The world was in a much different place when Wade Wilson, aka Deadpool, made his comic book debut in The New Mutants in 1990. The first of two Bushes was President, Nirvana had yet to release Nevermind, and the only superheroes who had movies were Superman and Batman. It took many years and a whole lot of writers and artists, but eventually, Deadpool rose the ranks to become a genuine superstar in the vast canon that is the Marvel Universe. 

Today, you can’t walk around the mall (if there’s still one open near you) and not see Deadpool somewhere. The Merc with the Mouth is a serious pop culture icon, his red and black mask plastered onto t-shirts, hoodies, Funko figures, and so much more. With not one, not two, but three theatrical movies under his belt, one could argue Deadpool is as big as Mickey Mouse.

In the world of comic books, dozens of brilliant comics writers have shaped Deadpool into the wisecracking, chimichanga-munching anti-hero we know him to be. While Ryan Reynolds tears up the screen yet again as Deadpool in the new Deadpool & Wolverine, it’s high time to look back at some of the all-time greatest Deadpool comic runs. Whether you’re a completionist looking to curate the perfect library or a newbie still dipping a toe into comics, or someone in between, this list is for you if you need a little Deadpool in your life. (Don’t we all?)

9. Deadpool by Mark Waid

Deadpool’s metamorphosis into the wisecracking, fourth wall-breaking mercenary we know him now was a slower evolution than you might think. Revisit his debut in The New Mutants and early X-Force appearances and you’ll find a different Wade Wilson than you know today. This isn’t to say Deadpool wasn’t a blabbermouth back then, but his personality hardly stood out from the other hard-edged mutants he was pitted against. After the mild success of his first solo mini, Deadpool: The Circle Chase by Fabian Nicieza and Joe Madureira, there came a second miniseries that has flown under the radar since its 1994 publication, simply titled Deadpool by writer Mark Waid (with art by Ian Churchill, Jason Temujin Minor, and Bud LaRosa). 

While it lasts just four issues, Waid – who was in the midst of a hot streak at the time, with titles like The Flash and later Kingdom Come at DC – strikes a fine balance between dark, edgy machismo with Deadpool’s developing humor. The story isn’t much to write home about; Deadpool’s favorite bar gets wrecked, and so the Merc teams with mutants like Siryn and Banshee for payback all while his healing factor malfunctions. But the visual art is peak ’90s maximalism, combined with a dash of Waid’s belief that Deadpool will get what’s coming to him – or so Waid thought. In a 1997 interview with Wizard, Waid later expressed regret writing the series, saying: “Someone who hasn’t paid for their crimes presents a problem for me.”

8. Hawkeye vs. Deadpool by Gerry Duggan

You’ll pardon the awkward numbering of the five-issue miniseries Hawkeye vs. Deadpool, which begins with issue #0 and ends with issue #4. But this delightful action-comedy romp splatters the walls with hilarious bits that really put the “comic” in comic books. Beginning on Halloween night, Deadpool runs into Hawkeye, with the two quickly teaming up to investigate a murder mystery involving a dead body and a strange USB drive. (It makes a curious case of the word “vs.” in the title, to be frank.) 

Continuity-wise, the miniseries intersects with Gerry Duggan and Brian Posehn’s monthly Deadpool (including a gut-busting cameo from the ghost of Ben Franklin, originating from the first story arc). It also in a lot of ways acts as a spiritual continuation of Matt Fraction’s acclaimed Hawkeye. But Hawkeye vs. Deadpool is so fast-paced and such a fun read that you don’t need to read anything else even if you’re a dedicated completionist. If you need to kill a single afternoon and want to split your sides, Hawkeye vs. Deadpool is a real bullseye.

7. Black Panther vs. Deadpool by Daniel Kibbelsmith

When Marvel’s Black Panther grossed billions at the box office in 2018, everything about him exuded untouchable royalty. But only a transgressive, innocently offensive character like Deadpool could dare scratch the king of Wakanda. From writer Daniel Kibbelsmith, the five-issue crossover miniseries Black Panther vs. Deadpool wholly banks on the oddball novelty of its marquee characters duking it out.

After Deadpool’s efforts to save Brooklyn from a Z-list villain results in collateral damage, Deadpool embarks on an urgent mission to Wakanda to retrieve precious Vibranium in order to save a life. While Deadpool politely asks T’Challa at first, the noble Black Panther rebuffs him, leading the two to put claws to katanas. With former Late Show with Stephen Colbert writer Kibbelsmith at the helm, Black Panther vs. Deadpool is a propulsive read. It’s a breezy collision of action and comedy in a showdown no Marvel fan knew they wanted until now. The visual art matches the manic energy of the miniseries, with both Deadpool and Black Panther looking especially feral in jagged and slanted lines. 

6. Deadpool by Joe Kelly

If you want the origins of Deadpool, the character, read The New Mutants. If you want the origins of Deadpool, the satirical and determined jester in red spandex who takes on life one katana swing at a time, read Deadpool by Joe Kelly. 

After establishing himself at Marvel on works like Fantastic Four 2099, Joe Kelly embarked on his first monthly assignment: a new Deadpool series in 1997. This very lengthy run gave us most of the hallmarks fans associate Deadpool with today: the breaking of the fourth wall, the abundant pop culture references, even Deadpool’s annoyance factor that gives everyone else in the Marvel Universe a headache. (Wanna see Deadpool reference Street Fighter and uppercut Kitty Pryde while screaming “Shoryuken”? That’s issue #27.) 

But past all the juvenile humor is the pathos of a lonely soul who bounces around like an unwanted pinball. Rob Liefeld and Fabian Nicieza shaped Deadpool out of clay, but it was Joe Kelly who gave him a lasting presence. After Kelly’s run on the ’97 Deadpool ended with issue #33, with the series taken over by Christopher Priest (whose run is less acclaimed but no less interesting) and then a series of other freelance scribes before Gail Simone took the series home to – and Deadpool would giggle at this – issue #69.

Issues in Joe Kelly’s run: Deadpool #-1 (flashback one-shot published after issue #6), Deadpool #0, Deadpool #1-33, Annual Deadpool & Daredevil ’97, Annual Deadpool & Death ’98

5. Uncanny X-Force by Rick Remender

Deadpool has never been much of a team player. But that all changed in Rick Remender’s Uncanny X-Force, a continuation of the 2008 X-Force by Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost. Remender’s story picks up after Cyclops shuts down X-Force, with Wolverine covertly keeping operations running as X-Force leader. This new iteration of X-Force consists of Psylocke, Fantomex, Archangel, and Deadpool, who all adopt an incredibly sick black and white uniform color scheme. (Honestly, more superhero teams should adopt unified colors like pro sports.)

Deadpool maintains his rep as a jokester, but Uncanny X-Force turns down the volume on his obnoxiousness to suit the series’ overall serious tone. This doesn’t mean Deadpool takes it easy on Apocalypse, mind you. But Uncanny X-Force isn’t Deadpool’s show to steal, as the Merc lets his pal Wolverine and the more enigmatic Fantomex take up more attention as the series’ main protagonists. Between its gorgeous art and strong character-oriented writing, Uncanny X-Force is not just a great Deadpool title but a great X-Men-adjacent title overall.

4. Deadpool: Bad Blood by Rob Liefeld

Say what you want about Rob Liefeld. When you read a Deadpool comic written by Liefeld, it’s like watching a Terminator flick directed by James Cameron: Nothing beats a proven creator working on their most famous creation.   

In 2017, the popular if also divisive comics legend got the greenlight for Deadpool: Bad Blood, an entire Deadpool graphic novel. (Along for the ride are writers Chris Sims, Chad Bowers, and artists Romulo Fajaroo Jr. and Joe Sabino.) The contained series introduces a new nemesis for Deadpool, a thick brawler named Thumper whose past connections to Wade Wilson run deeper than most others in the Marvel Universe. Conceptually a celebration of Deadpool’s early history as seen through Liefeld – including a “reunion” of the original X-Force, albeit in flashback – Deadpool: Bad Blood has all the hallmarks of ’90s era Deadpool with modern touches. The awkward bodily anatomies and aggro aesthetic ain’t a bug baby. They’re all features.

3. Spider-Man/Deadpool 

2016 was a great year for Spider-Man and Deadpool. That year, Ryan Reynolds starred in the box office smash Deadpool, an R-rated party at the theater that fans waited for literal years to happen. Shortly after that, Tom Holland swung into his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut as Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War. So it was excellent timing when Marvel published that same year Spider-Man/Deadpool #1, the first of an epic 50-issue series in which the friendly neighborhood wall-crawler puts up with the decidedly unfriendly assassin.

But while Spider-Man/Deadpool could have rested on its laurels with its A-list characters, the series’ revolving door of top tier writers were not content with mediocrity. Starting with veteran Deadpool writer Joe Kelly, Spider-Man/Deadpool relishes in the unabashed fun of a mismatched pair like Spidey and DP before further exploring what these characters mean to each other. For Spider-Man, he learns to see the person behind the violence and the humor; for Deadpool, he aspires to hold himself to a higher standard of costumed crime fighter. (Also: The series coincides with Peter Parker’s role of CEO of Parker Industries, so Deadpool’s interference of Spidey’s daily routine often gets extra funny.)

Whether it’s roasting Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (issue #6), running into Penn & Teller (issue #11), or speculating their elderly future in the multi-part arc “Oldies,” Spider-Man/Deadpool makes the absolute most of their unstoppable leads. In addition to Kelly, the series also sees writers like Scott Aukerman, Gerry Duggan, Paul Scheer, and Robbie Thompson take a swing at writing the delirious duo. 

2. Cable & Deadpool by Fabian Nicieza

Sometimes, sequels really are better than the originals. After both Deadpool and Cable’s solo titles were canceled, these two gun-toting mutants joined forces to star in Cable & Deadpool, easily one of the best mainstream superhero comics of the 2000s. Written by Fabian Nicieza (with artist Reilly Brown scripting the final two issues), Cable & Deadpool is quintessential 2000s superhero bombast with the distinct vibe of a classic buddy action movie. 

The story starts with Cable determined to use his powers to change the world for the better only to wind up before Deadpool, who is hired by a cult to steal a virus that will uniformly turn everyone’s skin color on Earth blue. Eventually, Cable and Deadpool obtain the power of teleportation, with the utterly ingenious caveat being that whenever it’s used, they both teleport. From there, Cable and Deadpool become an unlikely but dynamic pair – plus a later addition in Bob, Agent of Hydra – who come face to face with everyone in the Marvel Universe, from the Fantastic Four to the Avengers to the then-married power couple of Black Panther and Storm.

Cable & Deadpool sports an array of different artists, all of whom bring to the table their own individual styles. That said, there is a pretty criminal overuse in digital airbrushing, as well as an overall aesthetic you could describe as “American manga” (a strange phenomenon unique to the mid-aughts, when anime was still in the midst of discovery by the American mainstream). But no matter how it looks, Cable & Deadpool is a delight from page to page, and proof that the end of one thing is always the start of something new.

1. Deadpool by Gerry Duggan and Brian Posehn

As the dust settled on Avengers vs. X-Men, Marvel kicked off a new publishing initiative dubbed Marvel NOW. Among its biggest titles was a brand new monthly Deadpool series, co-written by veteran scribe Gerry Duggan and comedian Brian Posehn. 

Once again bearing the simple title of Deadpool, the series restored a lot of lost glory for the Merc with the Mouth, following Deadpool figuring his place in the wider Marvel Universe and enduring shocking revelations along the way. Minor spoilers, but at one point Deadpool meets his biological daughter, an adorable li’l mutant named Ellie Camacho.

The starting arc of Duggan/Posehn’s Deadpool is a doozy, in which an amateur sorcerer brings back the souls of dead U.S. presidents in hopes of – ahem, making America great again. (This came out in 2013, by the way.) While that first arc is divisive, the rest of the series is peak Deadpool, a masterful balance of DP’s antics and outrageous challenges with profound emotional angst. Across 45 issues, Duggan and Posehn’s Deadpool is the platonic ideal for anyone looking for a good time that goes for a long time.

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George Washington “G.W.” Bridge is a character that first appeared in Marvel Comics’ mutant heyday of the ‘90s, although he’s a regular non-superpowered human. All signs indicate he will make his MCU debut played by The Boys‘ Giancarlo Esposito in Captain America: Brave New World. But who is this gray-haired badass who can hold multiple gigantic guns just like Cable does? Here’s the Marvel Comics history of G.W. Bridge.

G.W. Bridge Debuts in X-Force #1

G.W. Bridge has the distinction of debuting in X-Force #1, which is still the second biggest-selling comic book of all time, behind only 1991’s X-Men #1. Artist Rob Liefeld and writer Fabian Nicieza co-created Bridge. They portrayed him as an African-American man, a bit on the older side, who was a Vietnam War veteran. In that first appearance, he had since become an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D, with the rank of Commander. Bridge preferred the name “G.W.” or just “George,” thanks to the fact that his full name George Washington Bridge embarrassed him since childhood.

Bridge Is Both Ally and Enemy of the Mutant Cable

When Cable took command of the New Mutants and turned them into X-Force, S.H.I.E.L.D. tasked G.W. Bridge with keeping tabs on them. This was due to a somewhat complicated past that Bridge had with X-Force’s leader Cable. Years earlier, G.W. Bridge was a member of the mercenary team that went by the name the Six Pack. This team was put together by a time-traveling Cable. He not only hired Bridge for the team, but also future X-Men like Domino.

The Six Pack took on all kinds of jobs, but their primary goal was to stop Stryfe, Cable’s clone who had followed him into the past. Although the Six Pack broke up with many members at odds, Bridge eventually patched things up with Cable, and was an unofficial liaison between X-Force and S.H.I.E.L.D. In the years after S.H.I.E.L.D., he also battled the urban vigilante Frank Castle, a.k.a. the Punisher. Bridge was married, but the supervillain Basilisk tragically murdered his wife Sandy. Fridging is a real dick.

G.W. Bridge’s Powers and Abilities

George Washington Bridge has no known super powers to speak of. However, he has formidable combat skills and is a military strategist of incredible efficiency. However, it’s possible he might have some kind of power that we’ve been unaware of until now. A villain named Microchip killed him, and he later returned to life, with his mysterious resurrection unexplained. Is he a mutant too? Or was the Bridge that died merely a Life Model Decoy? Seeing as Bridge worked for S.H.I.E.L.D., we’re leaning towards Life Model Decoy.

G.W. Bridge in Captain America: Brave New World and in The MCU

We’re not entirely sure what role G.W. Bridge will play in Captain America: Brave New World, or in the larger MCU going forward. He might be taking over Nick Fury’s role in S.H.I.E.L.D., now that Fury is off in space. Or maybe he’s part of a mercenary team tasked to take down Sam Wilson/Captain America (or the Red Hulk). Since he has much comics history with mutants, it’s possible he has a role in the upcoming MCU X-Men movie. Bridge is both an ally to Marvel’s heroes as much as he’s an opponent, so it’s anyone’s guess what role he’ll play within the MCU after Brave New World. Regardless, we know Esposito will absolutely slay this role, whether he’s a good guy or a bud guy version of Bridge.

The post Who Is Giancarlo Esposito’s Character G.W. Bridge from CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD? His Comics History, Explained appeared first on Nerdist.

Before Hugh Jackman’s long-awaited return to Logan in Deadpool & Wolverine, it’s a good time to revisit some classic tales of Canada’s most famous superhero, who turns 50 this year. Wolverine has maintained a solo comic title since 1988, with various mini-series and specials before that. But which runs are the best for the self-described “Best he is at what he does?” Our criteria for picking a top ten run is that the series has to feature Logan in a lead role, or have the name “Wolverine” in the title somewhere. Although a couple are technically team-up series, and one’s an X-Men book. However, the iconic mutant hero is front and center in each one.

10. Greg Rucka

with Darick Robertson, Leo Fernandez

Writer Greg Rucka is famous for writing definitive runs on Batman, Punisher, Wonder Woman, and many others. He also had a relatively brief run on Wolverine, which brought Logan into grittier territory than he’d been in for some time. In this run of issues, illustrated by Darick Robertson and Leo Fernandez, Logan takes on human traffickers, crime lords, and has a rematch with his mortal enemy, Sabretooth. Rucka also reinforces Logan’s friendship with his X-Men teammate Nightcrawler during his time on the title. This run doesn’t get as much attention as some others on this list. Yet it’s a solid run that deserves a revisit, and a spot on the greatest Wolverine runs ever.

Issues in Greg Rucka’s Wolverine Run

Wolverine (Vol.3) #1-19 (2003-2005)

9. Jason Aaron

with Chris Bachalo, Nick Bradshaw, Ramon Perez, and Pepe Larraz

Jason Aaron first gained fame for his years-long run on Thor. But he gave Logan a massive status quo change in his Wolverine and the X-Men series, where he turned the gruff loner into a headmaster for a school of mutant kids. After the death of his beloved Jean Grey, Cyclops and Wolverine have an ideological schism, splitting the team in two. As a result, Logan ends up taking charge of the newly named Jean Grey School as its headmaster.

All of this leads to many hilarious stories where Logan has to suddenly not just think about his own needs, but has to become a mentor to dozens of kids. While most Wolverine books rarely lean into comedy, Jason Aaron’s book is often hilarious. And it all blends with the mutant melodrama extremely well. As good as Aaron’s writing is, it’s complemented by some incredible art. Pencilers like Chris Bachalo, Nick Bradshaw, and others brought their A-game. Technically, this is an X-Men title, but since “Wolverine” is in the title and is front and center, we’re counting it.

Issues in Jason Aaron’s Wolverine and the X-Men Comic Run:

Wolverine & The X-Men (2011) 1-35, 38-42; Wolverine & The X-Men Annual (2011-2014)

8. Walter and Louise Simonson

with Jon J. Muth and Kent Williams

This one’s a bit of an oddball book, because it’s a title Wolverine shared with another X-Man, and many don’t remember it these days. Havok & Wolverine: Metldown is still an incredibly fun read, even today. Back in 1988, the X-Men were laying low in the Australian Outback meaning for a brief period, Logan was teammates with Cyclops’ brother, Havok. X-Factor and Thor writers (as well as spouses) Walt and Louise Simonson decided to put Wolverine and Havok together, caught up in an adventure when the two are on vacation in Mexico.

This story runs through a four-part Epic Comics mini-series, with gorgeous mixed media artwork from Jon J. Muth and Kent Williams. This story is very of its time, dealing with the partial meltdown of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in 1986, which we find out was actually an inside job that went out of control. (Yes, the “meltdown” in the title is literal). The whole thing was a plot that was actually concocted to trap the X-Men! Who knew? This story also has the wildest hair Logan has had in any comic series to date. That detail alone makes it an underrated gem.

Issues in Walt and Louise Simonson’s Havok & Wolverine: Meltdown Comic Run:

Havok & Wolverine: Meltdown #1-4 (1988)

7. Chris Claremont

with Al Milgrom

After the massive success of the 1982 4-part Wolverine limited series, it was inevitable there would be a follow-up. But writer Chris Claremont didn’t just want to do a Wolverine II. Instead he teamed up the grizzled Canadian mutant with the X-Men’s youngest member, Kitty Pryde, for a six-issue mini-series with artist Al Milgrom that takes the pair of X-Men on an adventure to Japan. This mini-series deepened the friendship of Logan and the teenage Kitty. Logan teaches his young protégé about the way of the samurai as they fight the ninja Ogun. Nowhere near as great as the first Wolverine mini-series, especially without Frank Miller’s art, however this storyline had a profound effect on the characters of both Logan and Kitty going forward.

Issues in Chris Claremont’s Kitty Pryde and Wolverine Comic Run:

Kitty Pryde and Wolverine #1-6 (1985)

6. Mark Millar

with John Romita Jr. and Klaus Janson

Fans have always wanted to see Wolverine fight his fellow heroes in the Marvel Universe. Well, in the first Mark Millar run on Wolverine, which lasted 12 issues under the Marvel Knights imprint, it finally happened. In this story, Logan gets brainwashed by Hydra and the Hand, becoming a living weapon for the notorious ninja clan. Throughout this storyline, Logan has to fight SHIELD agents, his fellow X-Men, and other Marvel heroes like the Fantastic Four. The storyline, which features premium summer-blockbuster action from writer Mark Millar and John Romita Jr., shows the heroes of Marvel racing to try to deprogram Logan before it’s too late. This run took place in Wolverine Vol.3 #20-32, and it collected as Wolverine: Enemy of the State.

Issues in Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.’s Wolverine Run:

Wolverine (Vol.3) #20-32 (2004-2005)

5. Paul Jenkins and Joe Quesada

with Andy Kubert and Richard Isanove

It was Uncanny X-Men writer Chris Claremont’s belief that Logan was far too popular a character to have his mysterious backstory ever fully explained. Claremont believed maintaining the mystery behind Wolverine’s backstory was key to his popularity. That edict lasted until the year 2000, when Marvel EIC Joe Quesada decided that if Marvel Comics didn’t tell Logan’s origin story, then Hollywood was going to. They beat the movies to the punch in a 2001 mini-series plainly titled Origin.

Quesada hired Paul Jenkins to be the mini-series writer and introduced and confirmed many bits of information. We learned that Logan’s real name is James Howlett, and he was the wealthy son of a Canadian plantation owner back in the 19th century. This finally confirmed just how old Wolverine really was. Jenkins cleverly reveals the genesis of Wolverine’s name Logan, his predilection for redheaded ladies, and so much more. What could have been a disaster ended up as a gorgeously told and tragic story, not done justice at all in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

Issues in Paul Jenkins, Joe Quesada, and Andy Kuberts’ Origin Run:

Origin #1-6 (2001-2002)

4. Barry Windsor Smith

When Wolverine became a star in Uncanny X-Men, writer Chris Claremont didn’t even reveal that Logan’s claws were a part of his actual body, and not just his gloves. He eventually revealed that his claws were part of an adamantium exoskeleton grafted onto his entire body. Logan wouldn’t let anyone know just how he got them. The answers finally came in this 12-part story in the anthology Marvel Comics Presents back in 1991, a milestone year for the X-Men brand, in a saga written and illustrated by the legendary Barry Windsor Smith, titled Weapon X.

This storyline details how the government’s top-secret Weapon X program captured a feral Logan, treating him like a test subject animal in order to create a living weapon. The art by Barry Windsor-Smith is next-level detailed, and his writing isn’t too shabby either. The hearts of readers everywhere broke for Logan, as his body and mind shattered thanks to the torture. The story’s main antagonist, Dr. Cornelius, is instantly a memorable villain, even if this is his one standout storyline. Hollywood has adapted or referenced this run in projects like X-Men: The Animated Series, X2, X-Men: Origins: Wolverine, and X-Men: Apocalypse. But the original is still the best.

Issues in Barry Windsor-Smith’s Wolverine Run:

Marvel Comics Presents #72-84 (1991)

3. Chris Claremont

with Frank Miller

No one at Marvel anticipated that Wolverine was going to be the breakout hero of the new X-Men series. By the early ’80s however, it was clear he was the star of the show. So in 1982, Marvel Comics decided to finally give Wolverine his own mini-series, written by Uncanny X-Men writer Chris Claremont, with art by Daredevil artist Frank Miller. This was only Marvel’s second-ever limited series, and became an instant runaway hit. Having two creatives from Marvel’s two top-selling titles made this series a must-have for comic book readers at the time.

This all-star creative team gave us a story about Logan journeying to Japan, his subsequent battles with the Yakuza, as well as the ninja clan known as The Hand and his doomed romance with Mariko Yashida. The art by Miller is kinetic and exciting, and unlike anything readers at the time were accustomed to in mainstream comics. Clocking in at just four issues, this story is a tight “one and done,” even if it did have a huge impact on Logan as a character going forward. This story is the main inspiration for the 2013 The Wolverine film.

Issues in Chris Claremont and Frank Miller’s Wolverine Run

Wolverine (Vol.1) #1-4 (1982)

2. Mark Millar

with Steve McNiven

Similar to Batman with The Dark Knight Returns, one of the ultimate Wolverine stories takes place in a possible dystopian future, where our hero has to contend with the mistakes of his past and return for one last fight. Written by returning writer Mark Millar and drawn in requisite detail by Civil War’s Steve McNiven, the story takes place in issues #66-72 of Wolverine in 2009. Titled “Old Man Logan, ” this saga is set in a future where superheroes are outlawed, and Logan lives on a remote farm away from civilization. He’s haunted by his past where the machinations of Mysterio forced him to kill all his fellow X-Men, believing they were the enemy.

Trying (and failing) to kill himself, he never popped his claws again, letting the Wolverine identity effectively die. But as always, one last mission calls, a chance for redemption. If Mark Millar wrote an excellent Wolverine thriller with Enemy of the State, he wrote the definitive Wolverine saga in Old Man Logan. The story is filled with cameos from Marvel characters, with special emphasis on the Hulk and Hawkeye. The themes of this run of comics helped inform the movie masterpiece Logan, but this story is a comic book masterpiece in its own right.

Issues in Mark Millar’s and Steve McNiven’s Wolverine Run

Wolverine (Vol.3) #66-72, Wolverine: Giant Size Old Man Logan Conclusion

1. Larry Hama

with Marc Silvestri, Mark Texeira, and Adam Kubert

Chris Claremont may have defined Wolverine as a member of the X-Men, but former G.I. Joe writer Larry Hama is the writer who really made Logan shine as an ongoing solo hero. Hama wrote Wolverine’s first ongoing series from issues #31-118 starting in 1988, then the tie-in Age Of Apocalypse miniseries Weapon X #1-4. Hama’s artistic collaborators were some of the most iconic artists to ever draw Wolverine, including Marc Silvestri, Mark Texeira, Adam Kubert, and Leinil Yu.

Hama’s run was so great throughout because he touched on every aspect of Logan’s character. We get traditional superhero yarns, spy stories, mutant espionage, ninja tales, and a battle or two with Wolverine’s mortal foe, Sabretooth. Hama wrote Wolverine for over six years, even during his bone claw phase, longer than anyone outside of Chris Claremont. And he certainly left his stamp on the character. This is the Wolverine run that all the others try to live up to.

Issues in Larry Hamas’ Wolverine Run

Wolverine (Vol.2) #31-119 (1990-1997)

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One of Marvel Comics’ most powerful villains is making his debut in Captain America: New World Order, taking on Sam Wilson. The Red Hulk, who is exactly what his name suggests, will soon throw down with the Sentinel of Liberty on the White House lawn. But the character who became Red Hulk, General Ross, has been around since 1962. Here’s the topsy-turvy comic book history of the Red Hulk, and what it means for his MCU future.

The Red Hulk’s Origins (as General Thunderbolt Ross)

Long before he was ever the Red Hulk, General Thadeus “Thunderbolt” Ross was a thorn in the side of the Incredible Hulk. He first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1, and thus, is a Stan Lee and Jack Kirby creation. From his inception, Ross has been portrayed as a gruff, trigger-happy member of the American military. He was a product of generations in his family serving in the military, going back to the Civil War.

Ross was the military attache of the gamma bomb project in New Mexico that turned scientist Bruce Banner into the Hulk. He resented that Dr. Banner, a scientist, was given the final say over the project over him, a decorated officer. Ever since, he had a single-minded obsession with capturing the Hulk. All of this is made more complicated due to the fact that his daughter Betty was the love of Banner’s life. If any villain ranks at the top in the Hulk’s pantheon of adversaries, it’s Ross.

