X-Terminators #5 Preview

X-Terminators #5
Writer: Leah Williams
Art by: Carlos Gomez
Cover by: Federico Vicentini

The Story: The Final Beat Down!

These X-Ladies have been through one HELL of a night…and it's not over yet. They might have managed to escape the trouble that found them…but that trouble hasn't escaped them! It's time to make these suckers regret they ever crossed their paths!

In Stores: January 25, 2023

X-Terminators #4 Spoilers & Art

Spoilers: The Knights play a baseball match against the New Mutants in Krakoa.

POLL: Your Favorite and Least Favorite Writers are...

FAVORITE WRITERS:

#1. Rick Remender (42%): Remender’s take on Betsy Braddock in his fan-favorite and critically acclaimed run on Uncanny X-Force remains iconic and revered. Uncanny X-Force gave us all: strong characterization, agency, tragedy and a well-rounded arc that pushed Betsy so far out of her comfort zone and into top-tier status, leading to a new renaissance for the character.

#2. Chris Claremont (14%): While Claremont’s third run on Uncanny X-Men was not as well received as his first (and not as bad as his second), there were some qualities to his carefree take on Betsy. Despite some issues with pacing and dialogue, one can’t deny that Claremont knows who Betsy Braddock is at her core. The least said about New Exiles, the better.

#3. Cullen Bunn (11%): An underappreciated gem, Bunn’s portrayal of Betsy Braddock in Uncanny X-Men feels in many ways the spiritual successor to Remender’s. Bunn’s complex and conflicting interpretation revealed a deep respect for the character and one of the few standouts during a hard time for the X-Men publishing line.

LEAST FAVORITE WRITERS:

#1. Tini Howard (48%): Wasted potential is what best defines Tini Howard’s Betsy Braddock. Fans hoped that Betsy adopting the Captain Britain mantle would take the character to the next level. Instead, Betsy was portrayed as a self-doubting, ineffective leader who barely used her powers other than swinging her sword around. Everything we loved about Betsy is gone. Her personality, her charm, her creative use of powers, her attitude, her edginess. All we have left is a shadow of her former self. Betsy is a far cry from what she used to be. And for the worse. The fact that Tini’s Otherworld epic is taking too long to conclude – 3 years and counting – while keeping Betsy irrelevant and isolated from the main Krakoan/X-Men action also left a sour taste in fans’ mouths.

#2. Leah Williams (16%): While Age of X-Man: X-Tremists was pretty much inoffensive and forgettable, Wlliams’ take on Betsy Braddock comes from her utter misunderstanding of the character. Williams views Betsy as a self-loathing woman obsessed with body modification who hated her own body. This was enough for fans to hope she never writes Betsy again.

#3. Sam Humphries (12%): After Remender’s run, the bar was set too high. While Humphries was given a hard task, his take on Betsy failed to impress fans to say the least. An adult woman living through her teen angst phase – with burglary, drinking and polyamorous relationships – was not what fans were expecting.

'Reign of X' Brings New X-Men Series

Marvel.com: The latest era in writer Jonathan Hickman’s revolutionary transformation of the X-Men universe is now underway, bringing with it exciting new titles like:

• Children of the Atom by Vita Ayala and Bernard Chang – on sale now;
• Way of X by Si Spurrier and Bob Quinn – on sale April 21; and
• X-Corp by Tini Howard and Alberto Foche – on sale May 12.

And after June’s highly-anticipated franchise-spanning Hellfire Gala, fans can expect even more surprises, including a trio of brand-new series:

• X-Men by Gerry Duggan and Pepe Larraz – on sale July 2021;
• Classified (allegedly The Trial) by Leah Williams and Valerio Schiti – on sale August 2021; and
• Classified by Jonathan Hickman and TBD.

