vibe." Can you explain what you mean? What is that to you, and what about Maximum X-Men has it?
Christopher Yost: I grew up on Claremont/Romita Jr. X-Men, then went back and discovered the classic Claremont/Byrne era. The Claremont vibe was big adventure, intrigue, real people with character put into positions where they had to be heroes… and soap opera. It was a lot of relationship drama amidst all the super-heroing. And there was fun!
This isn't me reinventing the wheel, this is just classic X-Men… and Maximum X-Men is all that, but probably leaning a little more into the action because it's me.
GamesRadar+: Talk me through the lineup here. There are some obvious picks, and some less-than-obvious ones. What excites you about this team?
Christopher Yost: There are some characters that just scream 'classic X-Men,' when you see a lineup that's got Wolverine, Storm, Colossus… that's X-Men. Psylocke was a newcomer when I was reading, as was Bishop… but they've cemented their places as classic members. Then you've got Firestar who's come in and out of the X-Men world, and Justice who's always leaned 'Avenger.'
But for this story we're looking at people who are all looking for HOPE most of all. They're all heroes, and this is the X-Men standing up and fighting the good fight.
Also, I love Firestar.
GamesRadar+: There have been plenty of X-Men team leaders over the years. What do you think it is about Storm (no stranger to the job herself) that's fundamentally different from the likes of other X-Men team leaders?
Christopher Yost: Compared to Professor X, Cyclops or Rogue, she's just seeing the situation from a different viewpoint. Storm has the confidence and belief in her abilities that comes with being the goddess she is. She has a benevolence to her that she'll never let be mistaken for weakness. There is nothing she won't dare, no power she won't stand up to as she protects the people she cares for. She's also got better style than all of them put together.
GamesRadar+: Everyone has their own take on this, and I'd love to hear yours: what's the purpose of the X-Men?
Christopher Yost: To protect a world that hates and fears them. The X-Men will always do the right thing, they're fighting ignorance as much as supervillains. But in this moment in time for the team, humanity seems to be coming around a little bit. In a world without Avengers… who will save us?
GamesRadar+: What does Tony S. Daniel bring to the table in Maximum X-Men, in your own words? What is it about Daniel's work here that speaks to you most?
Christopher Yost: Not only does Tony love drawing the X-Men, he's killing it on the sheer amount of action we're delivering here. There's a dynamic quality to his art that's just perfect for this kind of book, and the scale of it is something I'm excited for everyone to see. But in the end, it's love. You can tell he just loves the X-Men. And Spider-Man, which I'm gonna get in there. Probably in issue 6.
Maximum X-Men #1 is set to release on December 2, 2026. The upcoming X-Men movie is set to release on May 5, 2028, while Avengers: Doomsday releases December 18, 2026. While you wait, you can always check out our ranking of the best X-Men comics.
“For so long, my life has been out of control. Chaos and serendipity, wrapped in insanity. I have suffered, I have lost. Not just my life, but my very soul, my self. But no more. Now I know who I am.” – Elizabeth ‘Betsy’ Braddock, daughter of Otherworld, mutant, telepath, telekinetic, defender of the realm and, above all, X-Man.
20 comments:
Holy shit the art looks gorgeous
Nate, it does. And I’m quite pleaseed to see that Ororo still had tight curls. From the initial cover art, I was afraid that they were straightening her hair again.
Notice how they aren’t asking about Betsy as Psylocke? Anyone casual or normal would just assume she just has the mantle again and keep it moving but ofc twitter losing their mind “is she not CB?? Where’s Kwannon? She’s not Psylocke anymore? Where’s Rachel?” Like damn can yall read the fucking comic and see??
Like they NEED the answers now did people forget that like if you wanna know what’s happening with a character or what have you, you gotta like, read the fucking book?
Lol right? Read the room. I hope Rachel is never mentioned at all so the annoying "Where's Rachel" person can suffer throughtout the entire series.
Oh you mean Jenn K or whatever? That’s like the only thing he harps on is Betsy being LGBT like do you even like the character or you just wanna know who’s pussy she’s touching jfc that person legit weirds me out and they have thousands of followers 😆
The reason why she’s still with Rachel is probably because that same poster admitted they spam Marvel daily with emails about them as a couple.
Good to know, I'll spam them about Betsy & Warren then..
lol good luck they even tell their minions to email Marvel. This is part of the reason why the xoffice is so confused in what we want when the true fans are asking for her to be relevant again and drop the mantel and then we have psychos just interested in her sex life spamming them about Rachel.
I'm not worried about them lol.
People like that tend to come off unhinged.
There are prob some that like Betsy & Rachel & are legitimate fans,
But I think the X-Office can prob tell if some people aren't too right in the head too lol.
I would also say Betsy had a chance being written the way they wanted & she lost a lot of herself and popularity.
It didn't work.
So I think tptb are looking to write her more like her old self again, & maybe with enough writing in,
That could include old romances too.
They can spam Marvel all they want, but I can't imagine the people at Marvel don't understand how one person can rally a large group of people to push a particular agenda. I think the term you're looking for is cult-of-personality-type influencers, and honestly, I think many people are getting tired of online cult leaders who set their followers as attack dogs for their own agendas. And I think big companies like Marvel are wise to it and I am sure use other data now to make their decisions. And I think a lot of people are wise to it and have had enough because it gets us nowhere.