General Ross, the Hulk’s Arch-Nemesis

In the early days, Ross was described as a veteran of World War II, now an Air Force General. He was excessively jingoistic, and hated the scientist Banner for being a “weakling.” He despised that his daughter was enamored with him, hoping she’d marry a military man. When Banner became the Hulk, he would do anything and everything to bring him in. He allied with outright villains like Abomination and the Leader, essentially committing treason, all in an effort to defeat the Jade Giant, who he saw as a manifestation of his failure. Ross was in charge of one effort to bring in the Hulk after another, heading up Operation: Greenskin, operating out of Hulkbuster Base.

The Death and Rebirth of Thunderbolt Ross

Ross spent years using his military muscle to to try to stop the Hulk, but to no avail. At one point, Ross even merged with the energy being Zzzax to try and stop the Hulk himself. His most heinous act came when he came to Bruce and Betty’s wedding with a gun, intending to shoot Bruce Banner, instead shooting Banner’s non-powered friend, Rick Jones. He finally realizes he has been wrong about Bruce all these years, and helps him fight a mutant threat with the last of his Zzzax powers. He dies in his daughter Betty’s arms, finally giving the couple his blessing. In the Marvel universe, however, death is rarely the end.

Ross is first brought back to life by the gamma-powered Leader, where he becomes his puppet. Eventually breaking free of that control with some alien help, he returns to his position in the U.S. Air Force. For many years, he remains a background character. He even becomes friends (to an extent) with Bruce Banner, until his beloved daughter seemingly dies from gamma poisoning, due to her proximity to the Hulk. His hatred for the Hulk then resumes unabated. It was 45 years after his creation, however, that Ross went through his biggest transformation as a Marvel character, when he became the Red Hulk.

The First Appearance and Origin of the Red Hulk

The Red Hulk first appeared in Hulk #1, back in 2008. This Red Hulk was the creation of writer Jeph Loeb and artist Ed McGuinness, with the intention of giving Hulk a true physical equal. The true identity of this crimson doppelgänger to the Hulk was a mystery to the readers, which Marvel teased out for a long time. Red Hulk came for many of Hulk’s usual foes, killing the Abomination and Wendigo, all proving he was just as strong as the green guy. He even took down a SHIELD Hellicarrier. Unlike the Hulk, who often displayed limited intelligence, Red Hulk was smart and cunning from the get-go. For two years, the true identity of Red Hulk was a secret.

How the Red Hulk Got His Powers

In 2010, in Hulk #23, Marvel revealed the truth about the Red Hulk. The supervillain M.O.D.O.K. had given General Ross the powers of the Hulk, using the organization Intelligentsia to create a new Super Soldier Program, recreating the accident that gave Banner his powers. Although previous stories had shown Red Hulk killing General Ross, as a way of throwing readers off, they eventually revealed that Ross was an artificial Life Model Decoy.

Why Is the Red Hulk Red?

M.O.D.O.K. combined gamma radiation with cosmic rays to give Ross powers, which gave the Fantastic Four their powers. The cosmic rays portion of the process made Ross turn red and not green, as it superseded the gamma part of the equation.

Is Red Hulk Stronger than the Green Hulk?

The Red Hulk’s powers are nearly identical to those of the Hulk. Unlike the green Hulk, however, Red Hulk can also emit heat from his eyes. While the Banner Hulk gets stronger the angrier he becomes, Red Hulk’s body temperature rises with his anger, creating heat that rivals that of the Human Torch. He has the power to absorb different types of energy, including gamma radiation. This extra power comes with a downside, though. Unlike Banner, Red Hulk can never revert to his human form, as it would instantly kill him. Because of the cosmic rays in his creation, Red Hulk has, in the past, had the ability to absorb the Power Cosmic from Galactus, even if it was for a temporary period of time.

Is Red Hulk a Villain or Hero?

In his earliest appearances, the Red Hulk was definitely a villain. Aside from murdering Abomination and Wendigo, he fought both Hulk and Thor. Eventually, he reformed, and became something of a hero again. He joined the Avengers, upon Captain America’s request, and later, the Thunderbolts. The team is not actually named after “Thunderbolt” Ross, but it was a nice coincidence anyway. He has (mostly) fought on the side of the good guys ever since.

General Ross in the MCU

In the MCU, William Hurt originally portrayed Thunderbolt Ross in The Incredible Hulk. He reprised the role for Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and Black Widow. He was portrayed as a military general in The Incredible Hulk, in much the same capacity he had in the comics. For later MCU films, he was Secretary of State, and someone who sought legislation against super powered operatives like the Avengers. Despite his conflict with the heroes, he was last seen at Tony Starks funeral in Endgame.

President Ross Becomes the Red Hulk in Captain America: Brave New World

For Captain America: Brave New World, Harrison Ford is stepping in for the late William Hurt. He is now President of the United States, seeking to get Captain America as a government operative once more. We don’t know how or why, but it seems like President Ross will eventually become the Red Hulk in this film, probably with the cooperation of the Leader, a returning Tim Blake Nelson from 2008’s The Incredible Hulk. At some point, Hulk will take on Captain America himself. Harrison Ford is expected to return for the movie Thunderbolts as well.

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The trailer for Agatha All Along just introduced us to several new witches to join Kathryn Hahn as the titular Agatha. Among them are Patti Lupone, Aubrey Plaza, and Heartstopper star Joe Locke as a male member of the coven. From the moment they announced his involvement, rumors ran rampant that he will play none other than the Young Avenger known as Wiccan, a character who also happens to be the son of the Scarlet Witch (more or less). Wiccan has become a major Marvel character since his 2005 debut, one of its most powerful magic users, and one of its most prominent LGBTQ heroes. Here’s everything you need to know about Wiccan before his (very probable) MCU debut in Agatha All Along.

Wiccan’s Young Avengers Marvel Comics Debut

The first thing to know about Wiccan is that his name wasn’t even originally Wiccan. Debuting in 2005’s Young Avengers #1, this new teen hero, created by Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung, originally teased the character as related to Thor. Billy Kaplan’s hero name was Asgardian, and the creators led readers to believe he had ties to the God of Thunder. However, Billy had ties to another famous Avenger instead, Wanda Maximoff, a.k.a. the Scarlet Witch, and to a certain extent, the Vision.

Wiccan, the Son of Scarlet Witch and the Vision

The true origins of Wiccan actually go back to ‘80s Marvel Comics. This was when husband and wife Avengers the Scarlet Witch and the android Vision left the team. Wanda and Vision moved to the suburbs and started a family, after Wanda gave birth to twins, William and Thomas. After a few years, they revealed that Billy and Tommy were only magical constructs, a mystical creation of Wanda’s. She subconsciously created both children from lost fragments of the soul of the demon Mephisto. They were never truly “real.” They eventually disappear, with the witch Agatha Harkness wiping Wanda’s memory of their existence. This was all loosely adapted in WandaVision.

Nearly two decades later, the Scarlet Witch nearly decimated the Avengers. This was in the 2004 event Avengers Disassembled, which saw Wanda lose control of her power. In the aftermath, the Vision activates a protocol to recruit new young heroes as the next generation of Avengers. Among those heroes is a teenager named Billy Kaplan, who could wield potent magical powers. At first, his spells allowed him mainly to fly and create lightning. So he emulated Thor in his superhero career, naming himself Asgardian. When he met the other Young Avengers, the gay teen hero met and fell in love with Teddy Altman, a.k.a. Hulkling, a teen Skrull who emulated the Hulk. Billy soon changed his codename to Wiccan.

How Can Teenage Billy Kaplan Possibly be Wanda Maximoff’s Son?

Billy Kaplan believed he was the eldest of three sons born to doctors Jeff and Rebecca Kaplan. And he was, in a manner of speaking. His soul, however, was the transposed soul of Wanda’s child, also named William. Whether he was the actual reincarnation of Wanda’s child, who somehow went back in time and was reborn to another family, or if he was the soul of Wanda’s son who took over the existing body of teenager Billy Kaplan, all remains a mystery. One prevalent theory is that the real William Kaplan died, possibly in an accident. Then the soul of William Maximoff “moved in,” retaining all of the original Billy Kaplan’s memories. This remains just a theory of Wanda’s however.

Wiccan Finds His Twin Brother, Speed

As a member of the Young Avengers, Wiccan’s powers grew rapidly. He had similar reality-altering, chaos magic powers as that of his mother. This fact scared many other heroes in the Marvel Universe. Billy eventually found his soul twin Tommy, now Tommy Shephard, the super-fast hero called Speed. He joined the team as well, and eventually, Billy and Tommy went on a search for the Scarlet Witch. They eventually found her, and she confirmed they were indeed the reincarnated souls of her lost children Billy and Tommy.

Wiccan’s Magical Powers

Wiccan has incredible magical abilities which allow him to warp reality, similar to his “soul mother,” Wanda Maximoff. Wiccan’s spells work by stating intent, focusing on that outcome, and making it happen. If he says “Iwanttolevitatethiscar,” he merely has to repeat that over and over, focus on levitating the car, and it happens. Among the spells Wiccan has cast are tracking spells, teleportation spells, illusions, concussive blasts, telekinesis, and astral projection.

Wiccan Becomes the Demiurge, and Prince Consort of the Kree-Skrull Alliance

Over the years, Wiccan’s powers have grown. The Asgardian Loki believed him to be something called the Demiurge, a reality warper with nearly godlike powers. Loki was correct in his assertions, as Billy eventually evolves into Demiurge status. As the Demiurge, he had the power to view the past, present and future, as even alter the universe at will. He eventually relinquishes the power to remain mortal, believing it would corrupt him. Doctor Strange himself has called Billy Kaplan one of the most powerful sorcerers on Earth, and believes he will eventually assume the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme.

Wiccan has stayed with his boyfriend Teddy through thick and thin. The pair served together on teams like the Young Avengers, Idea Mechanics, and the Guardians of the Galaxy. Eventually, they joined the proper “grown-up” Avengers squad. After many years of courtship, Billy married his longtime boyfriend Teddy Altman/Hulkling, who is the ruler of the Kree/Skrull Alliance. He became Prince Consort, and Court Wizard of the Alliance.

Wiccan in the MCU

How they will portray Wiccan in the MCU on Agatha All Along will no doubt be very different from his comic book appearances. We know Joe Locke is part of the witches coven from the trailer for the series, but that’s it. We also know the young actor who played preteen Billy on WandaVision and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is obviously not playing him. So how can this be Billy Kaplan/Billy Maximoff?

Our best guess is the MCU is going with the “transposed soul” theory for Billy (and eventually, Tommy). We think the soul of Billy Maximoff took hold of Billy Kaplan’s body, after the hex on Westview fell. Perhaps Billy Kaplan “died” in some kind of incident, and Billy Maximoff’s soul took residence. He might not even know what he really is. Hopefully, with The Marvels teasing a Young Avengers project, we’ll see Wiccan suit up as a hero before too long. We’ll have to wait and see when Agatha All Along premieres on Disney+ this fall.

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Two titans of the comic book publishing world are coming together to celebrate one of the medium’s most celebrated characters. They are also celebrating one of its greatest creators. Dark Horse Comics and Marvel are teaming up for The Art of the Amazing Spider-Man by John Romita, coming in Fall 2024. This oversized hardcover showcases several essays on Romita’s interior artwork, as well as covers. It also includes original art scans from the Marvel Comics archives. Aside from Peter Parker’s co-creator Steve Ditko, Romita is the most influential artist in Spidey’s publishing history. You can see the cover for The Art of the Amazing Spider-Man down below:

The Art of the Amazing Spider-Man is the first of a new collaboration series and imprint between Dark Horse and Marvel, called Bullpen Books. This follows up their Marvel collaboration with The Art of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. This new line of deluxe art books will honor the works of legendary Marvel Comics characters and creators. Spider-Man and John Romita are but the first of many. We expect to hear additional details about other books in the series very soon. Here’s what Dark Horse Comics’ John Lind had to say about this new Bullpen Books series:

Our initial projects will concentrate on exploring the extensive artistic and design legacy of Marvel Comics, including the substantial contributions made by its iconic creative teams. Combining the incredible depth and content within Marvel’s art archives with Dark Horse’s exceptional design and production will offer fans unparalleled editions of this material.

Meanwhile, Dark Horse President and Publisher, Mike Richardson shared:

I grew up with the Marvel characters and their creators from my earliest days, so I’m very excited about this new collaboration. We’re very excited about working with Marvel to highlight some of the greatest art and artists from their extensive library. I’m sure these books will be a special treat for comics fans everywhere

The Art of Amazing Spider-Man is available for pre-order at your local bookstore, comic shop, and various online retailers for a price of $59.99. This oversized (10” x 14”, 200-page) in-depth art book arrives in bookstores on October 15, 2024. It arrives in comic book shops one day later, on October 16, 2024.

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The tortured process of bringing a Blade reboot to life at Marvel Studios has been something to behold. Blade was first announced at Comic-Con in 2019, when Oscar winner Mahershala Ali stepped onto the stage to announce he would portray the Daywalker. Since then, it’s gone through multiple screenwriters, different production start dates, several release dates, and two directors. Yet Marvel has revealed very little about the film in all this time, aside from the basic info we already knew from comics and previous movies. Now, an article in The Hollywood Reporter has revealed a few key characters of the MCU Blade.

One of the main reveals is that the film would have featured two characters from the pages of Marvel Comics. The first was Blade’s daughter. We presume this is Bloodline, who first appeared last year in the comics. Named Brielle Brooks, she also has a thing for slaying the undead, just like dear old dad. Although a recent creation, the idea of Blade having a daughter goes back a few years. Marvel announced a series about Blade and his daughter in 2015, Back then, her name was Fallon Grey. That series never happened, and Bloodline came about seven years later instead.

Pearl and MaXXXine star Mia Goth was the other major comics character, the villain Lilith. In the comics, Lilith Drake is the daughter of Dracula, and has fought Marvel’s supernatural heroes many times. In the film, she would have wanted the blood of Blade’s daughter. Considering Blade began as a supporting character in Marvel’s Tomb of Dracula comics, it makes sense for him to fight someone related to the King of the Vampires in the MCU. In actual mythology, Lilith was the first wife of Adam, and the supposed source of many vampire mythology. Marvel Comics had their own take on the character, which likely inspired whatever Marvel Studios was working on.

It’s unknown if either of these characters will survive into the latest Blade draft from writer Eric Pearson. One of the first MCU Blade scripts took place in the 1920s, with the most recent one taking place in the modern day. Some characters from earlier scripts might not make the cut, if and when this movie goes before the cameras. Blade currently has no director attached, so it’s certainly not making its 2025 release date. In its article, The Hollywood Reporter notes, “The new plan [for Blade] calls for the script to be written over the summer and then go out to directors.” Hopefully, Marvel Studios can finally crack the code on Blade, and give us Mahershala Ali slicing and dicing the undead. This shouldn’t be the hardest movie in the world to get off the ground.

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Actress Lenore Zann has been providing the distinctive Southern belle voice of Rogue since the first episode of X-Men: The Animated Series in 1992. Now, 25 years since the last episode aired, she reprised the role for the Disney+ continuation, X-Men ’97. The show took everyone by surprise by just how excellent the writing and acting were, eclipsing the classic series. And a large part of why it was so good was Rogue’s unexpected character journey, which in many ways was the main emotional thread of the series. And it was all played brilliantly by Zann, without missing a beat. We chatted with Zann about returning to Rogue after all this time, and what the future holds for the sassiest X-Man at Xavier’s School.

Nerdist: So many old TV shows have had revivals recently after decades away, usually to mixed results. Did you ever think X-Men ’97 might end up as something that didn’t live up to the original ’90s series?

Lenore Zann: No. I really thought it would be a huge hit. Judging from the fans that we’ve been meeting over the last five years at Comic Cons, who just loved the original show and couldn’t wait to see more episodes of a new show. And we had no idea that a new show was going to be happening until about three years ago, I guess 2021. But as soon as I got the scripts, I knew they were going to be good. I knew it was going to be good, because really that’s what it was the first time around. The scripts were so damn good. The writing was excellent. It’s the same this time, too. Without a script, you don’t have anything. And the scripts were amazing.

Rouge kind of had the most iconic moments of the season, from throwing Captain America’s shield to going full rampage on the military base. You could see she had the biggest character arc of the season. Which of all of the moments was the most fun for you to play?

Zann: Well, of course I loved the meeting with Captain America and throwing his shield.
“Well, if your hands are tied, I guess you won’t be needing this.” So that was a lot of fun. But to be honest, also the emotional scenes with both Remy and Magneto in episode five. And then of course, the sad, tragic loss of my loved one, my soulmate Gambit. That was a gift for an actor to be able to play those beats and those emotions and be able to use my own personal emotions and experience to channel them into my character.

It had literally been 25 years since you played Rogue in the original X-Men series. Was it like riding a bike, or did you have to learn to be that character again?

Zann: I liken it to putting on a pair of well-worn, very fine, very comfortable gloves. You just put them on. You haven’t had them on for many years, and they just fit, and they feel good. For me, that’s how it is with Rogue. She is a part of me, and there’s a lot of me in her. So yeah, it was just a joy to come back to Rogue again.

For the entire original series, Rogue’s only romantic interest was Gambit. But for X-Men ’97, you got to have a romantic storyline with Magneto. What was it like for you to play a totally different romantic dynamic with someone else in the series?

Zann: Well, it was great. Again, for an actor, any of these scenarios are fun to play. But I did wonder if the public, if our fans would be upset because there are so many Gambit fans. and Rogue and Gambit, “Romy,” as they call them, fans. But it was fun. And I also knew where Rogue was coming from, that she really wanted to touch somebody and to be able to have that physical connection.

So in the scene in episode five, where she kisses Magneto, she comes down out of the ceiling, which is a great entrance. And then they dance very seductively, and touch palms like Romeo and Juliet almost. And then they kiss. But then she pulls away from that kiss and she says, “Thanks for the dance, sugar.” And then there was another line there, and I don’t remember what it was, but I said to [former X-Men ’97 showrunner] Beau DeMayo, who was there directing me, and I said, “Would it be okay if I said something else instead? Can I try something?”

He said, “Sure, try it.” And I said, “Thanks for the dance, sugar. But Remy was right. Some things are deeper than skin.” He had already said that earlier in the episode, and I just thought that that would be the button that was needed to let people know, love, true love, is deeper than skin. And on another level, it doesn’t matter what you look like. It doesn’t matter what skin color. Love, it transcends everything. And it’s the same for the LGBTQ community. So I thought it would really sing, and they kept it in. So I’m really happy about that.

You just mentioned the LGBTQ community, which I’m a part of. We have a huge connection to the X-Men. I think more than any other major nerd property actually. Do you have any stories of queer people coming up to you, talking about what Rogue and the X-Men have meant to them?

Zann: Absolutely. I was really pleased and honored to be able to be in the West Hollywood Pride Parade. And I went with my friend Morph, JP Karliak, and we had a convertible and we had a bunch of X-Men cosplayers, about 30 walking with us. And I thought that it was so important to be able to be there and make the statement that, “Hey, we are allies. We are yours. We belong to this community, too. And that we support you.”

So yeah, actually even since that parade, I’ve had two different young men come to me. I was in the Apple store, and I was having dinner somewhere else in Hollywood. And two different people said, “I saw you in the parade. I’m in the LGBTQ community. Thank you so much for being there. It meant a lot to us. And you made my childhood. You made us feel safe. Your show was a safe place for us to go. I could relate to Rogue. I’ve always loved Rogue.” It was really heartwarming. And this is what we hear over and over again.

Episode 5 was the turning point for the series. It’s when X-Men ’97 went from being just a nostalgic exercise, taking things to another level. And it had Rogue’s most heartbreaking moment, when she cradles Gambit’s dead body and says “I can’t feel you.” This asked you to go places as an actor the classic show never did. How did it feel getting to play the same character in a more grown-up and emotionally real setting?

Zann: No, because I’ve always been an extremely emotional actor. I have no problem going to the depths of my emotions and channeling them into a performance. And I’ve been known for doing a number of very strong performances, particularly in theater. When I was 19, I was discovered to play the role of Marilyn Monroe, in a rock opera about her life. And I was only 19 when I got it, and it was called Hey, Marilyn. I had to play her from the age of 16, all the way through her Hollywood years as Marilyn Monroe, to her final denouement at 36 when she died. And I had to do it all on a song on stage with 2000 people. So that was what kickstarted my career. If I can do that, then I can do anything.

You know a show has struck a nerve when it’s got plenty of memes, and the meme game for X-Men ’97 was wild. One of them had Rogue replicating the Kill Bill poster, saying “Kill Ya’ll” after Gambit died. What was it like seeing the reactions week to week, with the fandom so engaged? 

Zann: It was very funny. AJ LoCascio, who plays Gambit, and Matthew Waterson, who plays Magneto, we all get along really well. And we’ve all got a really good sense of humor. So we were sending each other these memes. But also, they were making memes about stuff we were doing in real life. Like when we went to a dinner with a whole bunch of people. And suddenly all the people were in one end of the room, and AJ was sitting by himself at one of the tables, and I was sitting with Matthew. I said, “Let’s do a photograph with AJ, showing him in his Gambit crop top by himself, over there at the table, and we’ll just gaze lovingly into each other’s eyes.” And then they shared that on social media, and then that became a meme. It was hilarious. It was a lot of fun.

After Genosha and Gambit’s death, Rogue chooses to go and join Magneto. Did that twist surprise you when you read it in the script, or was it something they told you Rogue was going to do from the get-go?

Zann: No, they didn’t tell me from the beginning. Again, I just found out as I got each script what was going to be happening, which I like it that way, so that I’m surprised as well. And then I can delve into it. But Rogue started off as a villain. And in these comic books, sometimes the heroes become the villains, back and forth, for various reasons. So I found that I thought it was very interesting.

And I thought, in a way, it made sense for Rogue at that point to find out that A: Magneto didn’t die. And B: that she’s starting to think that he could be right. As they say, “Magneto was right.” Which I think shows that Rogue, she wants to get vengeance. She wants to get justice for Remy, and also for all of the people that were killed in that genocide. And so she does what she does for a reason. But I am glad she came back by the end.

Are the any plotlines from the original series you wanted to see followed up on in X-Men ’97 that weren’t? I was a bit surprised the Rogue and her mother Mystique never had a moment.

Zann: I think it would be fun at some point to have some scenes again with Mystique. I’m not sure when it will come. We didn’t have any in this particular season. But I’m always interested in her relationship with Mystique because it’s definitely fraught with a lot of emotions. And anybody who’s ever had any mother issues can relate. But I was glad to see Nightcrawler playing a large role, and that was really lovely. The scenes between Rogue and Nightcrawler, Mystique’s son and her adoptive brother. I love it.

It was great that X-Men ’97 was a true ensemble show and not just the Wolverine show. Having said that, you and Cal Dodd didn’t have a ton of moments together. Can we hope to see some more Rogue and Logan moments in season two?

Zann: I can’t say. But there were a lot more Rogue and Storm moments in the original show as well. And in this show, they played up Jean and Storm being really close friends. Storm is one of my favorite characters, I just love her. And I think the way Alison Sealy-Smith plays her, with her incredible voice. She is like a goddess. And she’s done so much theater in Stratford and things like this. She’s perfect for the role. So I hope I get to do some more stuff with Storm in the future as well. And of course, Cal and Alison and I, and George Buza as Beast, we’re all good friends. And it’s always great to see them at Comic Cons when we have these various reunions.

Yeah. So where are you guys now with season two? Not in terms of what it’s going to be about, but have you guys recorded your lines? Where are you guys at?

Zann: I’ve recorded all my scenes for the whole season. A lot of people have, but a lot of people still need to be recorded. But the animation is what takes a long time. So they usually start with our voices, it’s called pre-lay. And then they do the animation to the voices. And then we come back for cleanups or pickups or line changes and things like that. Yeah, I’m excited and I can’t wait for season two to air, and I hope people really like it like they liked the first season.

What are your hopes for the future of Rogue going forward into, not just season two, but maybe season three and four, if we get that?

Zann: I am happy to do whatever the writers choose to do. I’m an actor at the end of the day. I take writers’ words and I try to make them live and breathe. And I’m up for anything really. I love her journey so far. I love her journey in season two. And I’m just looking forward to seeing where she goes from here. But at the end of the day, it is, we are a team and we have an amazing team. The artists, the writers, the music, the composers, the Newton brothers, the entire cast, the producers, the directors. It’s like lightning in a bottle. The way Larry Houston, our original director, likes to call it. He said, “We had lightning in a bottle the first time around, and we’ve had lightning in a bottle a second time,” which is just amazing.

When we first met the original writers again, Eric and Julia Lewold and Larry Houston. for the very first time, it was five years ago at a Comic Con in Texas where we were all invited to come. Cal Dodd, me, the rest of them, and the writers and the director. We had never met before, because back in the ’90s, we were performing in a studio in Toronto. And they, of course, were all in Los Angeles. And there were no cell phones then. There was no internet.

So we would record together in a group with a circle of microphones in the studio, and then they’d send the tapes to Los Angeles. I think they FedExed them or something. So when we finally met, we got along so well. And we all went out for a dinner one night at the end of this Comic Con five years ago, and I said, “Wouldn’t it be nice if somebody bought the rights to the X-Men, and decided to reboot the animated series and brought us all back again?” And we said, “Let’s toast to that, and let’s put it out there to the universe to manifest.” I’d like to have seven seasons and an animated film. And then a spin-off with Gambit and Rogue. I’d like to do that, too.

All episodes of X-Men ’97 are now available to stream on Disney+.

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A recent report about Deadpool & Wolverine director Shawn Levy being offered a fifth Avengers movie contained a spicy nugget of information. The next film is said to be bringing back a whopping 60 characters. You thought 30 main characters in Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame was massive? Marvel is going to try and outdo that. Now, we have a suspicion it’s 60 characters spread across two films—The Kang Dynasty (or whatever Avengers 5 is called) and Secret Wars. Regardless, 60 is a lot. And here are our best guesses on who makes the cut. And who doesn’t, and why.

The Variants

A lot of marquee Avengers are currently dead, really old, or exist in another studios’ universe, like Sony’s Spider-heroes. This is the Multiverse Saga though. We fully expect these variants from other realities to appear, if not in Avengers 5, then in Avengers: Secret Wars.

1. Iron Man/Tony Stark

The Tony Stark of the 616 universe might have died saving reality, but we’d be shocked if his variant, played by Robert Downey Jr., did not return. He recently said he’s “surprisingly open-minded” about a return. That tells us all we need to know.

2. Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff

Just like Tony, Nat died saving reality. But a variant of her must exist out there, ready to be Black Widow again. We expect Scarlett Johannson to return for an OG Avengers actor reunion.

3. Captain America/Steve Rogers

Technically, the 616 Steve is still alive. He’s just very, very old. But we want to see Cap in his prime throwing the shield, and the only way to do that is to get a young Cap variant from the Multiverse.

4. Loki

Technically, the Loki we meet in his own Disney+ series is a variant, even if Tom Hiddleston’s character is now the God of Stories, keeping the Multiverse functioning.

5. Spider-Man I

Since No Way Home, we’ve learned that the Tobey Maguire Spidey from the Sam Raimi films is a variant. So we expect to to see the classic cinematic Peter Parker show up in Avengers 5.

6. Spider-Man II

Everything we just said about Tobey’s Spidey applies to Andrew Garfield’s as well.

7. Thanos

The “Big Bad” of the Infinity Saga may have died, but another version exists out there. We expect to see John Brolin return as a version of the Mad Titan, even if he’s not the primary villain.

8. Captain Peggy Carter

Although the version of Captain Carter from Earth-838 was killed by an angry Scarlet Witch in Multiverse of Madness, the What If…? series showed us another is out there. We’d love to see her fight alongside Steve Rogers.