X-Factor #4 – X of Swords, Chapter 2 Spoilers

Spoilers: Siryn, Archangel and Beast return to Krakoa bringing Rictor and Apocalypse, both dying. Polaris, Havok, Monet and Unus soon emerge from the gateway with Rockslide’s dead body. Dr. Reyes has Rachel get the injured to the Healing Gardens. Lorna particularly feels guilty over Rockslide’s death. In Otherworld, Saturnyne decides to close the External Gate, which greatly upsets Krakoa. Later, at the Healing Gardens, neither Monet or Rachel are able to read Polaris’ mind about the prophecy regarding the champions and their swords. Healer thinks it’s best for Rictor to die so he can be resurrected swiftly. This angers Apocalypse, who tries to kill Healer; however, Rachel intervenes just in time. Polaris has Xavier prioritize the resurrection protocols for Rictor and Rockslide as they were casualties of war. The Five resurrects Rictor without any problems. However, when Xavier attempts to upload Rockslide’s memories, Cerebro and all backup cradles short-circuit, the connection between the Five is lost and Rockslide’s body disintegrates. The Five decide to destroy all remaining eggs as they could be tainted. Rockslide forms a new, strange body before them. Cerebro gets back online, restoring the connection between the Five. Xavier verifies that Rockslide is indeed “a” Rockslide, but not their Santo. They turn their attention to Rictor; however, Xavier is sure that Rictor is actually himself. The Five bring the issue to the Quiet Council, and deduce that because Rockslide died in Otherworld, it has corrupted the resurrection protocol. As Otherworld is the nexus of all realities, Rockslide is now a composite of all alternate Rockslides that ever were. In addition, death in Otherworld rewrites all Cerebro backups accordingly, meaning that true resurrection for a mutant who dies in Otherworld is no longer an option; “our” Rockslide is lost forever. Polaris still can’t figure out how to unlock the information passed on to her. Magneto demands she tries harder, and so she does. Lorna foretells the prophecy relating to each champion and their swords. Later, Xavier and Magneto warn Apocalypse that the resurrections protocols are suspended until further notice. They scorn him for dooming all of mutantkind. Polaris is still deeply affected by Rockslide’s true death and uses his remains to construct a casting circle as instructed by Saturnyne. All champions must retrieve their swords and place them in the circle to open a portal to the tournament. Magik is the first to arrive and places her Soul Sword on the casting circle. Let the war begins she says.

The prophecy: As above, so below. From one womb came two -- a hero destined to brandish what the earth hath swallowed, and an echo doomed to yearn for what the stars hath forsworn.

Cypher deduces this one is about the Braddock twins.

X-Factor #4 – X of Swords, Chapter 2 Preview

X-Factor #4
Writer: Leah Williams
Art by: Carlos Gomez
Cover by: Ivan Shavrin
Variant Cover by: R.B. Silva
Angel Timeless Variant Cover by: Alex Ross

The Story:
X of Swords – Chapter 2
Death and rebirth. Corruption. A dark discovery.

In Stores: September 30, 2020

Psylocke's Future Looks Bright

With the Age of X-Man ending next week and Jonathan Hickman's 'House of X' #1 being released on July 24, there's still no word on where Psylocke might appear next. Betsy is still conspicuously absent from any House of X/Powers of X promotional image, covers or interior art previewed so far, with the exception of very few variant covers. The same cand be said about other major characters like Rogue, Gambit and Kitty Pryde, to mention a few.

With that in mind, all eyes are set on Marvel's Next Big Thing panel at SDCC to be held on July 20, where Jonathan Hickman will reveal what comes next for the X-Men after the senses-shattering revelations of the House of X and Powers of X, and a new wave of X-Books are expected to be announced.

Writer Leah Williams now took to Twitter to reassure fans concerned about Psylocke's abscence that things are looking up for Betsy Braddock. Although Williams confirmed she's not involved wth the books, she wasn't any less excited: "I promise you that you're [Psylocke fans] gonna be stoked. I promise! Full disclosure, I'm not involved, I just know too much and have been excited forever."

Get ready!

