Gail Simone Delights The Crowd At The Uncanny Experience

Uncanny X-Men writer Gail Simone made her second appearance at the Uncanny Experience X-Men convention in Minneapolis on July 12th and 13th, meeting fans and signing comics. On Saturday, she hosted a panel moderated by her husband Scott, in which she spoke about the origins of her Uncanny X-Men run, the quick response to new creation Mutina, and more.

Simone first appeared at the Uncanny Experience, an immersive X-Men fan convention held at the Minneapolis Club, shortly after the first issue of her Uncanny X-Men run — in which Simone became the first woman solo writer of that title — was published. Speaking to the crowd at the 2025 convention, she said that her first experience at the Uncanny Experience informed how she approached writing the X-Men. Talking broadly about the genesis of the book, when editor/Conductor of X Tom Brevoort approached her about taking on the book, she asked who would be on the team. She was told Marvel wanted it centered around Rogue, and wanted the book to be emotional/heartbreaking/tug at the heartstrings. Humorously, she mentioned that both she and artist David Marquez were cross-blackmailed into taking on the book, with Marquez told Simone would only do the book with him and Simone told Marquez would only do the book with her.

Speaking about the early days of the series, Simone said that she intended the division between Rogue and Cyclops to be driven by their different approaches to carrying on post-Krakoa. She also said that she wanted more Nightcrawler and Jubilee in the book, something she’s recently mentioned on social media, and hopes to rectify soon.

Shifting to more recent issues, Simone mentioned that Marquez couldn’t wait to draw Mutina, the new monster-in-a-horror-movie-who-might-be-a-real-monster character which debuted in Uncanny X-Men #17. This first mention of Mutina prompted cheers from the crowd. Simone added to the crowd’s enthusiasm, saying Marvel went nuts for the character as well, and she’s heard from retailers who are demanding second prints of her debut due to the high demand of the original issue. She also confirmed that the question of whether or not Mutina is, herself, a mutant is one that is meant to be open at this time.

Speaking about other recent new characters, Simone confessed that she could write Henrietta forever. Introduced in the recently-concluded “Dark Artery” story, Henrietta introduced a Jim Crow-era society of mutants operating living in Haven House outside New Orleans; according to Simone, Marvel is interested in doing more with those characters well. Looking ahead to future stories, Simone mentioned that in addition to the upcoming mutant festival, Wolverine and Ransom will return to Ransom’s native Argentina to “fight incels.”

Taking questions from the audience, when asked whether Callico’s horse Ember is good or bad, Simone answered with a grin, it “depends on who is in the way.” One person in the audience said they appreciated Simone revealing that Wolverine suffered from PTSD and asked if she’d be returning to develop that idea. Simone said she would be, but at the same time, was limited in how far she could take it, saying she, “can’t put [Wolverine] in therapy.”

Asked about her broader plans for the future, Simons said that she doesn’t do long outlines and doesn’t know exactly how long she’ll be on the book, but knows she has the room to tell her stories. She added that Marvel sees lots of pitches about obscure mutants, but she tends to think in terms of what readers are going to want to read. She continues to love these characters and the family dynamic she’s created.