The Mighty Avengers

9. Thor

The God of Thunder is one of the primary core Avengers. No way Chris Hemsworth won’t come back for a reunion.

10 Hulk (Bruce Banner)

Mark Ruffalo is always game to play Bruce Banner. We can’t imagine the Jade Giant sits this one out.

11. Hawkeye (Clint Barton)

Clint Barton might be retired, but he’ll always come calling if the Avengers need him. Jeremy Renner seems like a shoo-in.

12. Nick Fury

The greatest spy on Eath’s solo series Secret Invasion may have disappointed most, but he’s an eternal presence throughout the MCU. Samuel L. Jackson needs to be there.

13. War Machine (James Rhodes)

After being wasted in Secret Invasion, here’s hoping we see Don Cheadle in the suit again in Avengers 5 and 6. Also, we will never believe the War Machine in Endgame was a Skrull. Stop trying to make Fetch happen.

14. Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers)

At the end of The Marvels, Carol Danvers has moved back to Earth, ready to be called to action. We can’t imagine Carol won’t return as Captain Marvel. Brie Larson’s cosmic protector is too powerful to leave benched for a big event.

15. Captain America (Sam Wilson)

Our new Cap, Sam Wilson, is definitely going to be on an Avengers team in whatever the new iteration of the team is. Count on seeing Anthony Mackie on the roster.

16. Ant-Man (Scott Lang)

Ok, so the third Ant-Man film didn’t set the world on fire. We still love Scott Lang, and Paul Rudd needs to be there for whatever happens in Avengers 5. And not just as a giant corpse, like in Deadpool & Wolverine.

We should note, we didn’t include Wasp, as Evangeline Lilly has announced she’s retired from acting for now. It is unlikely they’d recast her. We also think both Hank and Janet Pym have earned a happy retirement. Besides, those iconic actors, Michael Douglas and Michelle Pfeiffer, are expensive for the relatively tiny roles they’d play.

17. Vision

We expect an emotional reunion between Paul Bettany’s android who cries and his beloved Wanda in Avengers 5, after the events of his upcoming solo series.

18. Monica Rambeau

We’re not sure what her superhero codename is yet (Captain Marvel II? Photon? Spectrum?) But Teyonah Parris definitely needs to return for a fifth Avengers movie.

19. Spider-Man III (Peter Parker)

The friendly neighborhood Spider-Man of Earth 616, played by Tom Holland, is gonna be a key player. We fully expect this Peter Parker to have a big role in the Avengers going forward. And we are dying to see that Tony Stark/Peter Parker reunion.

The Mystics, and Those From Mystic Lands

20. Doctor Strange

He may not be Sorcerer Supreme anymore, but he’s still Earth’s most powerful mage. Benedict Cumberbatch will almost certainly return as Stephen Strange to help save reality once again.

21. Wong

The current Sorcerer Supreme, there’s no way Benedict Wong’s character won’t pop up. He will have to be there, wielding his sling-ring.

22. Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff)

Yeah, we know. Wanda Maximoff supposedly died in Multiverse of Madness. However, no body, no death. Those are comic book rules. We expect to see Elizabeth Olsen as the Scarlet Witch, decked out in red again.

23. Clea

Oscar winner Charlize Theron appeared in the end credits tag after Multiverse of Madness, but nothing has been done with that little cliffhanger. Now would be the time to call in Clea from the Dark Dimension.

24. Namor

We haven’t seen the undersea ruler since Wakanda Forever, but he’s been an Avenger in the comics. Now would be a good time for him to join up.

25. Shang-Chi

Carol Danvers and Bruce Banner welcomed Simu Liu’s Shang-Chi into the world of the Avengers at the end of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and it’s time to pay that off.

The Young Avengers

26. Cassie Lang

The daughter of Ant-Man, the now teenage Cassie has dad’s powers, and is a superhero in her own right. Hopefully, we’ll see Kathryn Newton suit up as a Young Avenger.

27. Ms. Marvel (Kamala Khan)

At the end of The Marvels, we see young Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) approach Kate Bishop about forming a Young Avengers team. We imagine if the Young Avengers are formed, they’ll play a part in Avengers 5, with Kamala leading the way.

28. Hawkeye II (Kate Bishop)

The arrow-shooting heroine is a lead Young Avengers hero in the comics, so we think Hailee Steinfeld will have to appear in this film, alongside her buddy Clint Barton.

29. Wiccan (Billy Kaplan)

Although not 100% confirmed, it seems that Joe Locke from Heartstopper is playing Wiccan in Agatha All Along. As a very powerful Young Avenger, we expect him in a big league Avengers film.

30. America Chavez

The dimension-hopping teen (Xochitl Gomez) played a big role in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. With the Multiverse being a big deal going forward, we doubt that she’ll miss Avengers 5.

The World of Wakanda

If there’s a reality-shaking event, then the citizens of Wakanda should be in the thick of it. We think some characters have earned a rest, like Nakia, but we expect most of these major players to be alongside the Avengers.

31. Black Panther (Shuri)

The current Black Panther, Princess Shuri, played by Letitia Wright, has to represent Wakanda in whatever world-shaking events will take place in the future Avengers.

32. M’Baku

At the end of Wakanda Forever, Shuri left M’Baku as the steward of Wakanda, until T’Challa II comes of age. So whatever big events happen that involve Wakanda, Winston Duke’s character will have to return.

33. Black Panther (T’Challa II)

We think thanks to time travel or Multiversal shenanigans, we’ll see an older version of T’Challa’s son take his place as the Avengers’ Black Panther in this movie.

34. Okoye

Although no longer head of the Dora Milaje, the Wakanda national is now a Midnight Angel. Time for this angel to join the Avengers on their next big screen

35. Ironheart (RiRi Williams)

Another character who debuted in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, this inheritor of the Iron Man legacy is set for her own Disney+ show soon. And we expect her to be part of a new Avengers movie.

The Streaming Series Stars

Ever since Netflix, and now Disney+, there have been several heroes who star in streaming series who need to make the jump to the big screen. We left off Jessica Jones and Punisher, only because their worlds are so extra street level, as to not fit into an Avengers story.

36. Moon Knight (Marc Spector)

We don’t know what the deal is with Moon Knight season 2, but we feel Oscar Isaac’s Avatar of Konshu should be there for whatever big Multiversal event takes place.

37. Daredevil (Matt Murdock)

The original Marvel Neflix star, the blind vigilante/lawyer is now officially a part of the MCU. Even if it’s just a cameo, we expect Charlie Cox to be swing by and knock a few bad guys out.

38. Luke Cage

The venerable hero of Harlem, we last saw Mike Colter’s bulletproof badass at the end of season two of his self-titled Netflix show. It’s time for him to join the big leagues and become an Avenger.

39. She-Hulk (Jennifer Walters)

We’re currently not sure if the gamma-powered lawyer is going to get another season of her Disney+ series, but Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany) definitely needs to lend her considerable strength to the Avengers for whatever is coming next.

40. Wonder Man

His show has yet to debut, but this longtime Avenger (played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen) needs to fight alongside his comic book teammates at some point. Why not Avengers 5 and 6?

The Thunderbolts

We have a strong feeling that many of the Thunderbolts won’t survive their own upcoming movie. But if any two are going to make it out alive, and into an Avengers 5, it’s these two.

41. The Winter Soldier (Bucky Barnes)

The former Hydra assassin and BFF of Steve Rogers, should the Winter Soldier survive the events of the upcoming Thunderbolts, actor Sebastian Stan should definitely to the role, and appear alongside the Avengers.

42. Yelena Belova

The adopted sister of Natasha Romanoff, Yelena Belova, played by Florence Pugh, has appeared in Black Widow, Hawkeye, and soon, in Thunderbolts. It’s time for her to graduate to Avengers status.

The Cosmic Heroes

After Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3, many of the original Guardians have earned their retirement from superheroing. Also, Zoe Saldana and Dave Bautista have made it very clear they are done with Gamora and Drax, respectively. Nebula has chosen to remain on Knowhere with Drax. And Mantis just wants a different kind of life now. This is why we didn’t include them.

43. Star-Lord (Peter Quill)

The former leader of the Guardians of the Galaxy, he returned home to Earth after decades to live with his grandpa. Now that he’s on Earth, Chris Pratt’s space hero will likely team up with the Avengers, and probably his former Guardian friends, one more time.

44. Rocket Raccoon

The irritable raccoon creation of the High Evolutionary, he now leads a new team of Guardians. If the Multiverse is in danger, we expect Rocket to show up and help save it. And maybe steal some stuff.

45. Groot

He is Groot.

46. Adam Warlock

A major Marvel hero with a relatively minor role in the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, an upcoming Avengers film might be the best plan to let a golden-skinned Will Poulter shine.

47. Valkyrie

The current King of Asgard, Valkyrie is always itching for battle. So we say let Tessa Thompson pick up the sword one more time and fight on the side of her buddy Thor and his fellow Avengers. Maybe bring that flying horse again.

The Marvel Mutants

48. Deadpool

With Shawn Levy in talks to direct Avengers 5, having completed Deadpool & Wolverine, we are pretty sure he’ll bring in Wade Wilson in a major role. We simply can’t imagine Ryan Reynolds not appearing in some capacity.

49. Wolverine

We don’t buy that Hugh Jackman’s Deadpool & Wolverine performance as being his last as Logan. Fool us once, good sir. He’ll be popping those claws as an Avenger. Or at an Avenger.

50-59. The X-Men

Yes, we think all of the original Fox X-Men are appearing in the last Avengers movies. We’re talking Cyclops (James Marsden), Storm (Halle Berry) Jean Grey (Famke Janssen), Rogue (Anna Paquin), Beast (Kelsey Grammar), Iceman (Shawn Ashmore) Professor X (Patrick Stewart), Magneto (Sir Ian McKellen) and Mystique (Rebecca Romijn), and Stefan Kapičić as Colossus.

60. Kang the Conqueror

Oh yeah, this movie needs a villain. Whether Avengers 5 is called The Kang Dynasty or something else, we are pretty sure the time-controlling villain will play a part. We’re also sure he won’t be played by Jonathan Majors this time. But some variant from the Multiverse will fill his shoes.

The post Who Are the 60 MCU Characters Returning For AVENGERS 5? appeared first on Nerdist.

In 1961, Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby changed comics forever with the arrival of the Fantastic Four on newsstands. This family of superheroes—Reed Richards, Susan and Jonny Storm, and pilot Benjamin Grimm—gained powers in a cosmic ray accident in outer space. Returning to Earth forever changed, this bickering quartet became Mister Fantastic, Invisible Girl Woman, the Human Torch, and the Thing, the celebrated superheroes known as the Fantastic Four. Running almost continuously since 1961, Fantastic Four pioneered modern superhero comics. In anticipation of their MCU debut, we present to you what we consider the 10 greatest creative team runs of Marvel’s self-proclaimed “World’s Greatest Comic Magazine.”

10. Steve Englehart

with John Buscema, Keith Pollard

Veteran writer Steve Englehart, who had written some of the best Avengers comics ever, had an unenviable task in 1987. He had to take over the Fantastic Four after a best-selling and critically loved run by John Byrne, who had left to revamp DC’s Superman. Now, Englehart’s two-year stint on the title post-Byrne isn’t anywhere near the former creator’s level. Yet it’s still very enjoyable, and added some fun wrinkles to the series. Reed and Sue left the team to be good parents to Franklin. So Steve Englehart replaced them with the new Ms. Marvel, Sharon Ventura, and Crystal of the Inhumans. Together with Human Torch and the Thing, it created a whole new team dynamic. Especially with “mom and dad” Reed and Sue gone.

Having Johnny’s ex-girlfriend Crystal on the team led to all kinds of romantic tension. Turning Sharon/Ms. Marvel into the She-Thing also ended up being a genius move. Toward the end of his run, Englehart was tasked by editorial to bring back Reed and Sue, which he hated. He made the entire last year’s worth of stories a dream sequence, and he was so unhappy with them that he wrote them under the pen name “John Harkness.” At the time, Keith Pollard’s pencils seemed a little old-fashioned compared to other comics, as was the work of the iconic John Buscema. If you ask us, they’ve aged like fine wine. Is it the greatest Fantastic Four run of them all? No, but it certainly deserves some recognition. If only for its big, weird swings.

Issues in Steve Englehart’s Fantastic Four Run:

Fantastic Four (vol.1) #304-333 (1987-1989)

9. Mark Millar

with Bryan Hitch

Writer Mark Millar, creator of Kick-Ass and Kingsman, wrote an updated version of the Fantastic Four for Marvel’s Ultimate universe. But the version he did with his Ultimates collaborator Bryan Hitch for the 616 universe is actually better, even if it doesn’t get as much attention. Less bombastic than his Ultimate Fantastic Four run, which leaned into shock value (a Millar trait), this relatively brief run only has 16 issues. Yet it’s still a very enjoyable read, which saw the return of Reed Richards’ old girlfriend Alyssa Moy, a creation from Chris Claremont’s run, and the creation of Nu-World. This is an alternate Earth created by the world’s greatest minds as a home for humanity when the world goes up. The fact that these stories are bolstered by Hitch’s incredible art sure doesn’t hurt. Were this a longer run, we’d likely rank it higher.

Issues in Mark Millar’s Fantastic Four run:

Fantastic Four (vol.1)  #554-569 and Annual #32 (2008-2009)

8. Chris Claremont

with Salvador Larroca

Writer Chris Claremont remains most famous today for his epic 16-year run on Uncanny X-Men. But after leaving Marvel and the X-Men comics in the early ‘90s, he returned in 1998 to Marvel’s First Family. This was the comic that got him hooked on Marvel in the first place. His run came at a controversial time for the Fantastic Four brand, after Jim Lee’s brief “Heroes Reborn” stint, which spun the team off into its own universe for a year. The following year, after a poor reception to the Jim Lee version, “Heroes Return” brought the team back to Marvel Universe proper.

Scott Lobdell was the initial writer for Fantastic Four vol. 3, but Marvel quickly replaced him with Claremont with the third issue. Now, Claremont’s run on the team didn’t set the world on fire the same way his X-Men run did. The first year of the comic leaned too heavily on former X-Men plot elements. However, it is worth reading. This was not only because of Claremont’s clever handling of the team’s family dynamics, but also for the stunning art of Salvador Larroca. Claremont introduced Sue and Reed’s daughter (originally thought to be Doom’s) Valeria Von Doom/Valeria Richards in this run, one of the few modern FF characters who has had a long shelf life beyond one creator’s run.

Issues in Chris Claremont’s Fantastic Four Run:

Fantastic Four (vol.3) #4-32, Annuals 1999 and 2000 (1998-2000)

7. Tom DeFalco

with Paul Ryan

This run by writer (and former Marvel EIC) Tom DeFalco doesn’t ever get the credit it deserves. It came at a time when everything gaining attention at Marvel was X-Men, Spider-Man, or Punisher adjacent. In addition, DeFalco’s writing and Paul Ryan’s art was very “old school,” in an era when everything was about being flashy and over the top. But this creative team, while not reinventing any wheels, was very good at classic Marvel Comics soap opera yarn spinning.

For five years, you never knew what was going to happen from issue to issue. As a reader, you always wanted to know what would happen next. Human Torch’s wife might actually be a Skrull agent, or Reed and Dr. Doom might die together (and stay dead for a year). No plot twist was off the table, and the book was just plain fun to read. Yes, there were missteps and desperate attempts to try and stay hip. For example, Sue Storm’s “sexy” costume, or disfiguring the Thing so he had to wear a menacing helmet. Nevertheless, De Falco and Ryan’s tenure remains extremely fun, deserving its place among the best FF runs.

Issues in Tom DeFalco’s Fantastic Four run:

 Fantastic Four (vol.1) #356–416, 645, Annual #25 (1991–1996)

6. Dan Slott

with Sarah Pichelli, Aaron Kuder, Paco Medina, R.B. Silva, Rachael Stott, Francesco Manna.

After Marvel’s event series Secret Wars in 2015, the Fantastic Four went on an extended hiatus. The team took off into the Multiverse, perhaps never to be seen again. For the first time since 1961, Marvel would not publish a regular Fantastic Four series. Of course, within a few years, the FF was back. Amazing Spider-Man writer Dan Slott relaunched Fantastic Four in a new volume with a new first issue. For four years, Slott guided the FF through a world that grew accustomed to not having them around.

During his run, Slott finally married Ben Grimm and Alicia Masters after a sixty-year courtship, and the pair became adoptive parents to alien kids. He gave Reed Richards one of the coolest inventions in a long time, the Forever Gate, an artificial nexus of realities owned by the FF. This is the most recent Fantastic Four run on the list, ending only in 2022. While controversial to some, as Slott’s work often it, this run is an extended love letter to the FF, and a highly enjoyable era for the team.

Issues in Dan Slott’s Fantastic Four Run:

Fantastic Four (vol.6) #1-46 (2018-2022)

5. Walter Simonson

with Arthur Adams

Steve Englehart’s run on Fantastic Four, which followed up John Byrne’s, was interesting and often bizarre, but not groundbreaking or modern in the way fans wanted. So enter writer/artist Walter Simonson, fresh off a groundbreaking run on The Mighty Thor. Simonson didn’t do away with any of the previous run’s stranger additions, even including the controversial She-Thing from Englehart’s run. Despite the title still having the name Fantastic Four, the team was essentially the Fantastic Five at the time. Simonson brought modern kinetic energy to Fantastic Four that had been missing since Byrne’s run, and fans loved it.

Simonson’s imagination was big, and his art style was often otherworldly and widescreen in scope. During his brief time on the title, he introduced concepts like the Time Variance Authority, now famous thanks to Loki. Simonson also brought a much-needed sense of humor to the usually stodgy team. During his run, he also introduced the “new” Fantastic Four, comically consisting of just super popular heroes like Spider-Man, Hulk, Wolverine, and Ghost Rider. These meta commentary issues came with an art assist from X-Men’s Art Adams. Speaking of art, Simonson’s pencils were never better than in Fantastic Four, celestial and grandiose, truly befitting a family of cosmic explorers.

Issues in Walter Simonson’s Fantastic Four Run:

Fantastic Four (vol.1) #333-354 (1989-1991)

4. Mark Waid

with Mike Wieringo, Karl Kesel, Howard Porter

Writer Mark Waid was already one of comics’ brightest stars when he took over writing duties on Fantastic Four in 2002, coming off iconic runs at DC on books like The Flash. Together with his Flash collaborator, the late, great artist Mike Weiringo, they gave the series a nice shot in the arm, embracing the past while forging new territory. For the first time in a long time, the FF felt like cosmic explorers again, or as Waid profered, “Imaginauts.” He also made the series funny, reminiscent in a way of DC’s Justice League International. It’s likely that Waid’s run partially inspired the first Fantastic Four movie’s light tone. Only the comics did it way better.

During this era, the team has to face one of Reed’s mathematic equations that gains sentience, and a new Frightful Four. There’s also a glow-up for Johnny Storm, who becomes the team’s C.F.O, and has to manage their IP. But it wasn’t all goofy fun in Waid’s run. The “Unthinkable” arc is one of the best Doctor Doom stories ever, which sees the Latverian ruler embrace supernatural power over scientific prowess to defeat his rival Reed Richards. Things got pretty out there in this run, with the Human Torch becoming the Herald of Galactus, and the team even meeting God when they need to rescue one of their own from the afterlife. And (spoilers) God looks just like legendary artist Jack Kirby. How can one not love that?

Issues in Mark Waid’s Fantastic Four Run:

Fantastic Four (vol.3) ##60-70, (vol.1) #500-524 (2002-2005)

3. Jonathan Hickman

with Dale Eaglesham, Steve Epting, Barry Kitson, Ron Garney, Neil Edwards, Nick Dragotta, Mark Brooks, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Ryan Stegman

Before writer Jonathan Hickman had groundbreaking runs on X-Men and Avengers, he tackled Marvel’s First Family. Under Hickman’s watch, he focused on redeeming Reed Richards, as Mr. Fantastic had suffered the most in recent years for his role in Civil War. This Mr. Fantastic dedicated his mind to solving everything. Literally, everything that is broken in existence. What could go wrong? Reed faced many Multiversal (and smarter) versions of himself known as the Council of Reeds, and the team got a big expansion of their mythos with the addition of the Future Foundation, a team of young geniuses operating out of the Baxter Building. Spider-Man even became a member for a time, finally joining after trying out in Amazing Spider-Man #1 in 1963.

Hickman’s Fantastic Four, and its companion series simply titled FF, also featured incredible artwork from artists like Dale Eaglesham, Steve Epting, and others, which was the perfect compliment to Hickman’s big-brained concepts. Perhaps most importantly, the Hickman run was ground zero for the 2015 Secret Wars event, one of the best sagas in modern Marvel history, and perhaps the greatest Reed Richards/Dr. Doom story of all time. When Hickman first took over the title, it flew under the radar. By his exit, it stood as one of the all-time best Fantastic Four runs.

Issues in Jonathan Hickman’s Fantastic Four Run:

Dark Reign: Fantastic Four #1-5, Fantastic Four #570-611, FF #1-23 (2009-2012)

2. John Byrne

When writer/artist John Byrne took over the Fantastic Four in 1981, he was coming off a legendary run on Uncanny X-Men. Although FF was still selling well, every creative team since Lee and Kirby left a decade earlier played it relatively safe with the concept of the Fantastic Four. Not Byrne however. In Byrne’s five-year run, he shook up the status quo that existed for years. For the first time in their history, he gave the team new costumes. He broke up the Thing and his longtime girlfriend Alicia Masters, and actually had Alicia start dating Johnny Storm. Absolutely nothing was sacred. Fantastic Four felt fresh again, and sales soared.

Byrne upgraded Sue Storm from the timid Invisible Girl into the Invisible Woman, now the most powerful member. Speaking of powerful women, he had She-Hulk replace Ben Grimm on the team for a long time, changing the dynamic of the group by adding someone outside the family for an extended period. And his “Trial of Galactus” story still stands as one of the best FF sagas ever. That story is really the trial of Reed Richards, who the galaxy holds accountable for letting Galactus live. Byrne’s art was at its peak during this era, and his strengths in telling cosmic soap operas were never stronger. For the first time since Lee and Kirby left, under Byrne Fantastic Four truly was “the World’s Greatest Comic Magazine” once more.

Issues in John Byrne’s Fantastic Four Run:

Fantastic Four (vol.1) #232-294 (1981-1986)

1. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby

Much like Chris Claremont’s Uncanny X-Men was the only choice for “best X-Men run ever,” Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s seminal run on Fantastic Four is the only choice for the best FF run. It’s not even up for debate. When Lee and Kirby created the FF in 1961, they didn’t only change comics, they essentially created the Marvel Universe as we know it. During their nine-year, 102-issue run, Lee and Kirby emphasized flawed characters in a way superhero comics had never done before. Kirby’s pencil work expanded the limits of comic book art and storytelling at the time, and suddenly comics weren’t just for little kids anymore. Every single Marvel comic that came after owes a debt to Fantastic Four in some way.

How important was the Lee/Kirby Fantastic Four? During their near decade-long collaboration, readers were introduced to Doctor Doom, the Negative Zone, Black Panther, Adam Warlock, the Inhumans, Galactus, and the Silver Surfer. That’s just naming a few by the way. Sure, some of it is very “of its time” in a big way. Particularly the sexist treatment of Invisible Girl. These comics are 60 years old now after all. Regardless of dated flaws, this run is the bedrock of everything Marvel is built on. It will always be the greatest Fantastic Four run of all time. No matter how good anyone else’s work on the book is, they stand on the shoulders of Lee and Kirby.

Issues in Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s Fantastic Four Run:

Fantastic Four (vol.1) #1-102 (1961-1970)

The post The 10 Greatest Fantastic Four Comic Book Runs of All Time appeared first on Nerdist.

Giancarlo Esposito is a veteran working actor who ascended to “TV’s greatest villain” thanks to his roles in Breaking Bad, The Mandalorian, and The Boys. And he’s long made his intentions very known about wanting to be a part of the MCU. For a long time, he campaigned to play Professor X in the MCU’s X-Men reboot. But now it seems he snagged another MCU role, one he described as appearing briefly first (probably a post-credits cameo) and then in a larger capacity in a Disney+ series. Here’s what he said:

I cannot promise you it’ll be Professor X, because here’s what I think. I think that there’s something about being original. We’ve seen different versions of Professor X. Wouldn’t you like to see me play a character in a Marvel movie who is original, and new, and fresh? So, mark my words: This will happen sooner than you think.

Thanks to a photo of Giancarlo Esposito in costume that appeared online, it seems Esposito is showing up first in Captain America: Brave New World. Based on these criteria, these are our guesses for Esposito’s upcoming MCU role. A reminder, Esposito said “new and fresh,” which makes us think he’s not a previously established Marvel movie character. Yes, we also realize all of these are villains or adversary-type roles. At this point, it’s clear Esposito has no problem leaning into his talents at playing Machiavellian villains. This is a guy who loves playing baddies, so we’re taking that into account.

Henry Peter Gyrich

Recent set photos show Giancarlo Esposito on the set of Captain America: Brave New World, looking very much like himself and not in some Mocap suit, only strapped with knives and wearing a jacket and sunglasses. He definitely looks like some kind of government agent type. Could he be playing Henry Peter Gyrich? That character in the comics has a long history of being an adversary to both the X-Men and the Avengers. In X-Men lore, he helps fund the robotic Sentinels through Project: Wideawake, who try to destroy mutantkind.

In the classic X-Men: The Animated Series, Henry Gyrich even tries to assassinate Charles Xavier. In the comics, before he became an X-Men villain, he was the government stooge attached to the Avengers, who tried to control their membership limits and who was on the team. The way Esposito is working those sunglasses, he could be Gyrich. He’d appear first in Captain America, before perhaps playing a bigger part in a future mutant-related Disney+ series. We know Esposito stressed this was a new role, and Gyrich appeared in X-Men in 2000. That appearance was just a cameo though, so we think it doesn’t really count. Right now, Gyrich is our #1 choice.

Baron Blood

First appearing in 1976, Baron Blood is a vampire villain who often fought Captain America. In the pages of Marvel Comics, John Falsworth was a British aristocrat, who during the early part of the 20th century was transformed into a vampire by Dracula himself. He fought Captain America and the Invaders during World War II, and eventually, he (and those who succeeded him in the title) became an enemy of Blade, the Vampire Hunter. We could see Esposito playing a version of Baron Blood, perhaps having a supporting vampiric role in the eventual Blade reboot, before starring in a potential Midnight Suns series as the lead villain. If you saw Abigail, you know Esposito was born to play the undead. Maybe he appears as Blood in the modern-day in Captain America: New World Order first? Although, those set pics show him in broad daylight. Another Daywalker?

Mister Sinister

Almost all of the major X-Men villains have appeared in live-action during the Fox era. So when Kevin Feige reboots Marvel’s mutants for the MCU, there is going to be a lot of new versions of classic characters. Yet one major X-Men villain has never shown up in live-action, and he’s rumored to be the “Big Bad” of the MCU X-Men, and that’s Mister Sinister. The nearly immortal, 19th-century geneticist (real name Nathaniel Essex) is the perfect erudite and scheming villain that Esposito has made his name playing. And with Sinister, he’d be introducing a role to live-action, not having to do a part someone else made famous already. We could see him cameo first in his Nathaniel Essex persona, before appearing in a Disney+ X-Men related series.

The Mad Thinker

First appearing as an adversary in Fantastic Four, the genius scientist the Mad Thinker was infamous for creating one advanced A.I. after another. These machines ranged from the android Quasimodo to the Awesome Android. Julius (his only known name) was a recurring thorn in the side of the FF. Yet with his robotic know-how, he could be a real threat to someone like the Vision. We think it’s possible that Esposito is cast as the Mad Thinker, who may appear in Captain America: New World Order, then later perhaps in Fantastic Four. Then later, he could become the primary antagonist in the upcoming Vision series for Disney+.