Age of X-Man: The X-Tremists #5 Spoilers

Spoilers: Hours before Jubilee regained her memories, she was caught up doing paperwork as usual at Department X. Nezumi Sen, after having giving birth to a baby boy and freeing herself with the help of rats, confronted Jubilee, who remembered Shogo upon seeing Nezumi’s baby. Jubilee was upset and worried about Shogo’s whereabouts, confused about this new reality and took it upon herself to help Nezumi. At first she intended to keep a low profile, but then just stopped caring. She tracked down Department X’s van, came across Moneta’s corpse and stole the keys from her dead co-worker. Jubilee then proceeded to stealing money, while setting the world on fire. Blob’s house was one of which caught fire, but him and Betsy managed to escape in time. Blob was upset because that was the place he fell in love with Psylocke. Betsy took the opportunity to reveal that Moneta was right all along. She never erased their prisoners’ memories as she thought it just wasn’t right at all. Betsy instead harbored the memories of thousands in her subconscious and decided it was now time to give everyone their memories back, including prisoners in the Danger Room Complex. That’s when Jubilee met Northstar, Iceman and Rictor, and Jean-Paul regained his memories. All four of them caused chaos around the city, destroying whatever was in their way. Iceman was the last one to wake up, and was deeply upset and shocked about what was taken away from them and what they did to other mutants, specially Nezumi. It’s revealed that Jubilee was recounting the events of that day in a letter to Shogo to explain to him the time his mom was missing. What happened next is to be told in Age of X-Man: Omega, however Jubilee managed to help Nezumi and her baby escape in Department X’s van and with a large amount of money. She also mentioned that Blob and Betsy went their separate ways.

Age of X-Man: The X-Tremists #5 Preview

Age of X-Man: The X-Tremists #5

Writer: Leah Williams

Art by: Georges Jeanty

Cover by: Razzah

The Story:

The Age of X-Man Concludes!

• Some X-Tremists want to know love.
• Some X-Tremists want to know freedom.
• But some X-Tremists… just want to watch the world burn.

In Stores: May 26, 2019

Leah Williams Unpacks ‘Age of X-Man: X-Tremists’

Adventures in Poor Taste! reached out to writer Leah Williams to learn more about all the thought and care that’s gone into making Age of X-Man: X-Tremists special to so many X-Fans.

AiPT!: X-Tremists is one of those series that sneaks up on you and stays with you long after you’ve put it down for many reasons. One is unrequited love and all the feelings that come with it. Everything Fred goes through after revealing his love for Betsy is so relatable. Did you draw on your own past experiences to help readers experience something that is universal while also feeling so deeply personal?

Williams: More so than anything else I’ve written in comics, and it’s very uncomfortable to me. I obfuscate everything, of course, I am not self-inserting because that’d be one of the shittiest things I could do with this opportunity. However, my bottom-line is just wanting to provide something authentic. I like an airtight narrative (and obviously that gets more complicated in a collaborative medium like comics; not all of the moving components, many of which aren’t your responsibility to interpret, will land together perfectly), so drawing from some emotional experiences I know are authentic just as a means to provide gravitas is something I made an exception for in Freddy’s case. He deserved the credibility at the expense of my discomfort.

The way readers reacted to the moment of him confessing his feelings was sort of harrowing and humbling at the same time. For me, what he describes is a part of the queer experience–like, knowing you are attracted to your same-sex friend while closeted and fearful of consequences should you speak up. You love them. But you also love just getting to be around them. So you choose the pain of longing instead of the pain of loss or rejection, and after awhile you convince yourself that you’re maybe even happy like this. It was for the best. Then you dig yourself a pain rut and remain inside it indefinitely.

When X-Tremists #2 came out I learned the extent to which that’s a shared experience, though, and the way I learned this was because maybe dozens (I want to say?) of people reaching out to me and admitting they’re each feeling that same pain. And they just live like this. I’m still staggered breathless by that day.

I was similarly unprepared for how Betsy’s confession in X-Tremists #3 would land. Someone tweeted “Thank you.” and only that to me, and after glancing at their profile and seeing them speak to their own audience with the specifics of what they were going through and why Betsy’s confession mattered to them, I knew what that “Thank you.” meant and it made me want to cry just looking at it. You know exactly what it means in that context. And then for the second time, I just had this day of learning the extent of just how many people who read it are all hurting with the same specific pain.

I don’t know where to put this knowledge. It’s definitely breaking my heart, and overall, the X-Tremists experience has changed me on some fundamental level. I didn’t know what the f--k I was doing with Fred’s confession, to be honest–I just wanted something real and raw, and ringing with sweetness. I mostly feel like I stumbled into significance with Fred’s confession. I knew it rang true for me; I never realized the extent to which it would for everyone else. And learning it leveled me.

