A Major X-Man Joins ‘Exceptional X-Men’ In December
by Tony Thornley
The last of the three new X-Men From the Ashes flagship titles debuted this week with Exceptional X-Men #4. To celebrate, Marvel released a new trailer, and made a huge reveal.
Exceptional X-Men features Kitty Pryde and Emma Frost training the next generation of X-Men. The first of the series’ core trio, Bronze, was introduced in the first issue when Kitty narrowly rescued her from her dream concert turning into a violent confrontation. Meanwhile, the other two new mutants- Axo and Melee- will debut in the series second issue (art from which is featured in the trailer).
The huge news revealed in the trailer though is that Kitty and Emma aren’t the only two iconic X-Men on this team. Bobby Drake made an appearance on the final page of the first issue, and Iceman will officially join the team in Exceptional X-Men #4. This is a fantastic development, as the team did sort of feel like something was lacking. Bobby is sorely missing from the new X-Men line, and his past relationship with Kitty and complicated relationship with Emma is fertile storytelling ground.
On what makes the book “exceptional,” Ewing said, “Well, those who know that I was a poet long before becoming a comics creator will appreciate that Exceptional X-Men, in a world full of X-adjectives, simply sounds really good. But right now, they are exceptional in that they don’t carry a lot of the same history on their shoulders as the main characters in our other titles. For better or worse, they have no ties to Krakoa or broader team politics or the previous era of mutantdom. They’re just a group of awkward kids in the Midwest trying to figure out their abilities, like generations of young mutants before them.”
“Regarding the young mutants, I think the whole team fell in love with all three of them,” Carnero added. “I love that they are such opposites. Eve had very clear personalities, hobbies, musical tastes, how they feel… And when it came to designing them, it all developed naturally, and the whole team had a clear vision of what their final looks would be. I can’t wait for readers to meet them.”
Check out the newly revealed cover to Exceptional X-Men #4 above, and watch for the debut issue from Marvel Comics in comic stores now!