Because here's the thing: they may say they want the CB domestic goddess version of Betsy, with Rachel involved, but those comics didn't exactly set the sales charts on fire. They had the opportunity to vote with their money, but they didn't, because there was not enough of them in reality, and ultimately, that's what matters to Marvel.
And if all they want is Betsy and Rachel together so they can fill their spank bank, then maybe they should go find some old-timey slash fiction. Because beyond that pairing, I found the Howard era of Betsy to be disjointed and sooooo boring. In the end, if their is a market for it, then they should demand that they create all new characters that meet their wants and stop tying to retcon ones that have generational writing and continuity behind them. They had their chance and had control for a bit, but it didn't work.
And yes, that artwork excites me in a way I haven't felt in a long time about an X-Men book. So when the time comes, I'll be voting with my money.
The thing that scares me is this person is a writer and has threatened to one day hopefully get to write Betsy and retcon her as trans. That would be it for me if that happened lmao yall would never see me again from that day on 😂
@Randy Idk what their name is but it's some weirdo who is simply unable to discuss Betsy as an individual. They're always bringing up Rachel even if the subject has nothing to do with her. It's always 'Retsy this, Retsy that', never Betsy as her own person. There's really some unhealthy projecting there and a level of gross fetishization too. It's one of those people where if you say 'I don't care about Rachel, they should break up', they throw a tantrum accusing us of being queerphobic lol. No ma'am, I just think Rachel and the pairing are boring as fuck and drag Betsy down.
@Banquo40 you stated everything i was trying to convey so much better.
Ita :)
I just will continue to write in support of Betsy & praise these positive directions they are taking her back in :)
Loved Psylocke Ninja & Outback, & now this.
Imo like you said, sales matter & Betsy sells much better as Psylocke (in either body),
Than she does as CB.
As for those "fans" of Betsy, we are just as vocal as they are.
Just keep writing your support & ideas & just focus on Betsy guys & don't let those individuals drive you to be as crazy as they have turned out to be lol.
If Betsy sells much better presented one way vs as another,
Tptb definitely won't be as "confused" as to what the fans want lol.
Imo Let's stay positive & keep writing thanks & support.
Wow someone other than me finally realizes how toxic and detrimental that person or cult leader is to Betsy. They have thousands of followers but many in the Betsy community placate them and agree with them because I guess they’re afraid of being accused of being an “ist” or “phobe” of some kind.
And yes they are very much fetishized Betsy and Rachel it’s not about representation at this point it’s letting perverted weirdos validating their kinks ffs
I know who you are talking about. I've been vocal about what I want as a Betsy fan and got responses from that chick, she only seems to care about Rachel and Betsy as a lesbian couple. I personally think that's a terrible pairing. Rachel / Illyana / Kitty as a confussing love triangle I've always saw it, but Betsy and Rachel felt forced AF specially when Betsy had stories with Cable and Cyclops... lets hope Betsy and Colossus have some flirting in Maximum. Oh and I hope they drop the physical sword too, when you can create psychic weapons with psionic and telekinetic energy it feels redundant.
I hope the drop the sword too or at least color it fully to appear psychic energy. It’s very redundant indeed and stupid honestly. I’m just glad she doesn’t seem to have that retarded TK shield when she can create whole ass force fields
I agree, I think they gave her that shield as a weak attempt to separate her from the Asian persona. But I have to say, I’m really pleased with how the recent depictions of her have given her back her cleverness, fierceness, and even that bit of Betsy that could easily sit on the sidelines and use her powers from a distance, but is far more interested in getting directly into the fight.
Even from her initial creation, she was much more adventurous than her brother and seemed to have a bit of a reckless, rough-and-tumble streak. That’s why the wimpy Howard version of her was so difficult to read.
People might be quick to accuse of hating that run because Betsy was in a relationship with a woman, which obviously wasn’t the case. She’d been with a woman before. The difference was that she was shacking up for a bit, which feels much more on-brand for her, rather than settling into domestic boredom with Rachel.
I remember reading a page where Betsy was in bed with Rachel, lying passively with her head on Rachel’s chest and making moon eyes at her. That was the moment I thought, There is no saving this.
I mean, the same character who was boning different versions of Cable just for the fun of it... Are you really trying to convince me that she’s the type who wants to settle down?
Besides, we all know Betsy’s a top. :-)
I get that its annoying when some fans like Betsy and Rachel and thats all they talk about but some of you are hateful to the trans people for no reason. Just continue to email Marvel about what you prefer in a positive non bitchy way. You don't need to attack them just because they prefer something. I get hate on Twitter just because I don't hate Kwannon. I dont love her but I dont hate her. She just exists now. And I will always prefer Betsy single or with a good male parter and a competent bad ass X-Man. Some of you need to reign in the hate you give other Betsy fans.
Womp womp. Maybe don’t hide as anon if you want anyone to take you seriously. See? Some of us find Jenn obnoxious that equals hate towards trans. So you proved my point in an earlier comment. If we don’t fully agree = ist/phobe labels get applied.
I get that it’s annoying when some fans like Betsy and Rachel and thats all they talk about but some of you are hateful to the trans people for no reason. Just continue to email Marvel about what you prefer in a positive non bitchy way. You don't need to attack them just because they prefer something. I get hate on Twitter just because I don't hate Kwannon. I dont love her but I dont hate her. She just exists now. And I will always prefer Betsy single or with a good male parter and a competent bad ass X-Man. Some of you need to reign in the hate you give other Betsy fans. If you’re on Twitter then you know people are being hateful. But yeah let’s pretend like they’re all innocent little angels.
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