Originally published on May 28, 2024.

The post Which Marvel Character Is Giancarlo Esposito Playing in the MCU? appeared first on Nerdist.

2024 is shaping up to be the year of Deadpool & Wolverine, not just on the big screen, but also in the pages of Marvel Comics. The publisher has announced The Weapon X-Traction Saga, an event story starring Logan and Wade Wilson that will run through several titles this summer. Instead of appearing in its own series, this storyline will be a backup feature, at no extra cost, through eight ongoing Marvel titles. Weapon X-Traction Saga is written by Ryan North (Fantastic Four) and illustrated by Avengers artist Javier Garrón. You can read the official synopsis below:

Weapon X-Traction kicks off when a weary Wolverine runs into a clingy Deadpool at a favorite watering hole. From this humble beginning, they embark on an epic journey of non-friendship that will carry them across the Multiverse, battling zombies and gun-wielding librarians and—of course—one another!

The first issue for this storyline is Incredible Hulk #14, hitting in July. Fitting, as that’s the same month Wolverine & Deadpool arrives in theaters. It’s also fitting that this storyline kicks off in an issue of the Incredible Hulk series in particular. In July 1974, Wolverine made his debut in Incredible Hulk #181. So his starting a saga this big where he got his start fifty years ago just feels right. Marvel has yet to reveal which other titles this storyline will unfold in. Additionally, a release from Marvel shares that “Fans will also find that each issue containing an installment of the saga will have a special WEAPON X-TRACTION VARIANT COVER” that celebrates Deadpool & Wolverine. Cute.

Although the character of Deadpool hit the scene almost two decades after Wolverine, the pair of frenemies have long been synonymous with one another. Mainly thanks to their similar powers via the Weapon X program, and their not-so-similar demeanors. Lest we forget, Ryan Reynolds’ version of the Merc with the Mouth actually first appeared in live-action in a Wolverine movie. Although, we do think Reynolds would like us to forget that actually.

The first chapter of The Weapon X-Traction Saga arrives this July. You can check out the full line-up below.

On Sale 7/17
INCREDIBLE HULK #14 Deadpool & Wolverine Weapon X-Traction Teaser Variant Cover by Javier Garrón

On Sale 7/24
CAPTAIN AMERICA #11 Deadpool & Wolverine Weapon X-Traction Variant Cover by Steve McNiven
FANTASTIC FOUR #22 Deadpool & Wolverine Weapon X-Traction Variant Cover by Steve McNiven

On Sale 7/31
SPIDER-GWEN: THE GHOST-SPIDER #3 Deadpool & Wolverine Weapon X-Traction Variant Cover by Ryan Stegman​​​​​​​
IMMORTAL THOR #13 Deadpool & Wolverine Weapon X-Traction Variant Cover by Jorge Molina

On Sale 8/7
AVENGERS #17 Deadpool & Wolverine Weapon X-Traction Variant Cover by Cafu​​​​​​​
THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MEN #6 Deadpool & Wolverine Weapon X-Traction Variant Cover by Declan Shalvey

On Sale 8/14
X-MEN #2 Deadpool & Wolverine Weapon X-Traction Variant by David Nakayama

Originally published on February 23, 2024.

The post Deadpool and Wolverine Marvel Comics Event Story Coming This Summer appeared first on Nerdist.

Creator Rob Liefeld made a name for himself in the early ’90s, first at Marvel Comics, and then later, as a founder of Image Comics and Extreme Studios. But of all his creations, none have become more iconic than “the Merc with the Mouth,” Deadpool. Now, after three decades, Liefeld is retiring from the character, with the new 5-issue series Deadpool Team-Up. For his swan song to Wade Wilson, Liefeld is teaming him up with some iconic Marvel heroes, and some very obscure ones. We got to chat with Liefeld about his grand Deadpool finale, the character’s early days, and his hopes for the upcoming film starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman.

Nerdist. You created Deadpool back in 1991, for New Mutants. And now you’re telling your last Deadpool story with Deadpool Team-Up. Is this a story where you’re just letting yourself do everything you wanted to do with the character one last time?

Rob Liefeld: Yes. I did several hundreds of pages worth of Deadpool in the last several years, since about 2017. And it was a specific story I was telling about a character that had a grudge against Deadpool. But it was not as weird and crazy as this is. And I decided… “Deadpool doesn’t have enough of a rogue’s gallery because he had zero rogue’s gallery.’ I told Marvel, “How did you go 20 years and not give him a Joker, a Sabretooth, somebody like an echo?” And so that was my intent when I did Deadpool: Bad Blood, Deadpool: Badder Blood. Look, Deadpool: Bad Blood blew up, sold out, $25 hardcover, number one on the charts. It was very well received.

Then, I did the sequel. But I thought, “You know what?” We’ve all had talents and artists, maybe it’s a musician, sometimes it’s an athlete. They stay a little too long at the dance. And right before the year ended, Marvel said, “Can you do a story in this special that we’re putting out? We would like to include you.” So I did a 10-page story in Deadpool: Seven Deadly Sins. And I literally went back and touched on kind of a weird character that I had introduced in 2004 in the pages of X-Force. And that was when I thought, “If I want to go out, I’m going to go out weird.”

The reason that I approached it this way is that I think I’m doing work that I think is really accomplished in regard to how it’s all coming out. Everything comes together the way I see it in my head, which was not always that way. And we’ve all had artists that stayed too long, they slip. I’ve know artists that I was huge fans of that don’t draw or create images anything like the way that they used to. So I said, “You know what? I can’t do this forever, so I should go out on my terms.” I talked to Marvel about it. And the long answer is yes, this is super weird and strange, with obscure Marvel characters, which is the kind of stories that I grew up on.

Back in the early 90s, you were creating characters at Marvel and Image at lightning speed. Did you ever have any inclination back then that maybe Deadpool would be the one that stuck in the pop culture consciousness the way he did, or did it take you by surprise?

Liefeld: He’s on the cover [of his first appearance in New Mutants #98]. He’s in the front. If the artist puts the character in the front, that character is the one you’re supposed to connect to. I can tell you the process, and it’s very consistent over all these years. Cable came out of nowhere, completely a reflection of me, who I was. There’s another editor at Marvel who can attest to this, I was about to take over Alpha Flight. Guess who was going to be an Alpha Flight? Cable. He was part of my Alpha Flight proposal. Then they said, “Rob, we really want you to do New Mutants.” I said, “I have to bring Cable with me.” And so then I formulated Cable into the New Mutants. Sales went through the roof.

They offered me X-Factor. There was no way I was doing X-Factor. I would’ve fallen flat on my face. I was not ready at that point in my career to do the original X-Men, to follow Walt Simonson, a god of comic books. And I said, “New Mutants, I can fix that house up. I can flip that. I can make that a fixer-upper, but I need all these things.” And Cable, boom, sales took off. And look, the last issue of New Mutants was the top-selling X-Men book of the month. That month, February 1991, New Mutants out-sells X-Men. No special bells, whistles, acetate, glow in the dark, scratch and sniff, nothing. It’s just a comic book with a story. And people showed up and they dug it.

And New Mutants #100 was after issues 99 and 98. With issue 98, they let me write the book and I said, “I’m bringing a whole bunch of stuff with me.” Look at all those… In ’98 and ’99, you got Deadpool, Shatterstar, Domino, Feral. I just crowded. I had very little time to work, but it is of legend at Marvel. They got the most mail on a new character in a decade with Deadpool. X-Force #1, suddenly he had to be on a trading card in X-Force going out at 5 million copies.

They said, “Rob, you need to move up. You have him appearing in issue seven. We can’t wait that long.” I love that they were able to have the data in their hands and say, “Rob, this character’s working with the fans.” So that’s why the cover of X-Force issue 2 is not Cable. It’s Deadpool. Like you said, I was super prolific. I was built for this shit, dude. I was built in a lab to make comic books and I was up for it. And yes, I knew Deadpool would be popular because he’s red and black like Spider-Man. I literally was thinking “Todd [McFarlane] is having a lot of success with Spider-Man. And not only that, Eric Larsen, my two peers, they’re both kicking ass on Spider-Man. And do you know how much easier it is to draw Deadpool than to draw Spider-Man?

Look, a face, eyes, nose, it’s harder to draw Josh Brolin than it is to draw a red shape with big black eyes. And I’m like, “Now I got my own Spider-Man, except he has guns and he has swords.” Because the G.I. Joe generation, Snake Eyes, we love that stuff. And boom, he clicked. And like I said, there’s a reason. People forget. I get called out all the time. People say “you didn’t have Deadpool tied into Weapon X.” I’m like, “Oh, so you never read X-Force number two that came out in 1991?” And then they go, “I thought Grant Morrison made this connection.” No, it was me. It was me. I was making those connections.

In the previews for this series, it shows Wade teaming up with characters like Spider-Gwen, the Hulk, and Wolverine. Why make your last Deadpool story a team-up title?

The thing is, when I was a kid, Marvel Team-Up and Marvel Two-in-One were both showcases for Spider-Man and the Thing, because Fantastic Four and Spider-Man were the top two franchises in the mid-70s. And Marvel Team-Up and Marvel Two-in-One always had them standing next to relatively obscure characters because they wanted to use the showcase to feature the other characters in the deep bench of the Marvel universe. So while Wolverine and some of the popular characters would pop up every now and then, they’d do some really weird characters I would never have heard of if I didn’t buy Marvel Team-Up and Marvel Two-in-One. And both of those had really long runs and I wish that those books were still out.

But when I told Marvel, “Hey, I want Deadpool in a story with Ral Dorn.” And they’re like, “Rob, who is that?” I think, “I have these people at Marvel who don’t know who Dragon Lord is.” I say, “This is by Steve Ditko. He freaking created Spider-Man for you. You should know these things.” So then I built the story around Dragon Lord who appeared once in this one annual, but has magic multidimensional realms, dragons. And I figured this is a total change of pace. This is not the Deadpool that I’ve done before.

Obviously, a character like Wolverine seems like a no-brainer for this book, but any particular reason why you had Hulk and Ghost Spider?

She’s super cool, and I want to draw her before I retire. That’s it. The reason Hulk is in there because I can work Hulk into anything. And I’ve drawn Spider-Man. Instead, I want to do Spider-Gwen. So Crystar and Dragon Lord are my weird obscure characters. Then there are your Liefeld creations like Major X and Lady Anime who are introduced in previous works I’ve done that I’ve pulled in. And then you’ve got your big bold Marvel names with Hulk, Wolverine, and then obviously, now Spider-Gwen.

I did a five-issue G.I. Joe Snake Eyes book because I had to do it before my career was over. I crossed it off the bucket list. I have kind of done everything and I’m going to go back to just doing my own stuff and finish my career doing stuff like that. Really, I do believe it’s been an amazing career. Marvel and I have gotten along so great, especially the last decade has been so much fun. My readers, the publisher, everybody has been fantastic. It is a really fun place to work, and I think they always just let me do my own thing. Every time I’m worried about fitting into continuity, they say, “Rob, just do whatever you want.” That’s what every artist lives for. “Do whatever you want.” It’s a very nice existence.

I’m an ‘80s kid, so I am very familiar with Crystar, the Crystal Warrior comics and toys. It was a fairly short-lived action figure line from that time, and it had an accompanying Marvel series, The Saga of Crystar. And he’s part of this new mini-series too. I was one of five kids who loved those toys and comics. Was it difficult to get Crystar involved in this series, since he’s technically not a Marvel character?

Liefeld: They do own him! No, Marvel owns Crystar, and they let me know, “Rob, if you want him in this bizarro story…” And I said, “He’s in.” Like I said, it’s just a really fun romp. I’m not trying to do anything k-e-w-l. There is no cool in my game. I’m just having fun with bizarre old Steve Ditko characters and designs and worlds and names. And then, of course, Crystar, I hit the mother load. I’m like, “I just drew pages this week of Wolverine and Deadpool popping Crystar in the face and him popping them back.” And I’m like, “I am in the sandbox. I’m a kid.”

So yeah, I was in high school when Crystar was part of that giant toy explosion. And what are we in right now? Because I’ve done this on my podcast. I mean, Transformers, ThunderCats, Gatchaman. It’s like all the toys are back. And so here’s one from the drawer. I found out yesterday, that half the people like you know who Crystar is, half the people are like, “What the heck is a Crystar??”

What do you feel has changed the most about yourself as a creator in the three decades since you started out, and what of those changes are you bringing to your last Deadpool story?

Liefeld: I don’t think I’ve changed all that much. I think part of the appeal is I never took a big swing in a different direction. The guys that I like kind of stayed the same as they were when they came in. John Byrne actually radically changed. And I have been on the record, I have a podcast, I talk on social media. I believe John Byrne had some glorious deal with the devil. I don’t care that I’m saying it out loud. For 10 years, he did this incredibly perfect commercial work. Then he changed his work. It wasn’t the way he drew, it was the way he laid out pages. The way he told stories, it’s totally different.

George Pérez was pretty much the same all the way through. George Pérez when he passed, he was at his peak. He stayed in a certain lane. And look, we all have bands that we love, and you look forward to their new album and you’re like, “Oh shit, they went in a totally different direction. This doesn’t sound anything like my favorite hits.” I respect them for doing that, but I would rather “Can you come back and give me something that sounds a little like the familiar sounds that I loved you for in the first place?”

Ok, last question, I know you really can’t say anything. But on a scale of 1-10, just how stoked should fans be over Deadpool and Wolverine?

Okay, I’m going to answer this very, very carefully. So I’m on the set of Deadpool one, very fortunate. Visited all three sets, hung out on each of them, never gave up any secrets, never spoiled anything. When I was there on the set of Deadpool one, I was looking at the playback on the monitors, and I’m said, “Oh wow, this movie’s going to open at $65 million.” This is February and March of 2015. I think “Shut up Liefeld. Don’t you know you don’t talk about box office while you’re making a movie? Shut up. You’re jinxing it.” Then I think, “Come on. I know what’s commercial. I know this is going to open to $65.” Well, they’re right. I did. I jinxed the hell out of that movie. It opened $135 million instead of $65 million.

Deadpool & Wolverine, the stuff that I was there in London watching them film has not been revealed in any trailer, in any teaser. And towards the end of the day when they were setting up a new shot, I think “Are they really doing this? Oh my gosh. I didn’t even know they were going there.” If they’re going to tell me that I’m jinxing the movie, I can’t possibly say more than [director] Shawn Levy has. Shawn is out there talking the movie up all the time. Here’s the deal. I think that this movie is going to be an absolute crowd-pleaser. I know comic books. I’ve lived comic books. I’ve lived comic book films. My kids grew up and love them. I don’t know how this does not completely satisfy. But I know theater owners need people.

We love the theater experience. Deadpool & Wolverine I think is going to contribute positively in a time of great need. And I’m going to tell you when I was at CinemaCon in Vegas, the guy who’s making all of the custom popcorn buckets and Slurpee cups and stuff you have not seen, they wouldn’t let it on the show floor. And they kept opening up suitcase after suitcase saying, “We can show you this because you created Deadpool. We can show you this.” And it’s going to overwhelm, but I think collectors are going to go crazy for it.

The best part is that the theaters are going to have all that money pumping in, because I want theaters to stay open. Deadpool & Wolverine is going to be great for everybody’s bottom line. And we’ve had a drought. I’m so glad that Kevin Feige was honest in Empire Magazine saying “You have to be living under a rock to not know that we haven’t exactly been setting the world on fire.” I’m now paraphrasing, but it was something along those lines. And this is a crowd-pleaser. I think you are going to dig it the most.

Deadpool Team-Up #1 goes on sale on August 28.

The post DEADPOOL Creator Rob Liefeld Talks About His Upcoming Final Wade Wilson Story appeared first on Nerdist.

It’s the news that Marvel mutant fandom has been waiting patiently for over five years for. According to a report in Deadline, Marvel Studios is officially ramping up for their big-screen reintroduction of the X-Men franchise. Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes screenwriter Michael Lesslie is in negotiations to write the script for the new X-Men MCU movie. The film is still very early in the development process, without a director attached and no release date yet. With the massive success of X-Men ’97 on Disney+, and the return of Hugh Jackman as Logan for Deadpool & Wolverine, it seems Kevin Feige realized now is the time to get the ball rolling. MCU X-Men, here we come!

Besides the Hunger Games prequel, Lesslie wrote an adaptation of Macbeth starring former Magneto Michael Fassbender. He was also the lead writer on the series The Little Drummer Girl, featuring  Florence Pugh, Michael Shannon, and Alexander Skarsgard. In terms of genre productions, he wrote the original script for the 2016 version of Assassin’s Creed. Rumors abound that the new X-Men reboot movie will focus on the X-women more than the men. Other rumors suggest the MCU X-Men film will focus on newer characters, pushing aside the likes of Cyclops, Storm, Jean Grey, and Wolverine. Given the success of X-Men ’97, however, we wonder if Marvel Studios will stick to those plans.

The real question here is whether or not these new MCU mutants will arrive in enough time for the Avengers: Secret Wars movie. Right now, that film is set to premiere in 2027. Part of the appeal would be to have the X-Men participate in that giant event, along with the Avengers and Fantastic Four. The assumption was the X-Men we see in Secret Wars might be the original Fox actors. However, the fast-tracking of the X-Men reboot movie suggests they might wait until we have a new X-Men team in place. Perhaps we’ll learn more around Comic-Con and D23 time later this summer.

The post The MCU X-MEN Reboot Movie Has a Writer Attached appeared first on Nerdist.

It was just two wordless cameos in a pair of stacked episode, but fans of ‘90s Marvel animation jumped for joy at the X-Men ’97 episodes “Tolerance is Extinction” Parts I and III. During a crucial moment, when Magneto powers down all electrical devices across the globe, we cut to several cameos of Marvel characters. One of them is our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. It’s not just any Spidey spinning his webs, though. As fans of ‘90s Marvel cartoons know, the Spider-Man in the X-Men cartoon is the same one from the Spider-Man: The Animated Series, that ran concurrently on Fox Kids at the time. We then saw Peter Parker and MJ together in the season finale. Could this mean a Spidey spin-off is on the way, picking up from Spider-Man: The Animated Series? Here’s what Marvel Animation’s Brad Winderbaum said when asked by Screen Rant about the possibility:

There is always potential, right? We don’t want to close the door on anything. But I think that for now, for the foreseeable future, X-Men ’97 will own the ’90s, and how much we bring in guest stars or tell stories from other Marvel characters from that era is TBD, but it will be seen through that lens of the X-Men.

The ’90s X-Men and Spider-Man Animated Series Were Connected

Spider-Man appeared only as a hand shooting web fluid in X-Men: The Animated Series. The X-Men: TAS producers snuck the cameo in, as technically they didn’t have the rights to use Spidey. However, the full X-Men team from the ‘90s cartoon appeared in the two-part Spider-Man episodes “The Mutant Agenda” and “The Mutant’s Revenge” in 1995. All the X-Men: TAS voice actors returned, and their designs were identical to those on their own show. This was the first connection between two Marvel ‘90s animated shows, showing that at least the X-Men and Spider-Man existed within the same continuity. As for the other Marvel cartoons from the ’90s, that’s up for debate.

Spider-Man: The Animated Series Left Lingering Questions X-Men ’97 Could Resolve

So what does this mean for ‘90s Spidey in X-Men ’97? Former showrunner Beau Demayo confirmed on social media that this version of Spidey is the same one originally voiced by Christopher Daniel Barnes in the classic show. As fans may recall, Spider-Man: TAS ended on a bit of a cliffhanger. After a long and convoluted adventure through the Spider-Verse, Madame Web appears to Peter Parker. She takes him to find Mary Jane Watson, who found herself lost in the multiverse earlier in the season. Viewers never found out if Peter and MJ actually reunited, much less if their planned nuptials ever occurred. It was a bit of a giant question mark. But X-Men ’97 answered that question in the season finale, which shows that Peter did indeed find MJ, and the pair were reunited. Beau DeMayo also confirmed this on social media.

Could X-Men ’97 Lead to a Spider-Man ’98 Spin-Off?

One big thing is likely keeping Spider-Man’s appearance from being a “backdoor pilot” to set up a spin-off show. That’s the upcoming Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man animated series coming to Disney+ soon. This is the series formerly known as Spider-Man: Freshman Year. If anything, the upcoming new Spidey cartoon is probably the biggest obstacle in getting a full Spider-Man ’98 series. Would Marvel Animation have two competing Spider-Man cartoons concurrently? However, the massive success of X-Men ’97 may eventually cause them to rethink those plans. Spider-Man was just as beloved a cartoon hero for ‘90s kids as the X-Men.

Could Peter Parker Teach at Xavier’s School in Future X-Men ’97 Seasons?

Even if we don’t get a Spider-Man ’98 series, there is room for a continuation of that version of Peter Parker in future X-Men ’97 seasons. After all, in the comics, Peter Parker became a teacher at Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters for a time (then renamed the Jean Grey School), in the series Spider-Man and the X-Men. Why not make the ’90s version of Spidey part of the supporting cast of X-Men ’97? Peter could teach several new mutants, teens discovering their powers during puberty as he once did. Original voice actor Christopher Daniel Barnes has not been contacted yet, but has said he’s into the idea.

Spider-Man is technically not a mutant of course. He got his powers as a teenager during a lab accident, as everyone knows. None of that stopped the comic book creators from giving him a teaching position at the school though. Of course, we’d love for him to have a revival series like X-Men ’97. But if the other Spidey series on Disney+ makes that unlikely, we’ll take option B. Whatever happens, Spidey is officially part of the X-Men ’97 world now. We highly doubt it’s the last time he swings through the New York skyline in this series.

Originally published on May 1, 2024.

The post Marvel Addresses Potential X-MEN ’97 Spin-Off for SPIDER-MAN appeared first on Nerdist.

Sony Pictures’ Spider-Man Universe is ever-expanding. Coming up very soon is Kraven the Hunter. Sony’s Kraven the Hunter film has been in the works for some time now, but it has finally turned a corner. With Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Kraven, suiting up for his third different superhero project, we know we’re in for… something.

Alas, we’ll have to wait a while longer to know exactly what though. Kraven the Hunter has been delayed for a third time. The movie was originally meant to be released in January 2023 and was then moved to October 2023. After that Kraven shifted its release date to August 2024. Now Kraven the Hunter is slated to release on December 13, 2024. Hopefully this release date takes.

According to producer Matt Tolmach, the reason for the move was actually a positive one. Tolmach noted, “Kraven moved to Christmas because we’re excited about it, and Christmas is the best release period there is when you get people with time to go back to the movies over and over again. That was a real reflection of how the studio felt about the movie. We’re really excited. But that’s a great move that reflects just the feeling about the movie.” If that’s true, it’s good news. But we’ll have to wait (hopefully just until December) and see to know for sure.

Here’s everything we know about Sony’s Kraven the Hunter movie.

Title

The film is named Kraven the Hunter, after its central character.

Kraven the Hunter’s Plot

In the original Marvel Comics, Sergei Kravinoff is born into an aristocratic Russian family. He becomes a world-famous international big-game hunter, who tries to catch the ultimate and elusive prize: Spider-Man. The villain first shows up in The Amazing Spider-Man #15 (1964). The Stan Lee/Steve Ditko creation is a founding member of the Sinister Six. Later stories show witch doctor Calypso giving Kravinoff an herbal potion, granting him enhanced speed and senses that match those of a wild jungle cat.

In Kraven the Hunter, it seems like we’ll get an origin story for the Spider-Man villain. Take a look at the movie’s official trailer below.

Unlike Venom, the character of Kraven has never had a shelf life outside of being a Spider-Man villain. So it’s hard to see how they are going to create a narrative around the character that doesn’t involve the wall-crawler in some form. There is no news of Tom Holland appearing in the movie so far.

Kraven the Hunter will unsurprisingly be Sony’s first R-rated Marvel movie. As Aaron Taylor-Johnson eloquently noted at Sony’s panel at CinemaCon 2023, “Will it be rated-R? F**k yes, it will be rated R.”

Behind the Scenes

A Most Violent Year’s J.C. Chandor is directing a script from Art Marcum, Matt Holloway, and Richard Wenk, with Avi Arad, Matt Tolmach, and David Householter producing.

Kraven the Hunter’s Cast

The upcoming film is anchored by Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who is playing Kraven the Hunter. Joining him are Russell Crowe, Ariana DeBose, Fred Hechinger, and Alessandro Nivola. Crowe will play Kraven’s father. Meanwhile, Nivola will play classic Spider-Man villain Rhino, and Hechinger will act as Kraven’s brother, Chameleon. DeBose will play Calypso.

Additionally, Deadline reports that Christopher Abbott will join Kraven the Hunter. Although unconfirmed, the publication shares that Abbot will play the film’s main villain, the Foreigner. In the comics, Foreigner is a Spider-Man villain with the ability to induce hypnotic trances. Otherwise, it is his skills in martial arts and mastery of weaponry that makes him a threat. As we learn more about Kraven the Hunter‘s plot, we will see how this character comes to exist on the screen.

Kraven the Hunter’s Release Date

Kraven the Hunter will now arrive in theaters on December 13, 2024.

Originally published on May 26, 2021.

The post KRAVEN THE HUNTER Movie Delayed a Third Time to December 2024 appeared first on Nerdist.

The Fantastic Four’s main cast it all set. That’s the good news. The bad news is that Marvel doesn’t have many big roles left to fill in the MCU. But one of Hollywood’s biggest stars still wants to play one of the few remaining standout characters yet to debut in the franchise. Ryan Gosling still hopes Kevin Feige picks him to play Ghost Rider.

Last year the Oscar-nominated Barbie actor (and star of both Drive and Place Beyond the Pines it should be noted considering the character) told Josh Horowitz he wants to play Ghost Rider in the MCU. While interviewing Gosling and Emily Blunt for The Fall Guy, Horowitz pointed out to Gosling he personally relayed the actor’s Ghost Rider dream to Kevin Feige. That means the MCU head honcho knows he has two A-listers vying for the role. Keanu Reeves has also said he wants to play the character, too.

Will Feige choose either when the time comes to cast the role? He should choose both! What’s the point of a multiverse if you can’t have both Gosling and Keanu play Ghost Rider.

The post Ryan Gosling Still Wants to Play GHOST RIDER in the MCU appeared first on Nerdist.

In the season finale of X-Men ’97, we got several cliffhangers, and teases for what’s to come when the series returns. And we already have some well-reasoned guesses as to which classic comics will serve as inspiration for the new season. Here are the comic book stories we are confident will be the basis for the season two of X-Men ’97.

The Rise of Apocalypse

This 1996 mini-series goes back 5,000 years to ancient Egypt and the rise of En Sabah Nur. He was the very first mutant and the being who would one day take the name Apocalypse. Written by Terry Kavanagh and illustrated by Adam Pollina, The Rise of Apocalypse details how a former slave rose up against the Pharoah Rama-Tut. (He is a variant of Kang the Conqueror, should they wish to connect to the MCU.) Apocalypse then began his war on the weakest of the species, eventually recruiting his legendary Four Horsemen. The design for young En Sabah Nur in X-Men ’97 directly recalls his design from artist Adam Pollina. So we definitely see this having a big influence on season two.

The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix (1994)

In 1991’s X-Factor #69, the tyrant Apocalypse infected Cyclops’ infant son Nathan with a techno-organic virus. The only way to save him was to send him thousands of years into the future. Cyclops was offered this choice by a warrior from the Clan Askani. We later found out the mercenary Cable, leader of X-Force, was Nathan as an adult. He’d been sent back to the present from that future.

