Opinion: The Future Of The X-Men Is Here, And We’re Hopeful

Late last week, the future of the X-Men was revealed. And though it looks quite a bit like the past, it still has me optimistic for the future, even if I’m not completely sold.

With the reveal of the core of Marvel’s upcoming X-Men line, I know I’m at least feeling a little bit better about what’s coming next. However, it’s not all positive. For that reason I’m leaning towards being cautiously optimistic.

For the first time since 2019, Marvel’s long-running Uncanny X-Men will be returning as the flagship title of the line. This is a precursor to what appears to be a back-to-basics approach for the entire line. Mutants are hated and feared again. The heroes are being billed as outlaws and outcasts. This isn’t the era of the mutants on top that we saw in the last five years. 

For me, yes, this is a step backwards, but I’m definitely willing to see how it goes. At a glance, these are titles that are taking the classic X-Men status quo and at least giving something different a try within that. It’s not Krakoa. It’s not even Morrison’s new X-Men. But it’s taking the framework of the classic status quo and trying something different within that.

The teams aren’t back in upstate New York. Instead they’re centered in Alaska, New Orleans and Chicago, which already start them in unique places. The mansion has been rebuilt, but it now seems to be a prison, not a school. The line-ups of two of the three titles are also not the usual suspects.

For me, that’s making me lean towards at least checking them out. I’ve always enjoyed writers Gail Simone, Jed MacKay and Eve Ewing, and they’re all paired with good artists. The casts are interesting- Cyclops is leading a more unusual crew, Rogue has a standard cast in a unique setting, and Kitty Pryde’s team is all-new — a dynamic that fits perfectly for Kitty. We don’t know the full concepts or antagonists (though it does sound like Krakoan amnesty is no longer on the table), so there are still question marks that we’ll have to see about before fully being on board.

And it’s also worth pointing out the creative voices behind the scenes. Uncanny X-Men is being written solo by a woman for the first time in the title’s history (Kelly Thompson did co-write the series in 2018), and a black woman is writing one of the core titles for the first time ever. They’ve enlisted three of the industry’s best line artists for the titles (which is exciting to see Carmen Carnero in particular since she was announced as the artist for a Krakoan era title that never materialized).

There are definitely downsides. After the risks that Krakoa took, these titles feel extremely safe. (Let’s be real though — the Krakoan X-Men titles have been largely playing it safe since early last year, if not longer.) The logos being used are straight from the 1990s (even redesigning NYX in the ’90s block style), as are a lot of the costumes, which instantly feels like a step backwards from the boundaries pushed the last four-and-a-half years. The casts are also less diverse than a lot of what we’ve seen for the last few years. Even the upcoming titles are all callbacks. Yes, the Krakoa era had X-Force and X-Factor, but it also had Hellions, Marauders, and X-Corp.

Am I excited for the From the Ashes era? No, not yet. But I’m definitely significantly more interested. And we’ll see if that holds up as we learn more and more.