AiPT!: In the regular Marvel Universe, Psylocke is often portrayed as one of the X-Men characters who is most confident in her own skin–even when the skin hasn’t been that of her original body. Where did the idea come from to explore Betsy’s body issues?

Williams: Betsy Braddock was only ever body-confident when inhabiting Kwannon. She’s never once been satisfied with the body she was born with. She expresses this a few times prior to her journey through the Siege Perilous but earliest, I think (?) is when she just indicates dissatisfaction with her body’s physical limitations compared to her brothers’. Then there are some circumstantial details that could or could not be used in a discussion of Betsy’s body image issues, depending on how you feel about it–she starts dying her hair purple. She starts modeling. These things aren’t indicative of anything in particular on their own. But later, Betsy allows Mojo to give her cybernetic eye implants and that’s when we really start to explore Betsy Braddock’s profoundly unsettling obsession with body modification. And after this, we get a truly harrowing glimpse into Betsy’s body dysmorphia: in the Uncanny X-Men Annual #11 by Chris Claremont and Alan Davis, each of the X-Men is presented with their heart’s one true desire via the Siege Perilous. The trick is not to fall for this trap, obviously, and they have to resist overwhelming temptation despite it being the one thing they’ve always desperately longed for. All of them succeed.

Except Betsy. And her dream, her most desperate desire, is to be physically perfect–an armored woman. Sleek and made of steel. Impenetrable and strong. She says she chooses this path to protect those that she cares for, but once this is undone by the end of the issue: cut to like a year later, in a different book, of a different run, but with same pre-Kwannon Betsy: she’s still chasing the “perfection” of this ideal body and has started wearing custom armor just to mimic it.

It’s the usage of the word “perfect,” plus her blatant disregard for her original body that alarms me the most. She’s only joyful and confident once she’s inside Kwannon. That’s when she’s finally as dangerous, lethal, vicious, strong and sexual as the way she’s always dreamed of being. Closer to perfection. She outruns all of her insecurities inside Kwannon, and sure enough, whenever she’s presented with the option of reverting to her old self throughout the years, Betsy still consistently chooses to remain inside Kwannon. Betsy’s body issues have been in the canon for a very long time. I find them terrifying and sad.

AiPT!: While there have been many surprising relationships in Age of X-Man, Blob and Psylocke seemed to take many fans by surprise. But forget the fans–what was the initial reaction to Blobsy in the X-Office from the wider Age of X-Man team?

Williams: [X-Men Senior Editor] Jordan’s polite and professional no matter what canon shenanigans (cananigans) I propose. I pitched Blob/Psylocke on the phone to him when we were just tossing ideas back and forth about the cast as I learned who was still available, and I found out Blob still was. Betsy was already locked in as someone I definitely wanted by this point, so it was considering Blob as a possibility and then realizing how this world would affect him uniquely when I started to see the pieces fall into place. Betsy’s deep-seated body dysmorphia + the chance to give Fred an environment that loves and supports him regardless of his size and the resulting changes of who he’d be in this world. To me, it was just a natural alignment.

I made this connection instantly but internally, so what I blurted out on the phone to Jordan was more like, “Oh, Blob’s available!?” and then two seconds later “Blob/Psylocke romance!” I think his instinctive reaction a polite “????” but after hearing me out, he was just like “Sure!” and then I questioned him for months about whether or not he was still sure.

Age of X-Man: The X-Tremists #4 Spoilers & Art

Spoilers: As Blob and Psylocke take Moneta into custody, Northstar notices how friendly they got. Jean-Paul runs off alone caught up in his thoughts. The next morning at Department X’s HQ, Northstar comes across Moneta, who’s been reconditioned as lost memories of her transgressions. Blob and Betsy brief the team on their two assignments for the day, and Northstar volunteers to check on an illegal movie theater showing romance pictures. It turns out the theater is run by Rictor and Northstar is a regular movie goer. Jean-Paul uses his position in Dept. X to warn Rictor in advance. Back at the HQ, Iceman decides to follow Northstar. Moneta is left alone and uses her powers on herself to recall what she had been made to forget. At the theater, Iceman joins Northstar and Rictor, and the three of them hang out and drink together, while Jean-Paul opens up about the feeling of missing someone he doesn’t know. Elsewhere, Moneta is attacked by the followers of Apocalypse. While Iceman, Northstar and Rictor comfort each other, Jubilee sets the town on fire and says she now remembers having a child. Northstar also remembers his sister Aurora and husband Kyle, and Jubilee confirms she was at their wedding. They realize memories were taken away from them and suggest rioting.