In Scott Lobdell and Gene Ha’s 1994 mini-series The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix, newlyweds Scott Summers and Jean Grey are sent into the far future. They emerge in a time period where Apocalypse rules, and they go by the names Slim and Redd. There, they meet their daughter Rachel Summers, now the ancient Mother Askani. She gives them the chance to raise young Nathan from childhood to his teen years. The arrival of Jean and Scott in the far future indicates we are definitely are going to see an adaptation of this series.

Generation X

After years of villainy as part of the Hellfire Club as its White Queen, Emma Frost’s students, the Hellions, all died in a Sentinel attack. She very nearly lost her life too, falling into a coma for months. When she finally awoke, the trauma of this loss caused her to change her ways (somewhat), and she began training a new generation of X-Men at the Massachusetts Academy, now an offshoot of Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters.

Frost and co-headmaster Banshee taught a new group of students, nicknamed Generation X, which included Jubilee. Among the others were Synch, Chamber, Husk, Skin, and M. Writer Scott Lobdell’s Generation X series lasted 75 issues. With the school closed on X-Men ’97, and Emma narrowly surviving Genosha, she may wish to start her own school of X-Men to keep the dream alive. Maybe with Jubilee and Sunspot as students? Generation X might be a dated term now for a group of younger mutants today, but in 1997? They would have been the right age for a name Like “Gen X.”

X-Men: Blood of Apocalypse

Peter Milligan’s mid-2000s X-Men run isn’t one that gets referenced a lot. However, this comic run did contain one story that likely will inform season two of X-Men ’97. After the mutant decimation provoked by the Scarlet Witch, causing most mutants to lose their powers, Gambit was in a funk. Especially as his great love, Rogue, started a romantic relationship with another mutant with immunity to her powers. He actually volunteers to become the new Horseman of Death for Apocalypse, in a storyline that began in 2006’s X-Men #185. Gambit’s time as Death is brief, and by X-Men #200, Gambit returns to normal. This will at least partially serve as inspiration for X-Men ’97 season two.

Uncanny Avengers: The Apocalypse Twins

If Apocalypse brings back Gambit or other dead mutants as his Horsemen, it will be based on something his heirs did. This was actually something done by Uriel and Eimin, the Apocalypse Twins, in the pages of Rick Remender’s Uncanny Avengers. The Apocalypse Twins brought back to life dead characters like the Sentry, Banshee, Grim Reaper, and Daken, and turned them into their Four Horsemen of Death. If Gambit is coming back via this method, it begs the question, what other three dead mutants from Genosha are coming back too? Banshee, Sebastian Shaw, Madelyne Pryor, and Dazzler are all prime candidates for resurrection as Horsemen of Death.

Onslaught

Although Professor X didn’t wipe Magneto’s mind after he pulled the adamantium out of Logan’s body, as in X-Men #25, he did spend a lot of time in Magnus’ head. It was enough that Jean Grey worried that so much time mentally fused might break them both. While they both seem intact at the end of X-Men ’97 season one, we’re not totally buying it. We think at some point in season two (or perhaps season three) Onslaught will emerge. The entity Onslaught was born when Charles Xavier absorbed some of Magneto’s rage and hostility when he mind-wiped him, and it stayed dormant for years. We think he was in Magneto’s mind long enough on X-Men ’97 for this comic story to still happen in season two. It’s just a matter of time.

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Things are about to change big time in the X-Men universe over at Marvel Comics. After five years of living on the mutant island of Krakoa and leading the most powerful nation on Earth, the mutants have lost it all. Again. Yet the X-Men thrive in adversity, which is the theme for the upcoming “From the Ashes” relaunch. We already know of new iterations of X-Men, Uncanny X-Men, and other legacy titles. But now Marvel has revealed that two iconic X-Women are leading the charge with solo books of their own. And one of them is also becoming an Avenger at last.

Storm, the iconic X-Man and powerful Kenyan Weather Goddess, will officially join Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in Avengers #17 this coming August. This issue, from writer Jed McKay, will also mark the debut of new series artist Valerio Schiti, who most recently drew Jonathan Hickman’s G.O.D.S. Here’s the official synopsis from Marvel on Ororo Munroe’s induction into the Avengers, as well as cover art for Avengers #17.

Krakoa’s tragic fall has made the Avengers realize how vital a mutant voice on the team is, and they’ll settle for nothing less than the most prominent and beloved mutant super hero on the planet! A pop culture icon, Storm has assembled with the Avengers before—in both comics as well as other forms of media—but never like this! Not only will the Avengers need her Omega-level power for the battles ahead, but they’ll need to rely on her unique expertise and leadership skills as MacKay’s overarching plots involving Kang, the Twilight Court, and more kick into high gear. This only marks the beginning of what’s shaping up to be a monumental period for Storm as she’ll also headline an all-new solo ongoing series launching later this year!

Avengers writer Jed Mckay added the following:

When we were putting together thoughts for X-Men, one problem kept coming up—Storm needed to have a presence in a book befitting her status, but it would be weird for her to be on an X-Men team if she wasn’t the leader. The solution was simple—she needed to be on the global stage, among equals, and what better place for that than the Avengers? We’re excited to bring Storm back to the Avengers and show what adventures she’ll get up to as part of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes!

Storm will be on the team with her ex-husband Black Panther. Also on the team are the Scarlet Witch and the Vision. Two divorced couples saving the world on the same team? Now that should be fodder for all kinds of great superhero melodrama. Yet that’s not all for Ororo. She’ll also be joining her BFF Jean Grey in finally landing an ongoing solo series, along with another iconic X-Woman, Dazzler.

Storm will be brought to life by African creator Murewa Ayodele (Moon Knight: Black, White, and Blood and I Am Iron Man), and Lucas Werneck, the superstar artist known for his work on recent X-Men epics like Immortal X-Men. Werneck also designed a stunning new costume for Storm’s exciting new venture into solo storytelling. The tagline says “Mutants no longer have a homeland. But they still have a queen.” Here’s the official synopsis from Marvel:

Storm has always been a prime protector of the planet. With the loss of Krakoa, that position becomes more important to her than ever. From her new super hero headquarters, Storm begins making decisions that will forecast the future of the Marvel Universe. Her bold actions will stir forces around and even beyond Earth, calling forth enemies that match her strength and determination.

The first female mutant to get her own solo series way back in 1981 was mutant pop star Dazzler. A byproduct of the disco age, Alison Blaire’s solo adventures ran for five years and 42 issues. In these stories, she became a Herald of Galactus, a love interest of the cosmic Beyonder, and more. She eventually became an X-Man, and Marvel just announced her first solo series since 1986. The tagline for her new series says “Her world tour begins.” Is this Dazzler’s very own “Eras Tour?” She’s certainly had plenty of them. Her new four-issue series is from writer Jason Loo and artist Rafael Loureiro launches in September.

No stranger to headlining, Alison Blaire enjoyed a successful solo career outside the X-Men in the 1980s with the fondly remembered and long-running Dazzler series. Now, she’s back to inspire a whole new generation, spreading a message of love and acceptance one sold-out show at a time.Her tour is for everyone, but backstage, Allison is joined by a crew of fellow mutants: head of security Domino, personal guard Strong Guy, one-man roadie Multiple Man, drummer Shark Girl, and expert publicist Wind Dancer! Anti-mutant fervor has never felt more personal, but anyone who tries to dim Dazzler’s light will just have to face the music!

There are still more “From the Ashes” announcements to come. Some X-Men remain unaccounted for. Hey, where the heck is Iceman? And Colossus? Honestly, we can’t wait to see where our favorite mutants all land.

Originally published on May 13, 2024.

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The last few episodes of X-Men ’97, “Tolerance is Extinction Part I-III,” were chock-full of Marvel Comics cameos. Some have never even appeared in the X-Men: The Animated Series universe before now. Let’s break down each of them, and what we think they mean for the future of the series.

Daredevil

Helping to control the chaos and looting on the streets of New York during the blackout after Magneto’s EMP wave is Daredevil, who appeared as part of this universe in Spider-Man: The Animated Series.

Doctor Strange

With hospitals having no power, Doctor Stephen Strange appears, doing mystical surgery on a patient. Doctor Strange’s magic powers have the same look as they do in the MCU in this X-Men ’97 Marvel cameo, something not present in his original Spider-Man: The Animated Series appearances. The mystics of Kamar-Taj were mentioned by Beast in this series as well.

Iron Man and Captain America

Although most of the Avengers are off-world dealing with the Kree-Shi’ar war, we do see Iron Man (in his ’90s armor) and Captain America advising the government on what to do about Magneto. Sadly, Tony Stark didn’t have any speaking lines in his X-Men ’97 cameo. Maybe next season, Shellhead.

Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, and Polaris

Speaking of Magneto, when Charles Xavier is in his mind trying to reason with him, we see glimpses of Magnus’ children. We see the twins Wanda and Pietro (the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver) as well as Lorna Dane, a,k.a. Polaris. Lorna appeared as a former X-Man and member of X-Factor on the classic show.

Black Panther

Marvel’s Black Panther also cameos in X-Men ’97, but he’s not who you think. It’s not Prince T’Challa in the role of the Panther. Instead, it’s his father, King T’Chaka. We’re not sure why Marvel went with this choice, except maybe thinking no one else should even voice act for T’Challa since Chadwick Boseman’s passing in 2020.

Cloak and Dagger

This is a deeper cut. The superhero duo Cloak and Dagger are seen on the streets of New York trying to control the chaos. In older Marvel lore, these purveyors of light and dark were mutants themselves. That has since been retconned. But back in the ’90s, they certainly thought they were mutants!

Psylocke, Alpha Flight, and Cecilia Reyes

On the ruins of Genosha, we see the mutant telepath Psylocke. She appeared a few times before, in the classic X-Men: The Animated Series. Alongside Psylocke is the Canadian mutant team Alpha Flight, including members Puck, Northstar, and Aurora. Also with them is Dr. Cecilia Reyes, a mutant and occasional X-Man.

Mister Fantastic

Morph transforms into Reed Richards, a.k.a. Mister Fantastic of the Fantastic Four, our first visual reference to a member of Marvel’s First Family. This wasn’t technically an X-Men ’97 cameo, but we were happy to see this Marvel character all the same.

Sauron

Morph also transforms into Sauron, the mutate from the Savage Land who is part human/part pterodactyl. Not to be confused with Sauron from The Lord of the Rings, although he was named for him.

The Hulk

This wasn’t technically an X-Men ’97 cameo, as it was shapeshifting Morph in disguise, but the Incredible Hulk smashed through Bastion’s forces in “Tolerance is Extinction Part II.” Still, it was amazing to see the Jade Giant in the world of the X-Men. Hopefully, the real Bruce Banner shows up before too long, and gets to battle his old nemesis Wolverine.

Rachel Summers

The most important Marvel cameo came early on in episode 8 of X-Men ’97. As Cable tells the X-Men the history of his future, he explains how Bastion’s plan resulted in his timeline. In one of the images we see, we witness how the surviving mutants in Bastion’s future are used as slaves to humanity. Among them is a telekinetic/telepathic young woman named Rachel Summers. She’s the (as yet) unborn daughter of Cyclops and Jean Grey. Raised in the dystopian Days of Future Past timeline, she was one of the remaining mutants who were reconditioned by Sentinels to be mutant hunters called Hounds. The tattoos on her face are the signature of the Hound program.

In the comics, Rachel breaks free of her programming, goes back in time to our present, and becomes an X-Man. She even absorbs part of the Phoenix force, taking after her mother. Eventually, she goes thousands of years to the future, where she founds the Clan Askani. This is the same group that took in baby Nathan Summers. When Cable says a rebel from his time sent him back, we had a hunch he means his half-sister Rachel. This was confirmed in the final moments of season one, when we see Rachel as Mother Askani (voiced by Star Trek’s Gates McFadden) with Clan Askani in the far future.

Polaris (Lorna Dane)

Also in the same dystopian future is an older version of the magnetically-powered Polaris. She’s being used as slave labor by humans just like Rachel. In the X-Men: TAS continuity, Lorna Dane was a former member of the X-Men in the early years. She had a romantic relationship with Iceman/Bobby Drake. She is the daughter of Magneto, half-sibling of Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch, as noted in Magneto’s mind in the season finale.

William Stryker

One of the X-Men’s deadliest human enemies from Marvel Comics, Reverend William Stryker, appears in a “blink and ya miss him” X-Men ’97 cameo. We see him on a TV news show, predicting a war between humanity and mutants. In the comics, Stryker was an anti-mutant televangelist, who was the primary villain in the 1982 graphic novel God Loves, Man Kills.

That story was adapted into live-action in 2003’s X2: X-Men United. In that film, Stryker was reimagined as a military general, not a preacher. Actor Brian Cox portrayed him in the film. Stryker as a younger military man appeared in X-Men: Days of Future Past and X-Men: Apocalypse played by Josh Helman.

Doctor Doom

Another big X-Men ’97 cameo is the first official appearance by Doctor Victor Von Doom in a Marvel Studios project. He appears on a monitor talking to Bastion, presumably from his castle in Latveria. He admits to his complicity in the Genoshan attack, however, the level of war crimes committed by Bastion disgusts him. Doom seems to regret allying himself with him, before cutting off the feed. To Victor Von Doom, someone like Bastion is quite beneath him.

Baron Helmut Zemo

Baron Helmut Zemo, sporting his classic comic book-accurate face mask, also pops up on one of the monitors talking to Bastion. He seems far less remorseful than Doom about what’s been happening. This minor X-Men ’97 cameo could be hinting that Zemo and his Masters of Evil, usually Captain America and Avengers villains in the Marvel Comics, might be fighting the X-Men in the future. Or maybe the Avengers and the X-Men team up against Zemo? Our heads are spinning at the thought.

The Silver Samurai

When Magneto unleashes his power and shifts the polarity of the Earth, we see electricity go out all over the world. In Japan, we get a quick look at a long-time Wolverine enemy. Looking out of a high-rise window is the mutant gang leader Silver Samurai, whose real name is Keniuchio Harada. Silver Samurai appeared in the classic X-Men: The Animated Series episode “The Lotus and the Steel.” Samurai appears again in the finale episode of season one.

Omega Red

In Russia, we see a government facility that looks like a nuclear power plant. As Magneto’s wave cuts the power across the world, we see that held in suspended animation in this scientific research base is the mutant operative Omega Red. With the power out, Omega Red awakens. Omega Red appeared in four X-Men: The Animated Series episodes over the course of five seasons. We later see him with the Russian Winter Guard, including Darkstar and Crimson Dynamo, in the season finale.

Spider-Man

Oh yeah, then there’s this guy. You might have heard of him. Yes, the amazing Spider-Man himself appears in a silent X-Men ’97 cameo as the power shuts down in New York City. Former X-Men ’97 showrunner Beau Demayo confirms via social media this is the very same wallcrawler who starred in Spider-Man: The Animated Series in the ‘90s, which crossed over with X-Men: TAS. Could this be leading to a revival of that show too? We have our suspicions. In the season one finale, we see Peter Parker, Mary Jane Watson, and Flash Thompson on the streets of New York. Showrunner Beau DeMayo confirmed on social media that Peter and MJ were reunited after the events of Spider-Man: TAS, resolving that cliffhanger ending.

Originally published on May 1, 2024.

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At the end of season one of X-Men ’97, our team of mutant heroes are now lost in time, and presumed dead to the world. We see that Forge is planning to keep the dream of Charles Xavier alive however, and he has a corkboard of several known mutants he plans to recruit. While many of the X-Men are listed as “Presumed Dead,” or in the case of Scarlet With and Quicksilver, “Off World,” several others are prime candidates. Based on Forge’s board, here’s who we expect to become the all-new, all-different X-Men in season two.

Colossus (Piotr Rasputin)

Piotr Rasputin, the metal-skinned mutant powerhouse called Colossus, is a mainstay of the team in the comics. In the animated shows, the Russian-born mutant was just a guest star a few times, and never formally joined the team. He only appeared in two episodes, displaying an over-the-top Russian accent. His appearance on Forge’s board suggests next season, Colossus will finally step up and become a real X-Man at last.

Magik (Illyana Rasputin)

Colossus isn’t the only member of the Rasputin family on Forge’s board. Also seen is his sister Illyana, a.k.a. Magik. We saw the mutant teleporter as a child in the original series, but here we see her as a teenager. That’s not a continuity error either. In the comics, Illyana spent years in the Limbo dimension as a child, when it was just months here, returning as much older. As a mutant sorceress and owner of the Soul Sword, she’ll make for a formidable X-Man if Forge recruits her. Like her brother, Morph transformed into Magik in one episode of X-Men ’97.

Shadowcat (Kitty Pryde)

One of the most requested (and beloved) characters in X-Men history finally appears on Forge’s board. Katherine “Kitty” Pryde, born with the power to phase through solid objects, is finally confirmed as existing in the X-Men: The Animated Series universe. Despite appearing in the original pilot episode “Pryde of the X-Men,” she never appeared in the ’92-’97 series. This appears to be the older version of the character, using her Shadowcat codename and costume. So if she joins the team, it’s unlikely she will be the junior member she originally was.

Havok (Alex Summers)

We know from this season that Scott Summers/Cyclops has a complicated family tree. This is a guy who has a cyborg son that’s older than he is, and a father who’s a space pirate. But he also has a powerful brother named Alex Summers a.k.a. Havok. A powerful energy manipulator, they separated Scott and Alex as children. When they met in the original series, Havok was a member of the team X-Factor, and they didn’t know they were brothers. As far as we know, they still don’t. It’s time to rectify that mistake next season with Forge officially recruiting Alex Summers into the X-Men.

Iceman (Bobby Drake)

Robert Drake, better known as Iceman, is a founding member of the team who only appeared once in the original X-Men: The Animated Series. He was front and center in the third season episode “Cold Comfort,” but we haven’t seen him since. This season, we kept seeing Bobby in the original X-Men class portrait in Xavier’s office, hinting there was more to come for him. The fact that he’s on Forge’s board suggests it’s finally time for this Omega Level mutant to rejoin the team. Besides, it’ll be nice to have such a prominent gay superhero on the X-Men.

Archangel (Warren Worthington III)

Another original X-Man on the board is Warren Worthington III, also known as the razor-winged Archangel. He’s listed as “Presumed Dead” on Forge’s board, although not because he was fighting with the X-Men on Asteroid M. We saw him flying around Genosha when the massacre happened. Yet given his upgrades from Apocalypse, who gave him his metal wings, it’s highly unlikely he died there. And if the X-Men’s “Big Bad” of season two is indeed Apocalypse, they’ll probably need his former Horseman of Death to fight him.

The White Queen (Emma Frost)

Emma Frost, the former White Queen of the Hellfire Club, made a brief appearance in season one of X-Men ’97. She was part of the ruling council on Genosha, before Bastion’s Sentinel massacre happened. Emma was presumed dead, but just as in the comics, she survived when her secondary mutation happened, emerging in her diamond form. She also took a romantic interest in Cyclops. But she’s still a telepath of the highest order, and Forge’s new team is going to need one of those, especially with Jean and Charles gone. Also, Emma Frost and Kitty Pryde have a great love/hate dynamic we’d love to see in the show.

Dust (Sooraya Qadir)

This character is a more recent addition to Marvel Comics X-Men canon, first appearing in Grant Morrison’s New X-Men series in 2002. Dust, whose real name is Sooraya Qadir, is a young Muslim mutant who has the power to transform her body into a pliable cloud of sand. Originally from Afghanistan, the X-Men recruited Sooraya as a student of Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. She’s quite powerful, and in her dust form is hard to detect telepathically. She would be an asset to any team that Forge forms.

Exodus (Bennet du Paris)

This one’s the wild card. On Forge’s board we see the image of Exodus, one of the most powerful mutants in the Marvel Comics pantheon. Bennet du Paris comes from the 12th century, where his telekinetic, telepathic, and teleporting abilities became augmented by Apocalypse. He’s served En Sabah Nur as well as Magneto in the modern age, even leading his Acolytes. We saw him on Genosha in episode 5, “Remember It,” partying it up. It looks like he survived the massacre. Exodus isn’t really a joiner, so it might be shocking to see him as an X-Man. But with Apocalypse in play next season as the main villain, anything is possible.

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As X-Men ’97 gears up for its season one finale, fans have some big questions about what’s going on with other Marvel heroes during the events of the series—especially as Magneto has essentially declared war on humanity. We know other Marvel heroes exist in this world, because we’ve seen them. Spider-Man has already swung in, however briefly, and Captain America had quite the confrontation with Rogue. So where exactly are the Avengers right now in X-Men ’97? Via IGN, we’ve learned that former X-Men ’97 showrunner Beau DeMayo had some answers. He also gives a reason why we haven’t seen everyone’s favorite “Merc with the Mouth” Deadpool during X-Men ’97 season one.

On the subject of the Avengers, it seems Earth’s Mightiest Heroes are out in space, dealing with a matter of galactic importance. A fan asked if the Avengers were knee-deep in a version in their own Marvel crossover event “Operation: Galactic Storm.” This 1992 Avengers storyline was all about a Shi’ar war with the Kree, which we know is going on thanks to episode 7, “Lifedeath, Part II.” So that’s where Cap and company are, while Bastion activated the Prime Sentinels and Magneto retaliated. As for the Fantastic Four? Still no answer. They may be with the Avengers.

There are also many famous mutants unaccounted for. Not everyone was on Genosha when the attack happened in episode five. A fan online asked about Sabretooth, and DeMayo simply said he’s “lying low.” Victor Creed may not appear in season one, but we’re not counting him out for season two.

We’re actually more curious as to where Mystique is, although we suppose she could be hiding in plain sight. For some time we thought she was Valerie Cooper, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. When asked, DeMayo just played coy. We’re simply dying to know where Raven Darkholme is.

Finally, someone asked about good old Wade Wilson. Deadpool made a few silent cameos in the original X-Men: The Animated Series, so we know he exists in this universe. All DeMayo would say on the subject of Deadpool was that he was “off limits.” This was no doubt due to Deadpool & Wolverine, and Marvel Animation not wanting to step on their toes. Hopefully, in later seasons, Wade might show up. We actually think Ryan Reynolds wouldn’t be off the table to voice him either.

Hopefully, future seasons give fans not only Deadpool, but also a proper Avengers vs. X-Men fight. After all, the comic book storyline that followed “Fatal Attractions,” the story X-Men ’97 is currently adapting, was an Avengers/X-Men crossover called “Bloodties.” Here’s hoping that saga comes in later seasons.

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X-Men ’97 has been killing it week to week, giving us an animated series that evokes the best of a certain era of Marvel Comics. Meanwhile, Batman: Caped Crusader, premiering this summer, looks to return to the Dark Knight’s roots in a 1940s noir detective world. Realizing this is a trend that may last, here are a few other comic book heroes that could translate perfectly to period-specific animated shows.

Blade (Set in the 1970s)

Marvel Comics originally introduced Blade in Marvel’s Tomb of Dracula series in 1973. The vampire hunter very quickly became the breakout character, headlining comics like Vampire Tales. Like Luke Cage, he was part of Marvel’s response to the ’70s blaxploitation craze with movies like Shaft and Superfly. Blade was much like those iconic ‘70s cinematic heroes, only instead of fighting criminals he was fighting some down-and-dirty vampires.

Everything about the original Blade aesthetic is very of its time, from the hair to the jacket to the catchphrases. We think a series featuring the Daywalker fighting the undead (and other supernatural creatures) in the groovy ‘70s would be incredibly fun. The ‘70s was an iconic time for the horror genre after all. It saw the emergence of Stephen King, alongside movies like The Exorcist and The Omen. Exploring the horror tropes of that era through the character of Blade could be a blast, especially as a bloody, sexy, R-rated animated series.

Wonder Woman (Set in the 1940s)

It’s difficult to convey now what a departure Wonder Woman was, not just for comics of the 1940s, but for culture in general. When William Moulton Marston created her in 1941, women had the vote in America for a mere two decades, still largely confined to roles as wives/mothers. Diana Prince showcased strength and power greater than men, representing an Amazon culture more advanced than the world of patriarchy. Wonder Woman was a feminist icon before the term became widely known.

For these reasons, we think a Wonder Woman animated series set in the ‘40s, perhaps evoking the fashion, aesthetic, and politics of the era, would be amazing. Especially if it really dealt with what it would mean for a woman like that to appear in the deeply puritanical and sexist America of the 1940s. Besides, that setting would ensure Diana Prince punching Nazis in World War II, which we all need to watch right now as cultural catharsis. James Gunn has hinted that a Wonder Woman animated series is long overdue. So why not a period piece set in her era of origin?

Spider-Man (Set in the 2010s)

We’re not sure that many other old superhero cartoons could pick up right where they left off like X-Men ’97. At least not at the same level of success. Yet there is one show that deserves similar treatment – the 1994-1998 Spider-Man: The Animated Series. We know that the same Spidey from that show exists in the X-Men ’97 universe, thanks to his recent cameo. But we would actually love for Christopher Daniel Barnes to return to the role of Peter Parker, and tell stories of a middle-aged wallcrawler years later.

An elder Spidey is how you differentiate this version from the teenage Spidey from the upcoming Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man show. Imagine the story 15 or more years later, with Peter now the father of teenage May “Mayday” Parker, a.k.a. Spider-Girl. It would be less “Spider-Man ‘98” and more “Spider-Man 2014,” but rooted firmly in the events of the ‘90s show. We could even finally have Spidey fight Sandman. He was the one classic villain the old show couldn’t use, as he was meant to appear in the never-made James Cameron Spider-Man movie.

Teen Titans (Set in the 1980s)

X-Men ’97 has been perhaps the best iteration of Marvel’s mutants in any media outside comics. Part of the reason is that longform, serialized melodrama is perfect for X-Men in a way movies aren’t. But in the ‘80s, Uncanny X-Men had a true rival for “best superhero soap opera” in DC’s New Teen Titans. That series had as much interpersonal drama, plot twist reveals, and out-of-this-world adventures as X-Men, and sold almost as well as Uncanny X-Men too.

So far, Teen Titans has had two cartoons aimed very much at young kids, and a live-action show that was brutally violent and dropped f-bombs. Neither has really captured the tone of the comics. Although a recently announced movie might, an animated show set in the ‘80s, the team’s heyday, could finally do the Titans justice as a series. Besides, with the ‘80s setting, you could do things like Starfire as a fashion model, Beast Boy as a former sci-fi TV star, and other very ’80s conventions. Just as long as they don’t get too Stranger Things with it.

Black Widow (Set in the 1960s)

When Black Widow first appeared in 1964, she was a very different character than the one we know in the MCU, or even the one from modern Marvel Comics. She first appeared as an Iron Man villain in Tales of Suspense, as “Madame Natasha.” She didn’t even have a last name yet. Natasha was a Soviet femme fatale spy, in the style of a Bond girl. Natasha had short black hair, a cape, and fishnets. It wouldn’t be until 1970 that she’d get the iconic black catsuit and flowing red hair, and became a notable fighter, not just a sultry spy.

In those original ‘60s stories, Widow gets romantically involved with Tony Stark, Hawkeye, and later Daredevil. Eventually, she defects to the U.S. and trades super spy for superhero. Those early adventures always showcased her as an appendage to male characters, and were quite very sexist. But an animated series for Natasha Romanoff where the male heroes are in support of her and not the other way around? Now that could be incredible, especially with a James Bond-style, Cold War spy backdrop of the ‘60s.

