New X-men team Announced
This is sweet. The new X-men team, complete with a voted-in Polaris has been announced. The first official main-team line-up since the Krakoa-Era began. Click through for thoughts on the picks.
Ok first off, I just think it’s cool that the main X-men book penned by Hickman hasn’t had a set-team for well over a year.
The cover of its current run’s first-issue made it clear that there wasn’t yet a set team, and that initial issues would mostly revolve around Cyclops and the Summers-clan in general.
This is interesting, because honestly, people like Kid-Cable and Rachel could have made the actual cut for the official first post-Krakoa line-up. But they didn’t! But no one will be surprised Cyclops and Jean, the patriarch and matriarch themselves got top-billing.
That leads us to one semi-surprising pick though: Laura’s Wolverine-- not Logan’s. Logan has been more a part of the Summers-Grey clan than ever with semi-confirmed poly-amory triangle (quadrangle? Mrs. Frost? Or....?)
But instead we get Laura. Which makes sense honestly, given her recent emergence from the Vault this past month. Many feel she didn’t get the right kind of treatment on Fallen Angles--and I might have been the only person on the planet to kind of like that run generally-- but this is another chance for her to get some characterization, especially post-Vault.
And Synch is also extra interesting in the post-Vault context. I sense he will be a huge power-house here along with Rogue and Laura and Sunfire. The latter of which is kind of interesting for those who read the excellent S.W.O.R.D. ish #2/3 ‘King in Black’ tie-in.
And then there is Rogue and Polaris to round things out--both being long-time veterans but also are at least semi-surprising or at least not obvious picks as far as the veterans go.
Rogue sorta makes sense, as she has been relegated to, um, Jubilee’s nanny in Excalibur? And she can be the heavy hitter here, letting Synch focus on actual power-replication. I can picture Magik in this spot but Magik has had a ton of spot-light recently and seems a bit off in a main X-team honestly. Polaris is also interesting because one of the other more featured women vets like Kate or Storm here might be more obvious.
Apparently Leah Williams offered her up freely from X-Factor but it makes me wonder what William’s plans were given the ending of the first issue was a premise that asked who exactly Lorna is to begin with. Maybe that will be answered by Duggan on this book?
This leaves the team rather female-heavy which is great honestly-- the women in X-men have always kinda skewed a little more interesting, especially as far as vets go. I’d take Polaris, Rogue and Jean over, say, Angel, Iceman (sorry dude, you’re good on Marauders rn, tho) and even often Beast unfortunately (I love Beast, but he’s so often written as nearly-evil detached genius-- make him gay or something?).
I’d be mad that Nightcrawler isn’t here if not for Way of X being incoming, where I assume he can finally get some love this era. My only request is that Kid (or old?) Cable, Magik and possibly Manifold can sit on when they need a near-omega-level heavy-hitter. And that Storm, Kate, Betsy, Emma, Kwannon, Kurt and Beast are all honorary of course. Warren and Bobby too I guess.
With this and the gala coming up..(and S.W.O.R.D. being fucking sick), x-books are still full of potential, going on almost 2 years straight!