Age of X-Man: The X-Tremists #4 Preview

Age of X-Man: The X-Tremists #4

Writer: Leah Williams

Art by: Georges Jeanty

Cover by: Razzah

The Story:

The Age of X-Man Continues!

• Northstar — the guiding light that keeps the traveler reassured they are going in the right direction.

• If only the name rang true for poor Jean-Paul...

In Stores: April 29, 2019

 

Age of X-Man: The X-Tremists #3 Spoilers

Spoilers: Betsy approaches Blob sensually, but engages no further when he replies that it hurts. The next day, everything is business as usual at Department X’s office. A prisoner is taken in, and Betsy cleans up his mind. Blob then gets an anonymous call about rebel kids throwing a party at an abandoned building. While Blob warns the others, Moneta storms in and accuses Psylocke of being part of the resistance because she found out there was no trace of mind-wipe in the prisoner brought in earlier. Betsy explains the prisoner needed to rest after the wipe to confirm the procedure was successful. Blob is fed with Moneta’s behavior and orders her to take the rest of the day off. She says she’ll prove there’s a resistance movement. Betsy swears she mind-wiped the prisoner, and her co-workers vouch for her. Jubilee takes the chance to address Nezumi and how they’ll have to deal with her situation sooner or later. Later that night, Betsy visits Blob at his house, and the two of them begin a sort of book club. Betsy opens up to Blob and talks about personal feelings, like self-loathing and body image, and her eating disorder. Blob assures her she’s beautiful and the heart of the team. Days later, Department X investigate the abandoned building and come across kids getting together. Moneta reveals she was the one who phoned in the tip to prove the resistance is real. Department X soon find out that the kids are untrained and unarmed and committed no crime whatsoever. Northstar accuses Moneta of leading them into a trap. The team has to come to terms with the fact they're seen as monsters. Blob has no choice but to fire her. Betsy thanks Blob.

Age of X-Man: The X-Tremists #3 Preview

Age of X-Man: The X-Tremists #3

Writer: Leah Williams

Art by: Georges Jeanty

Cover by: Razzah

The Story:

The Age of X-Man Continues!

• All love is forbidden love.

• Blob knows this. Psylocke knows this.

• The X-Tracts enforce the law. And yet…

In Stores: April 24, 2019

Age of X-Man: The X-Tremists #2 Spoilers

Spoilers: As Psylocke and Iceman tend to a little boy who fell off his bicycle, Betsy thinks about how at some point children are picked up by their parents never to be picked up and held again. Upon returning to Department X’s office, Blob warns the team they have a “controlled purge” on their agenda today. It turns out that Department X is actually responsible for setting the forests on fire so that the X-Men can put out and make people feel safer. Later that night at their HQ, Psylocke is left alone with Blob and lets him know that she’s picked up his attraction towards her earlier that day. Betsy offers to purge such thoughts from his mind. Blob is caught off guard and simply leaves in a hurry. For the following three days, he calls in sick and avoids work. Moneta is upset with all other members as they all seem content with simply pushing papers behind a desk instead of doing real work and volunteers to interrogate Nezumi. Jubilee finds out Moneta has been keeping Nezumi chained to their basement in poor conditions. Jubilee apologizes to their pregnant prisoner, but Nezumi calls her out on being a complicit for being worse than Moneta and pretending to care. Meanwhile, Psylocke finds a note from Blob explaining that he doesn’t want to forget his feelings for her. Betsy visits Fred’s house that night and the two of them engage in an awkward conversation. Blob reveals he’d rather lose his job than be forced to forget his feeling and feel nothing at all. He just wants to feel something. Betsy tells him of a recurring nightmare about mourning the corpse of her mother, but that she can’t bring herself to remember the last time her mother ever held her. As she approaches Blob, Psylocke says she’ll let him keep his feelings if he answers if it still hurts.