Justice League (Set in the 1970s)

The Justice League of America first appeared in 1960, but those early DC comics were rather simplistic and intended for very young readers. Every hero acted largely the same with little deviation between the team in terms of character. Things started to change in the ‘70s for the JLA, when DC Comics started to get “Marvelized,” for lack of a better term. The League started to have interpersonal drama that evoked issues of the day and moved to a satellite HQ orbiting above the Earth.

In those ‘70s JLA comics, Hawkman was staunchly conservative, while Green Arrow was a “hippy liberal,” which caused all kinds of tension which found heroes like Green Lantern caught in the middle. Black Canary was a wave one feminist ass-kicker, while Zatanna evoked the ‘70s fascination with all things occult. Of course, the ‘70s is also when the concept of the JLA went mainstream mainly thanks to the Super Friends cartoon. This is something a modern animated series could touch on in a meta way. It’s been far too long since we’ve had a proper Justice League animated show. Setting it in period could be the key to making a new one work.

Fantastic Four (Set in the 1960s)

Current rumors hint that the MCU live-action Fantastic Four film is at least partially taking place in the 1960s. Why is this particular era so linked to Marvel’s First Family? Because Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s 1961 origins for the series are very inspired by Atomic Age ideas. Things like the American/Soviet space race, and Johnny Storm being a teenage “hot rod” enthusiast were all cultural staples of the mid-century era. Even today, the Lee/Kirby 100-issue run of Fantastic Four from 1961-1970 remains the best run for the FF ever. Because of this, a ‘60s-set animated series seems like a no-brainer.

Similar to the way Mad Men used the time frame of 1960-1970 to reflect on the rapid changes in American society over that decade, an animated Fantastic Four set in this exact time period could do the same. This time, via a superhero/sci-fi storytelling lens. We know that both a 1960s Fantastic Four film and an animated series at the same time might be overkill. However, we can’t help feeling the series would be the superior product. Oh, and the most important reasons for a ’60s Fantastic Four series? The music! Who doesn’t want to see the Beatles pop up, and have the Fab Four meet the Fantastic Four?

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One of the most controversial X-Men villains of all time was almost certainly born in the penultimate episode of X-Men ’97, “Tolerance is Extinction Part II.” Even if you didn’t see a new bad guy appear anywhere on screen, we were witness to his conception, so to speak. The villain in question is Onslaught, a psychic entity born of the animosity between Charles Xavier and Magneto. But who—or more precisely what—is Onslaught? Created by Mark Waid, Scott Lobdell, and Andy Kubert in 1996’s X-Men #53, this is the strange history of the beyond Omega-level mutant nemesis.

Bishop, the X-Men Traitor Mystery, and the First Hints of Onslaught

The roots of Onslaught go back to the introduction of another major X-Men character, Lucas Bishop. When Marvel first introduced Bishop in Uncanny X-Men #281 in 1991, he was a time-traveler from yet another dystopian future. In his timeline, the X-Men were betrayed by one of their own and destroyed from within. The identity of the so-called “X-traitor” was a mystery lost to time which Bishop hoped he could solve. He initially believed the traitor to be Gambit. Years later, Marvel finally revealed who the X-traitor was. That revelation led to the emergence of the entity Onslaught.

X-Men: Fatal Attractions Is the True Genesis of Onslaught

In 1993’s X-Men #25, during a pitched battle between the X-Men and Magneto’s forces, Magneto ripped the adamantium metal from Wolverine’s skeleton, nearly killing him despite his regenerative powers. In a moment of uncontrolled rage toward his former friend, Charles Xavier used his telepathic powers to shut down Magneto’s mind, leaving him in a catatonic state. However, during this intense psychic contact, all of Magneto’s negative traits, like his anger, sadness, and enormous god complex, entered into Xavier’s mind. It intertwined with all of Charles’ suppressed negative emotions, and in time became its own entity called Onslaught.

Onslaught remained dormant inside of Xavier’s mind for some time, but slowly started to emerge. He learned how to manifest his own body eventually. It was a gigantic and monstrous form, whose head looked like a version of Magneto’s helmet. The Onslaught entity still retained Charles Xavier’s dream of uniting humanity and mutants, only he would do so using fear. If humans and mutants were all terrified of the wrath of Onslaught, they would join together under his rule. Onslaught sought to recruit known mutants and others to his cause, like his brother Juggernaut and Jean Grey. All rejected him, and he wiped their memories of his true identity as Xavier. He then bided his time to make his move.

X-Men/Avengers: Onslaught Event Series Changes the Marvel Universe

Eventually, when a young mutant died on the grounds of Xavier’s School for the Gifted, Xavier’s mind finally broke. The years of failures caught up to him, and Onslaught took full control of his body and mind. He tried to recruit his students the X-Men to his cause but they all turned him down, and fought against their former teacher. Bishop realized that Xavier himself was the X-traitor he had read so much about as a child. Bishop managed to save his fellow X-Men, but now Onslaught was free and ready to wreak havoc.

In the event series X-Men/Avengers: Onslaught, the powerful entity tried to attain the vast psionic powers of Franklin Richards, the mutant child of Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman of the Fantastic Four. He hoped that Franklin’s powers, as well as those of the alternate universe version of Cable called X-Man, might be enough to turn humanity and mutants into a collective consciousness. He reprogrammed Sentinels to obey only him. The X-Men and the Avengers were able to separate Xavier from Onslaught. But without Xavier’s noble side as an anchor, Onslaught became even more dangerous than before.

Onslaught “Kills” the Avengers and the Fantastic Four

The non-mutant members of the Avengers and the Fantastic Four realized they were going to have to be the ones to stop Onslaught. This was because the entity could more easily channel its energy into a mutant. They seemingly sacrificed their lives to stop him, dissipating his psychic energy into almost nothing. But the world blamed mutants for the death of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, and anti-mutant hysteria reached a fever pitch. This allowed Bastion to get the backing of world governments to fund his Operation Zero Tolerance. X-Men ’97 seems to be doing these stories in reverse order.

Why Onslaught Remains a Polarizing X-Men Character

So why is Onslaught so controversial? Many fans felt that the character was merely used to get the Avengers and Fantastic Four characters “off the board,” and sent into their own separate universe. Even though the X-Men believed them dead, it turned out Franklin had merely sent them to a pocket dimension. In 1996, Image Comics’ Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld returned to Marvel where they were given carte blanche to reinvent those characters for the modern era. This year-long initiative, called “Heroes Reborn,” was not terribly popular. Many felt Onslaught was merely a vehicle to separate the Avengers and FF from the X-Men, thus splitting the Marvel universe. Because of this, the Onslaught character has only made sporadic returns since, although one was as recently as last year’s X-Men series.

The X-Men ’97 Future of Onslaught

In X-Men ’97, we saw Xavier reach deep into Magneto’s mind before his attack on Logan. And he was clearly in his head for an extended (and seemingly painful) period of time. This was the moment that created Onslaught in the comics, and we’re fairly certain he’s coming in the series too. While the character wasn’t that popular, X-Men ’97 has rehabilitated an equally unpopular villain in Bastion. We think the writers of X-Men ’97 can turn Onslaught into a fan-favorite too. We are not sure when or where he’ll appear, but the godlike child of Charles Xavier and Magneto will almost certainly appear in X-Men ’97 at some point. It’s just a matter of time until he rears his ugly helmet head.

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We only have two episodes left of X-Men ’97, and former series showrunner Beau DeMayo has been giving fans “homework” for the final episodes of season one. This homework takes the form of old X-Men episodes or comics to prepare for what’s coming next. The latest assignment comes in the form of watching the original X-Men animated pilot from 1989.

In the clip for episode nine of X-Men ’97, which you can see above, we see the team suit up in their classic costumes. Cyclops wears his suit with the skullcap, Wolverine puts on his brown and tan costume. Storm has her original suit from the comics. These are the same looks from the comics, also famously used in the original X-Men pilot, “Pryde of the X-Men.”

Another factor used in “Pryde of the X-Men” was Magneto’s orbiting stronghold, Asteroid M. His fortress was already teased several times in the show’s opening credits, as it appeared in X-Men: The Animated Series. We think the addition of “Pryde of the X-Men” as so-called homework only further fuels the notion that Magneto’s base of operations is making a big comeback. You can watch the full “Pryde of the X-Men” episode right here:

X-Men: The Animated Series is one of the most iconic superhero cartoons ever made. Without its huge success, it’s unlikely Fox would have ever greenlit the first X-Men film. But the X-Men cartoon we got was almost entirely different from what Marvel originally planned. Back in ’89, Marvel commissioned a pilot episode that introduced the X-Men’s junior member Kitty Pryde, hence the title “Pryde of the X-Men.” It only aired sporadically in syndication, before an eventual VHS release with a very odd live-action intro of Spider-Man talking about the importance of voting… to a presumably kid audience. (Sure, why not).

“Pryde of the X-Men” is fascinating for several reasons. It is a sort of spinoff to the version of the team first introduced in 1982’s Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends series. That is why they continued the weird decision to make Wolverine Australian, an idea first used in Spidey’s cartoon. (And which kind of predicted Aussie actor Hugh Jackman’s eventual role as Logan). For some reason, the producers substituted Rogue with Dazzler.

The cartoon had the classic line-up and concept from Uncanny X-Men, despite the late ’80s comics featuring a different team at the time. Despite its theme song paling in comparison to the ’90s show, the original pilot has some great things going for it. Overall, the animation was better. Plus, it featured iconic team members like Nightcrawler, Colossus, and Kitty as regulars. Kitty never once appeared in the ’90s show, which always felt like a glaring omission—maybe one X-Men ’97 will eventually rectify.

Back then, no network believed in X-Men as an animated series. It was producer Margaret Loesch who successfully pitched Fox Kids on the X-Men concept on the second try, in 1992. She cited the massive sales figures for X-Men #1 as an example of the IP’s popularity. No executive believed in X-Men, but Loesch staked her reputation on Marvel’s Mutants becoming huge. She was right, and the rest is history. Although X-Men: The Animated Series as produced bore little resemblance to “Pryde of the X-Men,” the one-off cartoon had a second life. Its designs and concepts were the basis of the massively popular Konami X-Men arcade game, also released in 1992.

As different as both shows were, they had one big thing in common. Both pilots featured a POV character who was a young girl discovering her mutant powers, and she’s our eyes and ears into this new world. In the ’90s series, it was Jubilee. We could easily see this approach, which began in “Pryde of the X-Men,” translated into the eventual MCU X-Men. It’s just too good and obvious a storytelling device. In the end, we would not be shocked in the MCU X-Men film begins with a teenage girl approaching the doors of a certain mansion located at 1407, Graymalkin Lane. But for now, it looks like X-Men ’97 is going to pay homage to this once-forgotten iteration of Xavier’s students.

Originally published on March 22, 2022.

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You know you’re a true comic book superstar when there are endless variations of you out there. Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, they’ve all got multiple versions of themselves running around. Although Deadpool has not been around nearly as long as those previously mentioned icons, he already has a ton of “other Deadpools” out in the wild. There’s Kidpool, Lady Deadpool, and yes, Dogpool. And as the name suggests, he’s Deadpool, just as a canine. Thanks to Ryan Reynolds’ Instagram posts, we know “The Merc with the Bark” is going to appear in Deadpool 3. But what is the actual Marvel Comics history of Dogpool? Or as Deadpool loves to call him, “Cujo.” We’re here to explain it all.

The Marvel Comics Origins of Dogpool

Like Alligator Loki and Spider-Ham before him, Dogpool continues a proud tradition of animal versions of famous Marvel heroes. As far as animal doppelgänger characters in the Marvel Universe go, Dogpool is a relatively recent addition. He first appeared in Prelude to Deadpool Corps #3 in 2010, and then died tragically in Deadpool Kills Deadpool #1 back in 2013. The pooch known as Dogpool hailed from Earth-103173, and was known as Wilson, just like the Wade Wilson of Earth-616 we all know and love. In his world, Wilson was the guinea pig test subject for a brand called Mascara X, intended to be makeup that would always replenish itself after just one use. Of course, “Mascara X” is a spoof on “Weapon X,” where Wade Wilson (and Wolverine) got their powers.

Just like the Deadpool we all know, Wilson gained healing powers. And also like human Wade, they hideously disfigured him as a result. The amoral Babeline Cosmetics company didn’t realize the tests gave Wilson powers, and they threw the poor doggo into the dumpster. Depressed by his state, and the rejection he received from all who looked at his ugly mug, Wilson tried to end it all by throwing himself in front of a moving vehicle. But he survived and healed instantly. A circus truck passed by and saw the miraculous self-healing dog, and so Wilson joined their circus. They rechristened him as Deadpool, “the Death Defying Hound.” He was part of this circus, and almost killed by a dog Wolverine. Until the human Wade Wilson came to his Earth to recruit him into the Deadpool Corps, that is.

Dogpool Joins the Deadpool Corps and Promptly Dies

So what is the Deadpool Corps, you might ask? Well, much like the Thor Corps, it’s an army made of different multiversal variants of Wade Wilson. The 616 Deadpool actually founded the team, to save reality from a powerful cosmic being, the Awareness. The Awareness had one goal—to devour the consciousness of the Multiverse itself. They recruited Dogpool, who formed a close bond with Kidpool. Later, once the Awareness threat ended, Wade Wilson had to gather the Deadpool Corps once again, to fight the Dreadpool Corps, made up of evil Deadpools from across the multiverse. It was during this event that Dogpool came to Earth-616 to warn our version of Wade. When an evil Deadpool tried to kill the 616 version, Dogpool heroically gave his life to save him. During his brief time on this Earth (and a few others) Dogpool made a lasting impression.

Dogpool in Deadpool 3 and in the MCU

So how will Dogpool fit into the overall story of Deadpool 3? Well, we already know the multiverse is playing a big part in the upcoming film. And rumors suggest we’ll be seeing Kidpool, and maybe even the entire Deadpool Corps. And you can’t have the Deadpool Corps without at least one appearance from Dogpool.

In a recent interview with Empire, Reynolds shares of the pup, “It’s love at first sight…He loves Dogpool.” And offers, “Her real name is Peggy, and she won the award for Britain’s Ugliest Dog. The reason why I was a huge proponent for her was because she feels like the animal manifestation of Wade Wilson. It was, just like many things during the writing process, a tiny little afterthought, and it grew. It was one of those things where you just keep listening to the movie, and Dogpool became a staple.” But, of course, Dogpool is still a Deadpool. Reynolds concludes, “Dogpool’s a Pool, so probably has some moral flexibility about where she wees and poops.”

Maybe it’ll be a brief cameo, or maybe Dogpool will tag along with Wade for most of the movie. We just know that he looks like a very good boy (although a bit mangy) and we can’t wait to see him up on the big screen when Deadpool 3 hits theaters on July 26, 2024.

Originally published on December 29, 2023.

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We only have two episodes of X-Men ’97 left in season one, and speculation about what might happen is running wild. Magneto is clearly back to his old ways, and Charles Xavier is finally back on Earth. This is going to lead to one hell of a confrontation. So far, the series has been remixing tons of lore from the comics, creating its own unique take on the X-Men. Former X-Men ’97 showrunner Beau DeMayo has been active on social media lately, dropping hints as to what takes place in the last few episodes, and what classic episodes fans should revisit. Here’s what he’s shared so far:

So what could these references to classic X-Men: The Animated Series episodes mean? We have some ideas.

“One Man’s Worth, Pt. I and II” X-Men: The Animated Series Season 4, Episodes 9-10

We know what one of these was hinting at already. The episode “One Man’s Worth” showed an alternate Wolverine and Storm heading to 1959 to prevent the assassination of a young Charles Xavier. In that episode we met a racist bully in the past, one we now know was infected by a future Nimrod Sentinel, and fathered Bastion. His mother appeared in that episode as well.

“Sanctuary Pt. I and II” X-Men: The Animated Series Season 4, Episodes 3 -4

“Sanctuary Pt. I and II” featured Magneto attempting to create a mutant-only nation in orbit around the world with Asteroid M. Might he attempt such a thing again? That was also a part of the comics, in the storyline “Fatal Attractions.” (More on that story in a moment). That story ended when Magneto ripped the adamantium off Logan’s bones.

“Descent” X-Men: The Animated Series Season 5, Episode 9

“Descent” focused on the backstory of Mister Sinister, focusing on his days as a 19th-century scientist named Nathaniel Essex. This suggests we’ll see more flashbacks to Sinister’s younger days before the season is over. Maybe the show will finally explain what Sinister’s ultimate goals are in working with Bastion, besides just doing experiments on more mutant DNA. Mister Sinister always has plans within plans.

“The Final Decision” X-Men: The Animated Series Season 1 Episode 13

“The Final Decision” was the season one finale of X-Men: The Animated Series. That episode featured the X-Men teaming up with Magneto to stop the Sentinel Master Mold from replacing the minds of world leaders with Sentinel-controlled brains. We could see a repeat of those events in X-Men ’97, only now with the threat of Bastion’s human-looking Prime Sentinels.

Uncanny X-Men #304, “…For What I Have Done”

We also have a comic book-related bit of homework. DeMayo shared the cover of 1993’s Uncanny X-Men #304, part of the “Fatal Attractions” storyline. In this issue, all of the X-Men and their adjacent teams gathered at the X-Mansion grounds for Illyana Rasputin’s funeral. Magneto crashed the funeral, declaring himself the new mutant savior. And he convinced Colossus, Illyana’s grieving brother, to abandon Xavier’s dream and join him. Colossus isn’t a regular member of the team in X-Men ’97, but this sure indicates that at least one stalwart X-Men is defecting to Magneto’s side before the season is over. Maybe even more than one.

We’ll discover what it all means when the last two episodes of X-Men ’97 season one, “Tolerance is Extinction” parts 2-3, drop on Disney+ on May 8 and May 15.

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The MCU loves a yellow super suit. First, it gave Charlie Cox’s Daredevil his red and yellow outfit when he appeared on the Disney+ series, She-Hulk. And now, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman have officially revealed what costume Wolverine will wear for his MCU debut. And no surprise, Deadpool 3, a.k.a. Deadpool & Wolverine, has opted to give Wolverine his bright yellow (and blue) suit, a costume pulled straight from the pages of Marvel Comics. Although Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine has appeared on our movie screens many times, his yellow comics-accurate suit has not made the live-action jump… Until now. But a bright yellow suit on this extra grumpy version of Wolverine in Deadpool 3 seems exactly appropriate.

You can check out the first-look image of Wolverine’s MCU costume from Deadpool 3 below. Then, take a minute to fully appreciate the incredible yellow-ness of this suit.

We bet we’re going to hear Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool refer to Jackman’s Wolverine as “Sunshine” at least once in the movie, thanks to this costume. And, the yellow and red suits for these heroes might lead to some ketchup and mustard jokes in Deadpool 3, much to Wolverine’s annoyance. But Wolverine had to eventually suit up in the comics’ yellow and blue X-Men costume in a Marvel movie.

Another Look at Wolverine’s Yellow Deadpool 3 Suit Comes From an Unexpected Source

Deadpool & Wolverine‘s first trailer did not feature another look at Wolverine’s yellow suit. But now, another glimpse at how the comics-accurate suit will look has emerged from an unexpected source, a drink cup displayed at Cinema Con. Although this rendition of Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine seems more like concept art than a true visual from the movie, it’s still interesting to take a look at the details. You can check out the image below.

New Images Reveals the Finer Details of the Deadpool & Wolverine Yellow MCU Suit

Our latest look at Deadpool & Wolverine zooms in on the finer details of Hugh Jackman’s new yellow suit. You can take in all the finer points of the costume below.

The Marvel Comics Origins of Wolverine’s Classic Costume, the Yellow and Blue Suit

So how did we arrive at this Deadpool 3 look for Wolverine? Wolverine made his debut in The Incredible Hulk #181 in 1974, wearing his classic yellow and blue costume. The mask was slightly different at first. But by the time the Canadian mutant became a part of the X-Men in Giant Size-X-Men #1 the following year, the classic yellow and blue suit as we know it was introduced, with the larger Wolverine mask. That look stuck until 1980, when Logan received his brown and tan suit. The second Wolverine costume lasted a decade, but he went back to his yellow and blue for the X-Men: The Animated Series era in 1992. This is likely why Wolverine’s yellow suit is seen as THE costume for a generation.

If there’s a true direct from the comic books inspiration here, the Deadpool 3 costume looks the most like Wolverine’s in Astonishing X-Men, which ran from 2004-2008. The great John Cassaday designed that outfit. The biggest detail that doesn’t match up to the Astonishing X-Men look is that Wolverine now has sleeves instead of bare arms. Oh, and no mask that we can see yet. But we expect that’s coming. You simply can’t have a complete classic yellow Wolverine costume without the mask, right?

Deadpool 3 Brings Us This Iconic Look in Hugh Jackman’s Potentially Final Turn as Wolverine

Fans have long-clamored to see this classic-colored costume on the hero. And the MCU loves to deliver an Easter egg if it can. As mentioned, yellow might seem an odd color for the hero known for being a bit of a grump. But, although Wolverine has worn many different costumes in his long Marvel Comics’ career, his suits have more often than not included yellow in them. It seems like Hugh Jackman had to don the color as Wolverine at least once before he hung up his claws.

Deadpool 3 director Shawn Levy shared more about Wolverine’s potential final turn on screen and bringing the yellow suit to life. He noted, “Like the rest of the world, I’ve waited two decades to see Wolverine in a whole movie with Deadpool, and I don’t know if this is our last shot at Wolverine on screen, so I was going to make goddamned sure we get the old yellow and blue just once, and that we get it right.”

And, in order to do that, Wolverine’s yellow costume went through “multiple, multiple, multiple iterations and fittings.” But Levy adds, “It also helps that I’m making this movie within the MCU, so I have access to an army of the nerdiest nerds available to a Marvel project.”

Could Deadpool & Wolverine Be Hugh Jackman’s Final Outing as Wolverine?

Before Deadpool 3 became a reality, Hugh Jackman said his Wolverine days had ended, and he would not play the character again. Of course, we can never say never, but those previous pronouncements make it likely the actor will be done with the role of Wolverine, yellow suit or otherwise, after the Deadpool movie. If this is indeed Hugh Jackman’s last time as the hero, then it’s fitting to end it on this classic note. Finally, we will see Wolverine, as we’ve come to know him, in the costume we most associate with the role.

Marvel Studios had slated Deadpool 3 to release on May 3, 2024. But we may see a shift in that release date depending on when the studios agree to fair compensation and support for their writers and actors.

Originally published on July 10, 2023.

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X-Men ’97 has been a stellar series so far, and one of the best things that Marvel Studios has ever produced for Disney+. The show started out as a fun nostalgia trip. Yet by episode five, it eclipsed almost every other non-comics X-Men media so far. Now, we’re heading into the three-part finale, titled “Tolerance is Extinction.” Marvel Animation has released a new trailer for the season’s end that hints at ominous things to come, particularly with Bastion’s Prime Sentinels. And possibly some big status quo changes too. Watch it down below, and then we’ll unpack all the mutant goodness together:

The trailer opens with a voiceover from Professor X, saying “You were my first students. My family. I wanted you to be free.” This leads us to guess that Charles returns from space, and has a heart-to-heart with Jean and Scott, his first students. We also see him wiping the dust off his old hover chair, suggesting he loses the Shi’ar exo-suit. We also see that Storm returns to the team, in her new/old costume. She appears next to Forge, and what looks like Sunspot, now in his New Mutants uniform from the comics. One shot shows the Professor’s office burning down, suggesting Xavier’s School goes down in flames. The destruction of the X-Mansion is an X-Men comics staple at this point.

The best new scene in the trailer though has to be Cable suiting up for battle alongside his father Scott. He makes a mention of the X-Men costumes looking like colorful circus outfits, and Cyclops retorts “What would you prefer? Black leather?” This was of course a dig at the original X-Men film. Specifically, the scene where Wolverine makes fun of the leather costumes, and Cyclops says “What would prefer, yellow spandex?” Something which every X-Men fan in the audience said “YES!” to. Although in fairness to those films, after movies like Batman & Robin, we get the initial impulse to not go the multicolored route. (There was no excuse for it in later years though). Cable’s new costume his son hands him looks suspiciously like his late ’90s X-Force look. Which we are very down with.

X-Men ’97 releases new episodes every Wednesday on Disney+.

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For decades, the two titans of comic book publishing, DC and Marvel, would occasionally cross over for special event comics. But we haven’t had one of these in over 20 years. The previous crossover comics have remained out of print, available only via the back issue bins at your comic shop. Now, Marvel and DC are reprinting these beloved comics at last, in two massive hardcover omnibuses collecting almost every single crossover, including the ’90s DC Versus Marvel event, and its fallout, the fused-together Marvel/DC Amalgam universe. Both omnibuses will be coming out this summer.

DC President Jim Lee illustrates new covers for both omnibuses, showcasing his first time drawing Marvel characters like the X-Men in an official capacity in decades. You can see both covers, which are Direct Market exclusives, below:

DC vs. Marvel

Direct Market cover by Jim Lee, Scott Williams, and Alex Sinclair

DC vs. Marvel: The Amalgam Age

Direct Market cover by Jim Lee, Scott Williams, and Alex Sinclair

Here’s what we know so far about the DC and Marvel crossover comics reprints.

DC Versus Marvel Omnibus 

Who would win: Superman versus Spider-Man? Batman versus Captain America? The X-Men meeting the Teen Titans? DC Versus Marvel Omnibus collects crossovers between the core DC and Marvel characters starting from 1976’s Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man to 2000’s Batman/Daredevil. The collection includes stories from some of comics’ most revered talents. It features names like Dennis O’Neil, George Pérez, Dan Jurgens, Chris Claremont, Walter Simonson, J.M. DeMatteis, Mark Bagley, Gerry Conway, John Romita Jr., and more. DC and Marvel fans alike can’t miss these thrilling pieces of unearthed comic book history.

Specific issues included are Batman/Captain America #1, Batman/Daredevil #1, Batman/Punisher: Lake of Fire #1, Batman/Spider-Man #1, Daredevil/Batman #1, DC Special Series #27 (Batman vs. the Hulk), Darkseid vs. Galactus: The Hunger #1, Green Lantern/Silver Surfer: Unholy Alliances #1, Incredible Hulk vs. Superman #1, Marvel and DC Present Featuring the Uncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans #1, Marvel Treasury Edition #28 (Superman and Spider-Man), Punisher/Batman: Deadly Knights #1, Silver Surfer/Superman #1, Spider-Man and Batman #1, Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man #1, and Superman/Fantastic Four #1.

DC/Marvel: The Amalgam Age Omnibus 

This collection features stories first told in 1996 of the two superhero universes fused together into a new Amalgam Universe, combining DC’s and Marvel’s heroes, villains, and mythologies. The result was a series of unforgettable one-shot comic books starring the likes of Dark Claw (Batman and Wolverine), Super Soldier (Superman and Captain America), Iron Lantern (Iron Man and Green Lantern), and many more. Among the creators are Peter David, Dan Jurgens, Mark Waid, Dave Gibbons, Ron Marz, José Luis García-López, Gary Frank, Bill Sienkiewicz, Claudio Castellini, and more. This represents one of the most fun and unlikely periods in comic book history.

This omnibus collects the 1996 DC Versus Marvel series, issues #1-4, and the subsequent follow-up one-shots. Included is DC/Marvel: All Access #1-4, Unlimited Access #1-4, Bat-Thing #1, Bruce Wayne: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. #1, Bullets and Bracelets #1, Challengers of the Fantastic #1, Doctor Strangefate #1, Iron Lantern #1, Legends of the Dark Claw #1, Lobo the Duck #1, Speed Demon #1, Spider-Boy #1, Super Soldier #1, Thorion of the New Asgods #1, X-Patrol #1, and more. We imagine that the rest of the Amalgam issues like Amazon (Wonder Woman and Storm) and JLX (Justice League and X-Men) are also included. There will also be “a treasure trove of behind-the-scenes material.”

