Which Mighty Mutant Is Assembling In ‘Avengers’ #17?
by Tony Thornley
Marvel Comics is continuing to roll out the announcements for the upcoming X-Men From The Ashes relaunch. The latest round of announcements came with two surprises- one of which is Mighty… to say the least.
The teaser released yesterday simply states Earth’s Mightiest Mutant joins Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. So who could it be?
I think from the wording, we’ll look at the likely to the unlikely candidates.
Iceman
This one is probably nearly even odds. Iceman is one of only two of the most iconic X-Men (ie: appearing on the cover of 1992’s X-Men #1) left unaccounted for in From the Ashes. Of the two (the other I’ll get to in a second), Bobby Drake is the better fit. He’s got an incredibly versatile and unique powerset and is one of only a few Omega level mutants in the world- the definition of Mighty. He’s got a great personality that will blend right in with the rest of the team, and has teamed up with the wider Marvel Universe more than almost any other X-Man.
Colossus
Piotr Rasputin is the other most iconic X-Man missing in From the Ashes. The issue here is that A) he doesn’t really offer anything unique and B) is he actually missing? On the first point, Colossus is just a tank- offering little to the team that Thor, Hercules, the Thing or any number of other pre-existing powerhouses offer. Secondly, X-Force has a mysterious masked member whose build matches Colossus perfectly. It’s very possible but probably unlikely.
Storm
Ororo Munroe is a former Avenger (at least for three issues). She’s an Omega level mutant. She’s the ex-wife of longtime Avenger Black Panther. She’s wielded Mjolnir. If that’s not the definition of mighty I don’t know what is. I think the thing stopping her from being the most likely is that she’s got her solo series on the way, and this era doesn’t seem to be doubling up anyone at the moment.
Beast, Wolverine, Dazzler, Firestar
Could the new mutant Avenger be an old mutant Avenger? Sure, absolutely. I think it’s more likely that we get someone completely new, but it’s possible.
So who will it be? We’re not sure, but considering the timing between these teasers to the actual announcement, we’ll know very soon!