Age of X-Man: The X-Tremists #2 Preview

Age of X-Man: The X-Tremists #2

Writer: Leah Williams

Art by: Georges Jeanty

Cover by: Razzah

The Story:

The Age of X-Man Continues!
As Department X continues its work of purging and revising the ill-fitting elements of society, an encounter with a pregnant rebel begins eating away at the team from within. Cleaning up the minds of the world can be a dirty job…

In Stores: March 27, 2019

Age of X-Man: The X-Tremists #1 Spoilers

Spoilers: At Department X’s office, Jubilee and Iceman are entrusted with baking thank-you cookies for the X-Men. Bobby gives Jubilee a hard time by joking around non-stop and making a mess out of the kitchen. Blob interrupts their shenanigans and informs the team a couple, Luke and Nezumi, has engaged in intimacy and broken the rules for the third time. Department X – Iceman, Psylocke, Northstar, Blob, Jubilee and Moneta – suit up for the mission. While Moneta particularly harbors special disgust for the “retrogrades”, the team treats it as a usual mission. At the couple’s hideout, Psylocke strikes her psychic sword against Nezumi. The woman says she won’t be taken this time, which surprises Betsy as she remembers the other times she was captured. Meanwhile, Iceman keeps casually joking around while pursuing Luke, who screams that he’ll find Nezumi again because he loves her. Bobby imprisons Luke in an ice coffin. Moneta uses her psychic fingers on Luke and confirms there has been intimacy violations. Jubilee is a bit uncomfortable with Bobby taking the whole thing so lightly and treating Luke as a thing rather than a person. Nezumi begs to Department X to let her go as she’s pregnant, crying her eyes out. Iceman simply freezes her as well. Department X is taken aback and Northstar informs that it’s possible to procreate the old-fashioned way even though mutantkind has evolved past that. Betsy uses her telepathy and confirms the woman is saying the truth; she’s pregnant. The team decides to take Nezumi back to their offices and deal with the first pregnancy in years their own way.

Inside Age of X-man's 'Horny Cop Gestapo' with X-Tremists

Newsarama: Ahead of Age of X-Man: The X-Tremists #1's release this Wednesday, Newsarama spoke with writer Leah Williams about how a mutant utopia can exist without one of the X-Men’s core melodramatic tenets (romantic intrigue … natch), and how mutants find each other in the most unlikely places.

Newsarama: Leah, let’s start with the basics. What can you tell us about X-Tremists and its place in “Age of X-Man”?

Leah Williams: “Age of X-Man” is a utopian mutant society where all love is forbidden. Nate Grey had a tumultuous upbringing, so his vision of utopia removes the family unit from life entirely - including the removal of everything preceding the formation of one. Love, dating, queer identity, even a basic knowledge of sex acts or reproduction - he’s wiped these things from conscious memory to create a real, functioning utopia, meaning, the vast majority of its inhabitants are genuinely and blissfully unaware of turmoil. 

“X-tremists” is the pejorative term that the rebels use for Department X, who are the secret police prosecuting infractions in this world. Up to and including intimacy violations. X-Tremists is a miniseries that answers the question of what’s lost when we take love, sexuality, and family away.

Nrama: You’ve got quite a line-up for this team. How’d you pick these particular characters and what brings them together?

Williams: I wanted characters who would be coming into this already having experiences of forbidden or unconventional love, including queer identity. They don’t form Department X of their own volition, as everything and everyone’s roles in “Age of X-Man” were assigned to them by Nate Grey in curating his utopia, so while canonically it’s his fault for putting a gay French-Canadian anarchist on his horny cop gestapo; that’s conflict of interest is what's by design. I picked these team members because I saw them as the ones who we could really, really have a lot of fun with once they start f&@$ing s#%t up.

Nrama: What are the X-Tremists up against here?

Williams: You’ll see Department X portrayed as villains in the other "Age of X-Man" books, and it’s because they are. What they’re doing is unconscionable. But they’re good people, and what they’re up against is the fabric of this alternate reality - which we start to see unraveling in Issue 1 when they encounter a variable that the “Age of X-Man” world is totally unprepared for.

Nrama: The solicitation for X-Tremists #1 mentions the team fighting “love,” while later solicits mention “forbidden romance” between Psylocke and Blob. What’s going on with this new twist on the old idea of star-crossed mutant romance?