No JLA/Avengers…Yet.

Now, arguably the most famous of the Marvel and DC Crossovers is not included here. We’re talking about JLA/Avengers. That 2004 event comic was the biggest and last of the crossover events. It was written by Kurt Busiek and drawn by the legendary George Pérez. When Pérez announced his terminal diagnosis in 2021 the two publishers rushed a very limited-run reprint for charity. But it sold out almost instantly. We can only hope that the legendary title receives its own new deluxe edition. That’s one book that should never go out of print.

The DC Versus Marvel and DC/Marvel: The Amalgam Age omnibuses both hit on August 6, 2024.

Originally published February 14, 2024.

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Promos had us believing the “Big Bad” of X-Men ’97 was going to be Mister Sinister. After episode six of season one, “Bright Eyes,” it turns out Sinister was just working for the Big Bad, who is a somewhat lesser-known X-Men comic book villain named Bastion. He’s voiced by White Lotus star Theo James. The series has dropped hints about Bastion all season, but now we know he’s the principal villain. So just who is this antagonist with a deep hatred of mutants, and what are his ties to some of the most lethal enemies the X-Men have ever faced, the Sentinels? Let’s unpack the bizarre history of this X-Men ’97 bad guy.

Bastion was a creation of writer Mark Waid and artist Andy Kubert, and debuted in 1996’s X-Men (vol.2) #52. He was the primary villain in the X-Men’s 1997 crossover event “Operation: Zero Tolerance.” In a way, Bastion is a new iteration of two classic X-Men foes: the Sentinel-creating Master Mold, and Nimrod, the advanced Sentinel robot from an alternate future. To explain how these robotic killing machines that target mutants became a (mostly) flesh and blood being named Bastion, we have to get into the powerful magic of the Siege Perilous.

Bastion Is of Both Technological and Mystical Origins

In the 1987 crossover event “The Fall of the Mutants,” the X-Men died saving the city of Dallas from an ancient evil called the Adversary. This is the very same supernatural being that caused Storm so much trouble recently on X-Men ’97. Although the X-Men died heroically, the goddess Roma resurrected them all as a reward for their bravery. Now invisible to all forms of human surveillance, they could strike at their enemies unnoticed. During this era, they lived in the Australian Outback, hiding from the world.

Roma gave the X-Men an “out” in the form of an ancient magical device called the Siege Perilous. It could open a portal, allowing anyone to walk through it to get a second chance at life. The Siege would judge you, and if worthy, you kept your memories of your previous life intact. If not, it erased your memory, and you were reborn with a new life. Five X-Men walked through it. One of them was Rogue, who went through during a pitched battle with Master Mold and Nimrod. She took the killer robots through with her. This occurred in 1989’s Uncanny X-Men #247. Rogue was reborn, memory intact, and because the Sentinels were machines, no one thought of them as alive and capable of mystical rebirth. They were wrong.

Part Master Mold, Part Nimrod, Part Human

The Master Mold/Nimrod hybrid came out of the Siege Perilous, now a total amnesiac. The mystical device had created a humanoid male body for it. Like many who went through before, the hybrid had no memory. A woman by the name of Rose Gilberti took him in. The amnesiac man bonded with the kind-hearted Rose, and she adopted him as a surrogate son, and even gave him her surname. He was now Sebastion Gilberti, or “Bastion” for short. Eventually hearing about the world’s “mutant problem” it triggered the anti-mutant part of his being. Bastion soon fell in with anti-mutant groups, like the hateful Friends of Humanity. Ultimately, this led him to government agencies where he knew he could do some real damage to the mutant community.

Bastion Initiates Operation: Zero Tolerance

With Bastion’s anti-mutant protocols activated once more, he started to organize an international anti-mutant strike force, named Operation: Zero Tolerance, or OZT for short. Deciding that the old model Sentinels were outdated, no doubt due to his being part “Future Sentinel” himself, he implanted several humans secretly with nano-technology. They were designated Prime Sentinels. These Prime Sentinels were all sleeper agents, programmed with nanotech, becoming mutant-hunting machines when activated by OZT. The X-Men and SHIELD defeat Bastion, but he keeps finding a way to make life miserable for mutants. Bastion is currently dead, but in the world of the X-Men, that is never permanent.

Bastion’s Powers and Abilities

Bastion is extremely powerful, especially as an advanced Sentinel given human form by mystical means. He has super strength, speed, flight, and agility. Like more rudimentary Sentinels, he can adapt to the powers of his mutant opponent. He can create mechanical weapons from his own body on a whim, and deploy deadly energy blasts. Much like the Borg on Star Trek, he had access to the Sentinel hive mind. Thanks to the techno-organic virus that creates Prime Sentinels, he can essentially reanimate the dead.

Similar to Star Trek’s Borg Queen, he can control all of his Prime Sentinel drones from any distance. Bastion also has the power of technopathy, meaning he can control all mechanical and electronic devices with a thought. When damaged, he can self-repair as well. Through techno-kinetic manipulation, he can alter his appearance. He can even time travel to the alternate future from which his Nimrod half originated. From a powers standpoint, Bastion is one of the deadliest villains the X-Men have ever faced.

Bastion in X-Men ’97

X-Men ’97 has hinted at Bastion appearing throughout the first season, since the second episode. We saw the distinctive back of his head at a war room meeting with military officials. We also saw him in a partial photo with Forge, in the episode “Lifedeath Pt.I.” This photograph was from Forge’s days as a government operative. You can also see him walking past Magneto at the celebration in Genosha in “Remember It,” before the Sentinel slaughter.

We know he’s promised Sinister something in return for his assistance in the genocide, acquiring Bolivar Trask’s DNA to activate the wild Sentinel. Sinister mentions that he was a villain that the X-Men faced once before. The X-Men battled a Nimrod in the original animated series, and it’s likely that he has evolved into Bastion. Although probably through non-magical means, as the Siege Perilous is not part of X-Men ’97 canon (yet). Whatever Bastion plans to do, he’s already caused horrific damage to the mutant community. We’ll find out how the X-Men plan to take him on in the final episodes of X-Men ’97 season one.

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X-Men ’97 and Deadpool & Wolverine are dominating the pop cultural mutant moment, but big things are also happening in the X-Men comics world right now. The groundbreaking Krakoan era of X-Men, the brainchild of writer Jonathan Hickman, is coming to a close after five years. A new era will begin immediately thereafter, titled “From the Ashes.” To celebrate the end of one era and the start of another, Marvel Comics is celebrating X-Men history with a fantastic wraparound cover by artist Scott Koblish. This cover honors nearly every character that has appeared in the X-Men titles over the past 60 years. You can check out the first part of the cover right here:

Koblish’s celebration of all things X-Men will be presented as a wraparound cover on four big X-issues this summer. This starts with June’s X-Men #35, technically the 700th issue of Uncanny X-Men, on sale June 5. You can also find it on the first issues of the three “From the Ashes” X-Men series. These include Jed MacKay and Ryan Stegman’s X-Men #1, on sale July 10. Gail Simone and David Marquez’s Uncanny X-Men #1 and Eve L. Ewing and Carmen Carnero’s Exceptional X-Men #1 will continue the piece, and arrive later this summer.

The characters presented on this cover range from the iconic to the obscure, from early years to more recent runs. Sure, there’s Magneto and several Sentinels, but nearly unknown ’60s villains like Vanisher and the Stranger made the cut as well. They included almost every X-Man, but also many of their allies, like the Starjammers and Carol Danvers. Also, nearly every character who ever channeled the Phoenix Force appears, from Jean Grey to Avengers vs. X-Men’s “Phoenix Five.” The first two covers focus more on the X-Men’s first thirty years, with the next two no doubt focusing on the last three decades. Which X-Men will appear in the next two covers? We certainly can’t wait to find out.

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Wolverine first appeared in 1974’s Incredible Hulk #181 and Deadpool didn’t pop up in Marvel Comics until New Mutants #98 in 1991; however, the two characters are inextricably linked. Mostly, because even though their temperaments are polar opposites, Deadpool and Wolverine’s histories are very similar. The Weapon X project experimented on both of them. Wolverine was given his adamantium skeleton by the shadowy group, and Deadpool had Wolverine’s own healing factor grafted onto his DNA while battling cancer by Weapon X. But in most ways, this is where the similarities end. Let’s dive into Wolverine and Deadpool’s strange relationship and history, both in and outside of Marvel comics, before Deadpool & Wolverine hits theaters in July.

Wolverine and Deadpool’s First Comics Together in the Marvel Universe

In the regular Marvel Comics continuity, Wolverine and Deadpool first met in 1994’s Wolverine #88. That issue saw Deadpool trashing an apartment after failing to get his girlfriend back from her new guy, Garrison Kane. This brought Wolverine into the picture, as Kane was his buddy. After trading the usual verbal jabs, then came the actual jabs, with Wade stabbing Logan through the chest with his two swords. And that set the tone for Wolverine and Deadpool’s entire relationship in Marvel Comics—insulting each other, stabbing one another, getting back up again, and doing it all over again. Rinse, wash, and repeat.

But although Wolverine and Deadpool met for the first time in Wolverine #88, it’s also worth noting they briefly shared the comic page a year before the issue was published. In 1993’s Toys R Us X-Men Premium Edition, the X-Men encounter Deadpool for the first time. Logan and Wade don’t actually fight or talk, but they do share a big group panel together. So it kinda, sorta counts as Deadpool and Wolverine’s first comic book meeting.

Despite these temporal truths, years later retcons to Marvel’s universe determined that Wolverine and Deadpool had met much earlier than that, in-universe at least. In 2008, Marvel revealed a new history for Deadpool and Wolverine. The pair’s first fight actually happened when the Winter Soldier, still a brainwashed Hydra agent, hired Wade to take out Logan. This was all in an effort to draw out Daken, Wolverine’s son, who ultimately saved him. This occurred in 2008’s Wolverine Origins story “Deep End.”

The Best Wolverine and Deadpool Comics to Read in Order to Understand the Pair’s History

Deadpool and Wolverine have alternately fought and then teamed up in several comics over the past three decades, which makes for one interesting trip down comics’ history lane. In one infamous fight in 1999’s Deadpool #27, Wade fought Logan as a form of therapy for depression. The Deadpool vs. Old Man Logan mini-series, meanwhile, found Wade Wilson getting into it with the cranky gray-haired version of Logan. In Wolverine/Deadpool: The Decoy, a two-faced killer robot from space wanted to kill Jean Grey for all of her Phoenix shenanigans. Since she was dead (at that time), Wolverine dressed up Deadpool as Jean Grey as a distraction until he defeated the killer robot. In Uncanny X-Force, the pair were true teammates at last. However, even with this new relationship, Wolverine and Deadpool still butt heads constantly.

Friends? Enemies? What Is Wolverine and Deadpool’s Relationship in the Marvel Comics?

Wolverine and Deadpool were what we call “frenemies.” Sometimes they were literally trying to murder each other, and other times they seemed like best buds. Their first meetings were definitely adversarial, as seen in almost all their encounters in the ‘90s. By 1999, the pair fought a group of werewolves together, calling a truce. At the end of that story, Deadpool and Wolverine bonded over their mutual tortures at the hands of the Weapon X program and shared a beer. This was the start of an awkward friendship. Eventually, Logan invited Wade to join X-Force and, for the first time, Deadpool and Wolverine were officially teammates. But they still came to blows sometimes. We’ll likely see this dynamic come to life in the MCU’s Deadpool & Wolverine.

Who Would Win in a Fight, Wolverine or Deadpool?

With over a century and a half of his life and training behind him, Wolverine is likely the better fighter than Deadpool. Although the two have fought numerous times, it almost always ended in a stalemate. Wade Wilson’s healing factor may have been derived from Logan’s DNA, but he had a leg up on the adamantium-clawed mutant. Deadpool literally can’t die. Wade was cursed by Thanos with immortality because the Mad Titan was jealous of Deadpool’s relationship with his beloved entity of Death. So although Logan’s healing factor made it very hard to kill him, Wolverine could actually die. Deadpool, not so much.

Can Deadpool Kill Wolverine in the Marvel Universe?

In the 2012 alternate timeline mini-series Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe, by writer Cullen Bunn and artist Dalibor Talajic, Marvel Comics finally showed a version of Wade Wilson who managed to kill Wolverine. Taking place on an alternate Earth in the multiverse, this comic featured a supervillain brainwashed Deadpool, who killed every known Avenger and X-Man. Only Wolverine was left standing at the end. Not for long though, as Deadpool found a way to kill Wolverine in this Marvel reality. In this story however, he needed a carbonadium sword to do it, as that metal is the only one on Earth that can nullify Logan’s healing factor. So yes, Deadpool could kill Wolverine. He just needs a little carbonadium help.

Who Heals Faster, Wolverine or Deadpool? Their Healing Factors Compared

Deadpool got his powers when Department K infused him with Wolverine’s mutant DNA. Yet his healing factor was ultimately superior to Logan’s. Wolverine’s healing factor can’t regrow lost limbs, for example. Deadpool’s healing factor allows him to regrow any lost and severed limb. Deadpool’s healing factor will even allow him to regrow his head. Wolverine’s wounds do heal, but his powers stop short of recreating actually lost cells out of thin air. Deadpool has the superior healing factor in this regard. Probably much to Wolverine’s annoyance—we bet it’s a sore spot in their relationship.

Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Ryan Reynolds’ first appearance as Deadpool actually came in the much-derided X-Men Origins: Wolverine in 2009. In that continuity, Wade Wilson was a mercenary with a metric ton of confirmed kills. He’s still a wisecracking motormouth, at least, at first. But unlike in Marvel Comics, Deadpool is a mutant fast enough to deflect bullets with swords. In the comics, he was born without the X-gene. But in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Deadpool was recruited into William Stryker’s mercenary Team X, along with Logan, and was eventually used by the Weapon X program as an experiment. Stryker infused his body with the DNA of several mutants, making him an undefeatable “mutant killer.” But he had his mouth sewn shut, so the famously talkative character became strangely mute. Let’s just say… the fans hated it.

Wolverine and Deadpool fought on Three Mile Island, but Logan defeated him. But we later saw that Deadpool’s severed head was still alive, and he winked at the camera. Luckily, X-Men: Days of Future Past rebooted the X-Men movie universe timeline, allowing the 2016 Deadpool to be closer to the comics. At the end of Deadpool 2, using Cable’s time travel device, Wade ventures into the events of X-Men Origins, shooting the previous Deadpool in the head. We have a strong feeling those time-travel shenanigans will play a part in Deadpool & Wolverine.

Hugh Jackman’s Logan Will Fight Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool in Deadpool & Wolverine

Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds will meet again for the very first time in Deadpool & Wolverine. From what the trailers tell us, it looks like the Time Variance Authority sends Deadpool to a universe where Logan failed the X-Men in some significant way, almost certainly leading to their deaths. Logan’s drowning his sorrows in a bar when Deadpool shows up to recruit him on a mission to save his own universe—possibly from being deleted entirely.

The pair then end up in the Void, the reality where the TVA dumps the remnants of pruned timelines. We know that after they fight each other, they fight Cassandra Nova, Charles Xavier’s evil twin. Aside from those facts, we know Logan and Deadpool will slice, stab, kick, and punch each other. Regardless of where they are in the multiverse, some things remain constant as their ongoing history and relationship continues to unfold. We can’t wait to see Deadpool and Wolverine, confirmed frenemies, take on the MCU.

Originally published on July 18, 2023.

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One of the big surprises of the first Deadpool & Wolverine trailer was seeing Aaron Stanford reprising his role as Pyro from X2: X-Men United and X-Men: The Last Stand. While we expected (and still expect) most of the mainline X-Men team from the original Fox films to appear in some form, it looks like some “deep cut” characters from the Fox Marvel films are popping up too. Here are the Fox X-Men characters we hope will make a cameo in the TVA’s pruned timeline wasteland known as the Void in Deadpool & Wolverine.

Lady Deathstrike (Kelly Hu) From X2: X-Men United (Confirmed)

Although she didn’t say a word, Kelly Hu (The Orville) as Yuriko Oyama, also known as Lady Deathstrike in X2: X-Men United, left quite an impression. Especially on Wolverine, who she stabbed with her claws multiple times. The Japanese mutant had similar powers to Logan, and very similar adamantium claws as well. We’d love to see her pop up in the Void, maybe this time wearing her classic costume from the comics. This is a rematch we’d all love to see. And maybe the film can allow her to talk this time! Is that too much to ask?

Happily, Lady Deathstrike’s appearance in Deadpool & Wolverine has been confirmed. But we aren’t certain yet who will play the character.

Angel (Ben Foster) From X-Men: The Last Stand

As we said, we expect most of the major original X-Men cast to have cameos of some sort. And yes, this character in the comics is a major X-Man. However, in X-Men: The Last Stand, he barely spoke any lines. So he was not much more than a glorified cameo. But maybe the MCU could bring Ben Foster back as Warren Worthington III, a.k.a. the Angel, now lost in the Void? And if the movie really wanted to make fans go wild, it could turn him into his blue-skinned razor-winged persona of Archangel.

Psylocke (Olivia Munn) From X-Men: Apocalypse

We have a hunch that most of the returns from the Fox Marvel-verse in Deadpool & Wolverine are going to be from the original X-Men trilogy, as those are the films Kevin Feige had a personal hand in. Also, the main First Class stars like Jennifer Lawrence and Nicolas Hoult might be busy these days. Having said that, there’s one character from X-Men: Apocalypse that Fox perfectly cast—Olivia Munn as the psychic ninja called Psylocke. The film totally wasted her, but it would be fun to see her fight with (or against) Wolverine and Deadpool in the Void.

Darwin (Edi Gathegi) From X-Men: First Class

We love X-Men: First Class, but one of its character deaths was so ridiculous it has become a meme. The mutant Darwin was introduced in that film, played by Edi Gathegi. His power was the ability to evolve to adapt to any situation. But for some reason, he couldn’t adapt to Sebastian Shaw’s powers and died unceremoniously. It was a totally lame way for such a cool character to go out. Let’s see his variant show up in the Void and maybe not die in some super dumb way this time. We know DC recently cast actor Edi Gathegi in Superman: Legacy. But hopefully, he gets one more spin in the Marvel world.

Banshee (Caleb Landry Jones) From X-Men: First Class

Banshee is another First Class alum who didn’t return for X-Men: Days of Future Past. Mystique said Xavier’s student Sean Cassidy was killed in between films. But this is superhero storytelling. Unless there’s a body, you ain’t dead. (And even then, maybe not). So we’d love to see Caleb Landry Jones put on the gliders of the sonic-powered mutant again. Although, this time in green. Sorry, green and yellow are just Banshee’s colors. Marvel never portrayed Sean Cassidy as a teenager in the comics, so luckily, Caleb Landry Jones is now the perfect age to play a comics-accurate version of the Irish X-Man.

Madrox the Multiple Man (Eric Dane) From X-Men: The Last Stand

The 2006 film X-Men: The Last Stand overflowed with mutant cameos, some better than others. One perfectly cast role was Grey’s Anatomy star Eric Dane as Jamie Madrox, the Multiple Man. As his name suggests, Jamie can replicate himself into an infinite amount of identical copies. He was used better than most of the mutants in the third X-Men film, even if he was inexplicably a bad guy. But maybe he pops up in the Void, and lends Deadpool and Wolverine a hand for a great Fox X-Men character cameo. The leader of the Marvel mutant team X-Factor certainly has plenty of hands to spare.

Honorable Mention: The Human Torch (Chris Evans) From Fantastic Four 2005

We know we’re focusing on the X-Men films, but there’s nothing to say that other Fox heroes won’t make a cameo in Deadpool & Wolverine. After all, Jennifer Garner as Elektra is in this movie. So with all the speculation that Chris Evans is returning to the MCU, wouldn’t it be hilarious (and very Deadpool) if Evans reappeared, but as Johnny Storm, the Human Torch? He loves playing that character, and we’d love to see hothead Johnny annoy the ever-living crap out of Wade and Logan. We know Michael Chiklis is not coming back as the Thing, but we know we’d love to see Chris Evans yell “Flame on!” just one more time.

Originally published on February 14, 2024.

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Most of the famous X-Men villains, like Magneto or Apocalypse, are products of the ‘60s to the ‘90s. But the 21st century has provided us with one of the most lethal X-Men foes of all time, Cassandra Nova Xavier. Soon, The Crown’s Emma Corrin will portray her in the upcoming Deadpool & Wolverine. Here’s the intel on one of the X-Men’s most dangerous adversaries.

Cassandra Nova’s Marvel Comics First Appearance

The genocidal maniac is the creation of writer Grant Morrison and artist Frank Quitely, introduced during their New X-Men run in the early 2000s. The story that introduced her, “E is For Extinction,” was a game-changer for the X-Men.” First appearing in 2001’s New X-Men #114, she’s since popped up several other times. Usually her appearance makes life hell for the mutant race in each instance.

Cassandra Nova’s Origin Story, and Charles Xavier

Cassandra Nova is that tried and true villain archetype of fiction — the evil twin. But in Grant Morrison’s imagination, “evil twin” has an even darker meaning. Cassandra is what the alien Shi’ar Empire calls a Mummudrai. A Mummudrai is something the Shi’ar believe every living being in the universe has, an astral “shadow self” without form. Cassandra began existence in the same womb as Charles Xavier, but without a corporeal body. She then copied her twin brother’s DNA and essentially became his physical twin, and attempted to strangle her brother in the womb with their mother’s umbilical cord. But the fetus of Charles uses his powers for the first time with a psychic blast, which causes her to be stillborn.

However, the Mummudrai’s essence survived as “chaotic cellular matter.” That blob of cells clung to a sewer wall for years and years, slowly regrowing its physical form, rebuilding itself, and copying human traits. One thing fueled this malevolent being, and that was revenge on her twin brother Charles Xavier, and everything he held dear. Particularly his dream for mutant and human coexistence. Fully grown, Cassandra activated a Sentinel Master Mold, which unleashed the Homo-superior-hunting robots on the mutant nation of Genosha. There, it murdered 16 million mutants in one fell swoop.

Cassandra Nova and the X-Men

After the Genoshan genocide, Cassandra fought the X-Men, and they thought they defeated her. Actually, she switched minds with her brother Charles Xavier, and when he was in her body, she allowed him to be shot and seemingly killed. After months of posing as Charles and creating chaos, eventually Xavier reasserted control of his old body, thanks to Jean Grey storing pieces of his psyche in every mind on Earth, and then putting them back into his original body, forcing her out. Cassandra’s essence then entered a newly created body with a synthetic brain, now locked into a self-repeating program for all time. Or so they thought.

Cassandra Nova was once thought to have been released from her mental prison a few years later in Astonishing X-Men, but she turned out to be a mental projection by Emma Frost. Eventually, she escaped her imprisonment by hopping from one host body to another. Once free, she used Sentinel tech implanted in baseline humans to kill mutants. A human with this Sentinel tech in them would go wild with rage at the very sight of a mutant. Jean Grey eventually used her considerable psionic ability to enter her mind and thwart her plans. She did this by making her feel human empathy for the first time, which caused her to surrender.

Cassandra Nova in Marvel Comic’s X-Men Spin-off, Mauraders

When the mutant community founded their own nation on the living island of Krakoa, Cassandra Nova was moved there. Hoping she’d reformed, she joined Kate Pryde’s Marauders, a sort of corsair group of X-Men on the high seas. Pryde and Emma Frost never believed Nova had reformed, and still held much animosity towards her for the genocide of Genosha. Especially Emma Frost, who was the sole survivor. At one point, the Marauders found themselves stranded over two billion years in the past on a time travel mission. Emma and Kate decided to leave Cassandra Nova stranded there as payback for her heinous acts. What became of her after that remains a mystery. We seriously doubt it’s the last we’ve seen of her in the pages of the comics.

Cassandra Nova’s Powers

Cassandra Nova is one of the most powerful adversaries the X-Men have ever faced. As a Mummudrai, she mimicked all of Charles Xavier’s powers, including his telepathy, but also, all his latent mutant powers. Powers that were dormant within his DNA. Cassandra can do things he never could, like telekinesis, as well as phase through solid matter. She has regenerative capabilities comparable to those of Wolverine’s. She can also even evolve latent mutants to their true potential with a thought.

Emma Corrin Plays Cassandra Nova in Deadpool & Wolverine

So what role will Cassandra Nova play in Deadpool & Wolverine? It honestly depends on how much of her comic origins they adhere to in this film. She could just be Charles Xavier’s evil twin, without the cosmic doppelganger stuff. Cassandra Nova might even be an alt-universe version of Charles himself, keeping with the multiverse aspects of the film. She certainly doesn’t look as deformed as she does in the comics. We know a lot of the action in the film takes place in the Void, the reality of pruned timelines that’s the TVA’s dumpster for deleted worlds.

Perhaps she’s used her vast psionic powers to set herself up as the ruler of the Void after being exiled there? If the TVA is no longer pruning timelines after the events of Loki season 2, it may be ripe for someone to take over. She walks out of Ant-Man’s skull, surrounded by what looks like her minions. It suggests she rules in this desolate place. She clearly has all of her psychic powers intact, as she’s able to control Wolverine like a puppet. She certainly has the power levels to be the film’s “Big Bad,” and then some. We’ll see when Deadpool & Wolverine hits in July.

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On X-Men ’97 this season, Storm has been through it. She lost her powers, found out the cute new guy she’s been seeing actually caused that problem, and faced down a demon. It’s a lot. But after many trials and tribulations, in episode six of X-Men ’97, “Lifedeath Pt. II,” Ororo Munroe got her weather-controlling powers back. She not only got her powers again, but she’s now wearing her original costume. That costume is from 1975’s Giant Size X-Men #1. Now, a fan has mashed up Storm’s upgrade with Beyoncé’s song “Alien Superstar” from her album Renaissance. And yes, it fits perfectly. You can watch the video from Twitter user Steven T right here:

They describe this as a Storm’s magical girl transformation, and it really is just that. For those unfamiliar, the term usually applies to an anime trope, one where the heroine “utters a key phrase, accompanied by certain gestures and/or using some sort of magical device, and then hovers into the air over a magical background, then has her clothes disappear as her hero costume glows into existence over her.” Sailor Moon popularized this, but even that drew inspiration from She-Ra’s and Wonder Woman’s magical transformations on TV years before. Now, Storm follows in that same grand tradition.

Using Beyoncé’s hit song “Alien Superstar” is also fitting, because a few years back, the musical icon once wore an updated version of that Storm costume for Halloween, designed by Simone Bianchi. It’s a bit of a full-circle moment. Storm’s costume in the series is the first time in the X-Men: The Animated Series continuity she’s worn her original outfit. Designed by Dave Cockrum, this was Storm’s principal costume in the Uncanny X-Men comics for years. But aside from the failed pilot episode “Pryde of the X-Men” in 1989, Storm has never used it in animation. We can’t wait to see more of it in X-Men ’97.

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Once Disney bought 20th Century Studios and Marvel could play with Fox IP, we knew the Xenomorphs from the Alien franchise would fight some superheroes one day. Now it’s official, as coming this July is Aliens vs. Avengers, a four-issue limited series by the superstar creative team of Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribić. That’s the same creatives responsible for the epic 2015 limited series Secret Wars, which is forming the basis for a highly anticipated Avengers sequel in a few years. Marvel has released cover art by Esad Ribić for the first issue, which you can see right here:

Jonathan Hickman spoke to Entertainment Weekly and dropped some hints about what to expect from the upcoming crossover event.