Williams: It’s not actually new twist, I’d say! Just a straightforward forbidden romance. They prosecute intimacy violations by day, but come together in their off-hours in a real and authentic way. Fred’s personality is different in "Age of X-Man" because this utopian society produces conditions that would change a lot about how he, specifically, interacts with the world - and they think they’ve been in "Age of X-Man" for three years. He’s a softer, kinder, Blob and Betsy is aloof, beautiful, and far-removed. She’s feeling emotionally adrift, and his warmth and openness is what draws her in. 

Nrama: You’re working with Georges Jeanty on X-Tremists. What’s it like teaming up with an artist like Georges?

Williams: Oh, it was absolutely thrilling to find out we’d be working together on this. This is a difficult story to tell in terms of sensitive subjects, and being paired with Georges has been amazing. The way he draws each member of Department X is so loving and beautiful that I’ve squealed about things like cheekbones and "purple hair porn” because he nails it every time.

Nrama: What’s your favorite thing he’s drawn for X-Tremists so far?

Williams: I can’t list specific panels without spoiling major events, but in general my favorite aspect of working with Georges is how he adds a really rich cinematography to this story - the way he breaks down emotional beats and knows how to add stillness and reflection on a character’s face, the way he teases out nuance in their expressions, the lushness to the scenery - it’s all breathtakingly beautiful. 

Nrama: 2019 is shaping up to be the year of the X-Men. What makes the X-Men the perfect superheroes for this moment?

Williams: “Age of X-Man” is perfect in particular because its larger themes are specifically about exploring why assimilation is not equality.  Zac Thompson and Lonnie Nadler are the brilliant architects of this event (and writers of Marvelous X-Men, AoXM’s main title!) and they have purposefully created the perfect sandbox to explore questions of intersectionality within the mutant metaphor. Not only that, but they and the X-office editors deliberately recruited a roster of diverse creators to help flesh it out. “Age of X-Man” is action-packed catharsis.

Nrama: “Age of X-Man” is not a sequel to “Age of Apocalypse,” but something of a spiritual successor. How does it feel being a part of that kind of storytelling tradition?

Williams: It does feel like I’m participating in something grand and rarified - this many people working within the same world can be unwieldy for some projects, but not with us. Writers, artists, and editors - everyone has been amazingly helpful and excited about what we’re doing. We check in with each other, ask questions about what’s happening in each other’s books, ask permission to use a character from someone else’s team, etc, all to ensure that readers get a cohesive world-building experience across the books. We believe in what we’re doing.

Right now, as we’re passing the halfway mark in terms of scripts turned in for these miniseries, we’re looking around at each other like “…I don’t want this to end.” It feels like a sad, sweet, summer camp farewell.

Nrama: Bottom line, what should fans know going into X-Tremists? What makes this story a must-read for X-Fans?

Williams: Each issue focuses on a different Department X team member - I have a strong team and I wanted to spotlight them as individuals while we move forward through the story, to give fans more airtime with their faves and to use multiple POV’s to enrich the story. 

This miniseries is also gonna hurt. It’s a difficult story to tell by nature, because of the role Department X was assigned in this utopian society without their choosing. They didn’t sign up for this, and X-tremists is about the consequences of trying to force heroes into a reality they would never consciously comply with. X-tremists is not about reveling in erasure, it’s about doing justice to how violently relieved Bobby’s gonna feel when he finally wakes up in this alternate reality and the kind of ice-cold anger he’d have once he sees that not only did Nate Grey put him on the secret police, but imagined an armband on him.  

Every issue of X-tremists brings pain and catharsis, increasingly, until we end with a bombastic, jubilant, grand finale.

Age of X-Man: The X-Tremists #1 Preview

Age of X-Man: The X-Tremists #1

Writer: Leah Williams

Art by: Georges Jeanty

Cover by: Razzah

Variant Cover by: Ema Lupacchino

Connecting Variant Cover by: Inhyuk Lee

Secret Variant Cover Also Available

The Story: Enter The Age of X-Man!

A perfect world doesn’t just…happen. It needs to be cultivated. That’s where the X-Tremists come in. Psylocke, Iceman, Northstar, Blob, Jubilee and Moneta protect people from threats they won’t even know existed, including the most insidious threat of all — love.

In Stores: February 27, 2019