I’ve never worked on a licensed or ‘non-superhero’ property the entire time I’ve been at Marvel, so when all of this came together almost two years ago, I kind of jumped at the opportunity. I love the Aliens universe and the mythology, and obviously just how atmospherically and well-designed everything is has always gotten my creative juices flowing. It was tricky finding a way to make these two things work together, but I think Esad and I landed on something that works for fans of both franchises.

Jonathan Hickman is as big a writer as Marvel currently has. His runs on Fantastic Four and Avengers are among the best either series has ever had. Meanwhile, his X-Men reinvention of 2019 became a fan-favorite, fueling five years’ worth of stories. His work with Ribić on Secret Wars was also game-changing. So this creative team makes this series much more than another throwaway IP mash-up. The series will take place in the near future, with “older, gritter versions of Marvel’s heroes.”

We have to give it up to Marvel for the logo of this series. Fans will notice it’s an upside-down version of the Weyland-Yutani logo from James Cameron’s Aliens. Nicely done. The Alien vs. Predator franchise actually began as a comic book back in the day. Since then, the Xenomorphs have fought Superman, Batman, Judge Dredd, and even Buffy the Vampire Slayer. We’ll find out if Earth’s Mightiest Heroes are as much of a challenge to the Xenomorphs as those heroic icons were.

Aliens Vs. Avengers #1 goes on sale July 24, just weeks ahead of the release of Alien: Romulus.

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The opening credits sequence for X-Men ’97 is incredibly faithful to the one for the ’90s X-Men: The Animated Series. At first glance, you might think it’s exactly the same as it was before. But there are subtle changes to the opening sequence with each episode. These changes include many Easter eggs referring to the original animated show, as well as the classic Marvel comics. Let’s break them down, episode by episode.

X-Men ’97 Episode 1,”To Me, My X-Men”

The first episode of X-Men ’97 rather faithfully recreated the original X-Men: The Animated Series opening credits. But from the get-go, there were some changes. The entire team is inside the Blackbird cockpit now, including Jubilee. Jean Grey no longer wears her ponytail, and Storm is sporting her new mohawk. Both Morph and Bishop are added to the “roll call” in the credits. Morph also has a moment where he’s tormented by Mister Sinister. In the final showdown, where the X-Men and their enemies are running towards each other, Lady Deathstrike and the White Queen replace Thunderbird and Gargoyle.

X-Men ’97 Episode 2 “Mutant Liberation Now”

The second episode sees Magneto in his new costume as the first X-Man we see in the credits, effectively replacing Professor X. Although we still see Charles in the credits, right before the title card comes up. Other additions include Storm fighting and beating Callisto in the Morlock tunnels, from the original series episode “Captive Hearts.” We see a brief moment of Jean Grey in full Dark Phoenix mode from the original series’ adaptation of “The Dark Phoenix Saga.” We catch a glimpse of Bishop tumbling through time from the original show’s “Days of Future Past” adaptation. Finally, we see Magneto’s orbiting base Asteroid M, from the X-Men: The Animated Series fourth season episode “Sanctuary.”

X-Men ’97 Episode 3 “Fire Made Flesh”

For the third X-Men ’97 episode’s credits, new additions include a brief shot of the X-Men fighting Magneto. This is from the second episode of the classic series, “Enter: Magneto.” We see mutant Roberto da Costa, chased by the angry mob running toward a chain link fence, just as Jubilee did. Next we see Empress Lilandra of the Shi’ar with Charles Xavier, in a moment from “The Dark Phoenix Saga.” We also witness Jean Grey’s sacrifice in that same episode, in front of a very distraught Cyclops. Finally, there’s a shot of Rogue and Gambit on the basketball court. This scene is a recreation of Jim Lee’s art from 1992’s X-Men #4.

X-Men ’97 Episode 4 “Motendo/Lifedeath Pt. 1”

For the episode four credits, Jean Grey is back in her original X-Men: The Animated Series ponytail, letting us know this is the real Jean, and not the clone Madelyne Pryor. We also catch a glimpse of Jubilee saving the other-dimensional warrior Longshot from Mojo is from the X-Men: The Animated Series episode “Longshot” from season three. Next is a moment is from the classic episode “Cold Comfort,” which introduced Iceman to X-Men: The Animated Series continuity. We see Forge with the government-sponsored team X-Factor, including Lorna Dane/Polaris. Finally, we see Emma Frost, the White Queen of the Hellfire Club, making telepathic contact with Charles Xavier. This is also from “The Dark Phoenix Saga” episodes of the classic show.

X-Men ’97 Episode 5, “Remember It”

This episode, despite its game-changing events, only had two new scenes in the credits. The first shows the cyborg mutant mercenary Cable, fighting a giant size version of the ancient mutant Apocalypse. This is from the original X-Men: The Animated Series episode “Time Fugitives.” Next, we see Gambit and Nightcrawler fighting side by side, presumably from the classic episode “Bloodlines.” Since Cable made his X-Men ’97 debut in this episode, and we got a visit from Nightcrawler, the inclusion of these two scenes makes sense.

X-Men ’97 Episode 6, “Lifedeath Pt. II”

The opening credits for episode 6, “Lifedeath Pt. II,” make another change to the team roster. We now have Nightcrawler, who jumps on his own logo, which was first designed for his 1985 miniseries. We also get a quick flash of the X-Men fighting Nimrod, the future Sentinel. Speaking of Sentinels, we also see a Master Mold produce many of its Sentinel offspring, probably from the original X-Men season one finale. The X-Men fighting the Shi’ar Imperial Guard is from the end of “The Dark Phoenix Saga,” and Lilandra meeting Xavier for the first time is from the opening episodes of “The Phoenix Saga.”

We expect many more new scenes and Easter eggs added to the opening credits as each new episode of X-Men ’97 drops on Disney+.

Originally published on April 3, 2024.

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The opening moments of episode six of X-Men ’97, “Lifedeath Pt. II,” don’t take place on Earth, but in the depths of outer space. It is in the galaxy ruled by the Shi’ar Empire, in fact. In that scene, we get a proper introduction to someone who will no doubt be a major thorn in the X-Men’s side in the future — the Shi’ar royal warrior known as Deathbird. Although she appeared fleetingly in a handful of X-Men: The Animated Series episodes in the ‘90s, it’s here that we really get to know this deadly alien. But her comic book history doesn’t begin in the pages of X-Men comics, but actually in the pages of Ms. Marvel. A series written by Uncanny X-Men’s Chris Claremont, who along with artist Keith Pollard, created Deathbird in 1977.

The Marvel Comics Origins of Deathbird

Born as Princess Cal’syee Neramani of the Royal House of the Shi’ar on the world Chandilar, Cal’syee was third in line to the throne. From birth, she was under a cloud of suspicion because of prophecies saying she would bring great evil to the galaxy. They exiled her from the Shi’ar homeworld when she brutally murdered her mother and sister and also stripped her of her name. She eventually took on the alias of Deathbird, reflecting her winged nature. Winding up on the distant world of Earth, Deathbird became a criminal working with villains like M.O.D.O.K., and battled Carol Danvers, then going by the name Ms. Marvel. This makes her similar to another well-known X-Men villain, Mystique, who also debuted as a Ms. Marvel adversary.

Deathbird Becomes an X-Men Villain

Deathbird becomes a major X-Men villain when she attempts multiple takeovers of the Shi’ar throne, trying to steal it away from her sister Lilandra. At the time, Lilandra was the paramour of Professor X, the X-Men’s leader. Eventually, with the assistance of the alien race the Brood, she was able to steal the throne from her sister. For quite some time, Deathbird ruled the Shi’ar Empire with an iron fist, until Lilandra, with the help of Charles Xavier, was able to help her take back her rightful place on the throne. Deathbird actually ceded the Empire to her at a later time, hating the day-to-day bureaucratic process of ruling.

Deathbird’s Mutant Romances

Eventually, Deathbird made some sort of peace with Lilandra, and helped her defeat the Kree in the Shi’ar/Kree War. When the Shi’ar ultimately conquered the Kree, they elevated Deathbird to Viceroy and ruler of the Kree Empire in the Shi’ar’s name. When she helped the X-Men fight the alien Phalanx, she found herself in a brief romance with the time traveler Bishop. Her most important romance however was with the Earth mutant Gabriel Summers, a.k.a. Vulcan, who is the younger brother of Cyclops and Havok.

When Cyclops’ parents, Christopher and Katherine Summers, were abducted by the alien Shi’ar, Katherine was pregnant. Although Emperor D’Ken killed her, the unborn mutant child was spared. He then grew at an accelerated rate in the Shi’ar Empire’s labs. Living most of his life off-Earth and taking the name Vulcan, thanks to his energy-controlling powers, he became the consort of Deathbird. Eventually, he takes the throne of the Shi’ar, becoming Emperor Vulcan, with Deathbird as his Empress. Together, they have a hybrid child, whose name, gender, and current whereabouts are unknown.

The Alien Mutant Powers of Deathbird

Like her Earthly enemies, Deathbird is a mutant. While all members of the Shi’ar race descended from bird-like creatures, Deathbird had a genetic mutation at birth. Her mutation made her far more akin to prehistoric Shi’ar, who were far more avian in appearance. This mutation gave her wings, allowing her the power of flight. In addition, Deathbird has super strength, speed, and agility. Her nails are like talons, and can tear through most substances. As if her innate mutant powers were not enough, Deathbird is a highly skilled warrior. She’s a fighter almost without equal in the entire Shi’ar Empire.

Deathbird’s X-Men: The Animated Series Cameos

In the original X-Men: The Animated Series, Deathbird made two silent cameos in a pair of episodes. We see her with her older brother, the mad emperor D’Ken, when he kidnaps the Summers family in a flashback. She also appears at the side of Apocalypse at the end of the fourth season episode “Sanctuary, Part II.” We learn in the episode “Beyond Good and Evil: Part II” that she allied herself with Apocalypse to wrest the Shi’ar throne away from her sister. But once Apocalypse captured the Shi’ar psychic Oracle away from Lilandra for his own purposes, he betrayed Deathbird, thus leaving her at the mercy of her sister.

Deathbird in X-Men ’97

Deathbird must have pleaded with her sister for a second chance after we last saw her. Because in X-Men ’97 she serves Empress Lilandra in her war with the Kree and defeats Ronan the Accuser. She also used her sister’s romance with Charles Xavier as a “weakness” to exploit, as he is a mere “Terran.” She suggests their union would taint the Shi’ar royal bloodline. Much like Chris Claremont and Jim Lee’s iconic Uncanny X-Men #275, we just might see Xavier’s students take on the alien villain before season one is over. It certainly seems like Deathbird is shaping up to earn her name in the eyes of Marvel’s mutants.

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The world of Marvel’s mutants has changed forever thanks to the genocidal attack on Genosha in episode five of X-Men ’97. So much so, we theorize it will cause a rift in the team that recalls not one, but two major events from the comics. The first is the emergence of the more militant, revolutionary version of Cyclops. For a time in the comics in the late 2000s, Scott Summers had a “take no prisoners” attitude that rivaled Magneto. The other is the formation of X-Factor, a team led by Cyclops consisting of the original X-Men. Here are the clues classic Marvel Comics have provided us that lead us to this is where X-Men ’97 is going.

Cyclops Is Becoming Angrier with Each Episode of X-MEN ’97

Even before the attack on Genosha, in the TV interview, Scott Summers seemed very done with the whole thing. He loses control and gets brutally honest, having an outburst where he mentions how sick he is of human prejudice and ungratefulness. It seems all the recent trauma in the series has gotten to Scott, including losing his infant son Nathan to an unknown future. Compounded with the genocide on Genosha, which killed the mother of his son, Madelyne Pryor, this might be enough to make Scott harden his heart and become a hardcore revolutionary. He might even take Magneto’s approach to mutant rights, and break from Xavier’s more peaceful method.

In the Wake of Mutant Decimation, Cyclops Becomes More Militant

In the comics, the genocide on Genosha, followed by the Scarlet Witch’s depowering of nearly all mutants on Earth in 2005’s House of M, led to a near annihilation of mutants as a race. This changed the remaining powered mutants in both good and bad ways. For Scott Summers, this time was particularly harsh. He had recently lost his wife Jean Grey (again), and learned that his mentor Professor X had lied to him and the team, about several things. Dating former villain Emma Frost, Cyclops became more and more militant in his belief that mutants must do anything to survive, no matter the cost. It was during this time he secretly formed a new version of X-Force, designated as a black ops team sent on missions to kill their deadliest foes.

During this era, Cyclops led what remained of the powered mutants to an island near San Francisco named Utopia. There, he formed the X-Men’s “Extinction Team,” which was designed to flex the might of mutants in the world, and who were created to thwart extinction-level events for humans and mutants. On this powerful lineup were X-Men like Emma Frost, Colossus, Namor, Magick, Storm, and, Magneto. The Master of Magnetism had ceded his role as the revolutionary leader to Scott, a man whom Magneto had tried to kill in battle many times when he was a boy.

Cyclops, Headmaster of the Proactive New Xavier School

It didn’t end there. Believing mutantkind must do whatever it takes to survive, Cyclops began training the few remaining younger mutants into soldiers. This led to a schism with Wolverine. Logan believed the mutant children needed to learn how to control their powers first, leaving the soldiering to the adults. From there, the team split to two factions of X-Men, with Cyclops leading one aggressively proactive team, and Logan another. Cyclops opened the New Xavier School in the former Weapon X base, militarizing a new generation of mutant teens. This act raised eyebrows among the mutant community, as well as teams like the Avengers.

“Cyclops Was Right”

Things really got out of hand for Cyclops when the Phoenix Force returned to Earth. This led to a war with the Avengers, and Cyclops (and four other mutants) became the new Phoenix hosts. The Phoenix pushed Cyclops into a darker mindset, ultimately leading to his killing of his mentor Charles Xavier. Of course, Xavier eventually returned. That didn’t stop his fellow X-Men from blaming Scott for what he did under the Phoenix’s influence. However, when Scott died (temporarily of course) many changed their views on Scott Summers, viewing him as a mutant martyr. Mutants in the Marvel universe began boasting the phrase “Cyclops Was Right.” Although his stance has softened quite a bit since his return to life, this militant Cyclops lasted for several years’ worth of comics.

Could Cyclops Form X-Factor As an X-Men Splinter Team?

We do think if proactive Cyclops breaks off a splinter X-Men team, the producers might go further in the comic book past for its roster. Since episode one of X-Men ’97, they keep showing a photo of the first class of Xavier’s students hanging in Charles’ office. Like the comics, the original X-Men were Cyclops, Marvel Girl (Jean Grey), Beast, Iceman, and Angel. The original series casually mentioned an original team before, notably in the Iceman-centric episode “Cold Comfort.” They never directed attention to the fact there was an “original five” team as much as they have in X-Men ’97. We think they are reminding us for a reason. It’s because when Scott forms his own squad, he’ll call his old classmates, and they’ll go by the name X-Factor.

In the comics, Cyclops lost leadership of the X-Men to Storm, attempting to settle down with his wife and son. But circumstances forced him to form his own team with his oldest friends. The original X-Factor’s mission statement was to use humanity’s paranoia and fear of mutants against them. Posing as X-Factor, the original five X-Men were like Ghostbusters for mutants. People would call them on a toll-free line, and they’d show up and deal with the local “mutant problem.” As they were all secretly mutants themselves, they would train these younger mutants as Xavier once taught them.

The mutants wore different costumes as the X-Terminators, a public mutant superhero team made of former X-Men. The unsuspecting public didn’t realize they were the same group. X-Factor thought they could use humanity’s fear of mutants to their own advantage, and save kids with active X-genes instead. The plan ultimately backfired and did more harm than good. Yet we could see X-Men ’97 make Cyclops lead a new charge with his oldest friends in tow. As the series continues to unfold, we’ll find out how far Cyclops has been pushed to extremism. We believe that much of his future character trajectory was spelled out for Scott Summers decades ago in some classic Marvel titles.

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Two of the most well-known brands in the world are coming together for a truly Marvelous promotion this year. The Walt Disney Company and Coca-Cola have announced Coca-Cola x Marvel: The Heroes. This is a new collaboration between the 85-year-old comic book publisher and the 132-year-old soft drink juggernaut (no pun intended). For this limited-time campaign, Marvel’s heroes come to life with a brand-new experience featuring limited-edition Coca-Cola can and bottle designs with 38 different character illustrations. You can check out the fun new commercial, as well as some of the Marvel Coca-Cola cans and bottles, below.

Coca-Cola x Marvel: The Heroes Ad Brings the X-Men and Avengers Together

The first commercial is very inventive, showcasing something Marvel fans have wanted to see on screen for years — X-Men and Avengers interacting together. After decades of formerly Fox-owned characters being forbidden from meeting other Marvel heroes, even on t-shirts, this ad is a true joy. The fact that it takes place in a comic book store is just the cherry on top. It’s nice they remember where these big-screen heroes originated from. Without the comics, there is simply no MCU. Coca-Cola x Marvel: The Heroes offers fans a chance to win prizes from both Disney and Marvel. Among them are an Ultimate Fan Experience, a Disney Cruise, Marvel Studios movie screenings, and more.

Of course, some limited-edition Coca-Cola Marvel fans are on offer. They will surely catch the eye of Marvel and Coke superfans.

The Coca-Cola x Marvel: The Heroes’ Limited Edition Coke Can and Bottles Available for You to Assemble

Coca-Cola cans will feature Blade, Cable, Colossus, Daredevil, Deadpool, Elektra, Juggernaut, Kingpin, Loki, Moon Knight, Negasonic Teenage Warhead, Wolverine, Nick Fury, Storm (US Only), Super Skrull, and War Machine. Meanwhile, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar Coke bottles and cans will showcase Ant-Man, Black Panther, Black Widow, Captain America, Captain Marvel, Doctor Strange, Groot, Hulk, Iron Man, Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk, Rocket, Scarlet Witch, Shang-Chi, Star-Lord, Thanos, and Thor. You can view all the character illustrations here.

Interestingly enough, despite having cans with most of the Marvel headliners, there are no Spider-Man or Fantastic Four heroes on these Coke creations. Their licenses must currently be with another soda company. Hopefully, we get a second wave of limited-edition Coca Cola fun, one where every Avenger gets to assemble on a Coke can.

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Marvel recently released a message from “the Future Foundation” about the Fantastic Four comics you might want to read “in preparation for the upcoming meeting.” The comic giant even made these stories available for free on Marvel Unlimited. Marvel wants us to read five specific comics, which probably provide hefty clues as to what to expect in the upcoming Fantastic Four film from Matt Shakman. For those who are unfamiliar with the Future Foundation, it’s the scientific think tank developed by Mister Fantastic himself in recent years. Here are the Marvel Comics recommendations and how we think those choices will relate to the upcoming Fantastic Four film.

Fantastic Four #1 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby (1961)

This is the comic that started not only the Fantastic Four as a team, but the Marvel Universe as we know it. The first issue features the FF’s origin story. We meet them as Atomic Age adventurers who steal a prototype spaceship and gain powers during a cosmic ray storm. Scientist Reed Richards becomes the stretchy Mister Fantastic and his girlfriend Sue Storm becomes the Invisible Girl. Sue’s kid brother Johnny becomes the flammable Human Torch, and their buddy, the pilot Ben Grimm, becomes the monstrous Thing. Kevin Feige has said that the new Fantastic Four film won’t be an origin story. However, their origin will at least be referenced or seen in flashback form. This is why this historic first issue was likely included under the Future Foundation Marvel Comics recommendations. It’s truly the start of everything.

Fantastic Four #48-50 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby (1966)

These iconic issues of the Fantastic Four from 1966 show the Lee and Kirby team at their creative peak. These issues, collectively known as “The Galactus Trilogy,” focus on the Silver Surfer coming to Earth, as Herald of Galactus. He’s come to warn Earth that his master, the Devourer of Worlds, is arriving to consume the planet’s life energy. This storyline introduces one of the biggest threats to the Marvel Universe in the form of Galactus as well as one of its greatest tragic heroes in the Silver Surfer. It also set the standard for long-form comic book storytelling. Silver Surfer is confirmed for the MCU Fantastic Four, so Galactus cannot be far behind. This makes it feel official that the plot of the film revolves in some manner around this storyline. However, the next Fantastic Four comic that Marvel recommended may signal a very different version of the Galactus saga than fans know.

Fantastic Four: Life Story by Mark Russell and Sean Izaakse (2021)

The previous comics were almost no-brainers for an introduction to the Fantastic Four. But this final issue is a lot more recent. It should provide a big clue as to what the MCU FF will eventually look like. In the six issue series Fantastic Four: Life Story, writer Mark Russell traces the FF as if they got their powers in 1961, just as in the regular comics. The difference here is that the series follows them as they actually age in real-time. In this alternate history, Reed Richards saw the eventual coming of Galactus and Earth’s destruction, decades down the line. The Fantastic Four become celebrity heroes and Reed transforms the world with his advanced technology.

In the ’90s, the Silver Surfer arrives and informs Earth they have ten years until Galactus arrives to devour the planet. The rest of the series follows the aging team as they try to prevent the Earth’s destruction at the hands of Galactus. They do this while also contending with the likes of Doctor Doom. The teaser art Marvel Studios released on April 4, showcasing a retro-future New York skyline, is maybe hinting that Fantastic Four takes place on its own Earth, where the FF first appeared in the ’60s and spent decades preparing for the coming of Galactus. It certainly seems plausible given this recommendation from Marvel. This relatively new series might be more important to the upcoming film than anyone had ever thought.

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Marvel fans everywhere were surprised at the casting announcement of Ozark star Julia Garner as the Silver Surfer in the upcoming MCU Fantastic Four film, directed by Matt Shakman. However, this Silver Surfer won’t be Norrin Radd, the male Herald of Galactus most Marvel Comics fans are familiar with. Instead, it will be Shalla-Bal, a Marvel character with a history going back to the very first issue of Silver Surfer. For over five decades, Shalla-Bal has been a crucial part of the Cosmic Wanderer’s backstory.

Shalla-Bal, the Great Love of the Silver Surfer’s Life

In the comics, Shalla-Bal has long been a key player in the Silver Surfer’s lore. Although, she’s only ever been the Surfer herself in alternate universes to the 616. The main Marvel Universe’s Shalla-Bal first appeared in Silver Surfer #1 in 1968. She was the creation of Stan Lee and artist John Buscema. Ever since that first issue, Marvel has portrayed her as Norrin Radd’s greatest love. She’s even appeared in animated form, in the 1998 Silver Surfer animated series.

Like Norrin Radd, Shalla-Bal comes from the peaceful and advanced world of Zenn-La. Shalla-Bal met Norrin Radd when she was still a child, and bonded with Norrin thanks to a strange Zenn-La tradition. After the death of Norrin’s mother, her parents tasked Shalla-Bal with being his emotional companion. This was a Zenn-Lavian custom, to help a child deal with profound grief. Shalla-Bal was a happy-go-lucky child, while Norrin was extremely serious. Nevertheless, the bond between them was strong. As adults, the two fell in love and became a couple. However, when Galactus, the Devourer of Worlds, comes to Zenn-La, their idyllic life is disrupted.

Mephisto and Doctor Doom Use Shalla-Bal as a Pawn Against the Silver Surfer

Norrin Radd saved his utopian world by offering himself to Galactus to become his herald, the Silver Surfer. By doing so, he had to leave Zenn-La, and his beloved Shalla-Bal, presumably for all time.  Eventually, the Silver Surfer rebelled against Galactus, who confined him to Earth as punishment. The Surfer’s enemy, the demon Mephisto, used Shalla-Bal as a weapon against Norrin Radd. Mephisto brainwashed Shalla-Bal, making her think she was a peasant girl from Latveria by the name of Helena. The Latverian monarch Doctor Doom, a mortal enemy of the Surfer, even married her in a mock ceremony.

As retaliation for his Herald’s betrayal, Galactus consumed the life energies of his home planet of Zenn-La. However, he spared the lives of the inhabitants, allowing them to return to their now-decimated planet. He believed their suffering would hurt the Silver Surfer more than their deaths. Eventually, Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four frees the Surfer from his imprisonment on Earth, and he returns to his homeworld. But Shalla-Bal is not there, and he learns how his enemies Mephisto and Doom used her as a pawn. He uses the Power Cosmic to finally free his great love.

Shalla-Bal, Empress of Zenn-La

Shalla-Bal used her new power to restore life to her homeworld. The grateful Zenn-Lavians then crowned her as Empress of the Zenn-La. Despite the Surfer now being free of his Earthly confinement, Shalla-Bal refused to marry him, citing her responsibilities as ruler of Zenn-La. Eventually, she becomes designated as the “Keeper of the Great Truth,” tasked with spreading the culture of her homeworld across the known universe. Over the succeeding years, Shalla-Bal has been killed, resurrected, and even become her love Norrin Radd’s enemy. She even dated Norrin’s half-brother. These literally star-crossed lovers can never catch a break it seems.

In Other Marvel Realities, Shalla-Bal Is a Herald of Galactus Herself

In a 1982 issue of What If..?, we learn that Shalla-Bal became Starglow, a different Herald of Galactus. As part of the alternate reality of the series Earth X by Alex Ross, Shalla-Bal became a Silver Surfer herself. In that universe, Norrian Radd realizes that Galactus serves a necessary function in the universe. With that universe’s Galactus dead, he allows the High Evolutionary to evolve Franklin Richards, son of Reed and Sue Richards, to become the second Galactus. This new Galactus gives the Power Cosmic to Shalla-Bal, allowing for twin Silver Surfers to roam the galaxy together, seeking planets to sustain the Devourer of Worlds.

The Powers and Abilities of Shalla-Bal

As a native of Zenn-La, Shalla-Bal has an extremely long life span. The inhabitants of that world are essentially immortal. When the Silver Surfer granted her a portion of the Power Cosmic, plant life would grow wherever she walked. That is how she restored life to her devastated home planet. In the Earth X universe, she has access to the full Power Cosmic as the second Silver Surfer, which makes her almost a god. In the What If…? comics, she has another form of the full Power Cosmic as Starglow.

Shalla-Bal, the Silver Surfer of the MCU Fantastic Four

It is unknown how the filmmakers plan to portray Shalla-Bal in the MCU. Rumors suggest that Matt Shakman’s Fantastic Four will take place in an alternate reality from the Sacred Timeline. So it’s possible that in this universe, Shalla-Bal is the one and only Silver Surfer, offering herself as Galactus’ herald instead of Norrin Radd. Or, maybe as in Earth X continuity, she is one of two Silver Surfers doing Galactus’ bidding, and we just don’t know who’s playing Norrin Radd yet. We are sure to find out more as Fantastic Four begins production in the summer of 2024.

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Although Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created the X-Men, not a lot of the villains they created for the mutant heroes became as iconic. Sure, there’s Magneto and Juggernaut. But aside from those characters, the most important X-Men villains to come from Lee and Kirby are the robotic Sentinels. That’s because these giant robots, while looking super cool and menacing (thank you Jack Kirby) also represent humanity’s hatred for anything that’s different. This is why they’ve lasted through so many iterations of the X-Men, from comics to cartoons to the big screen. Once again, they’re making life miserable for the students of Xavier’s School in X-Men ’97 on Disney+. Here is a brief history of the Sentinels in comics and beyond.

The First X-Men Appearance of the Sentinels

First appearing in 1965’s X-Men #14, the Sentinels were introduced as the creation of a scientist named Bolivar Trask. Believing mutants would rise up and wipe out the human race, Trask used his genius in cybernetics to create giant robots. Machines with the ability to detect mutant genetics, and capture or kill them. Sentinels ranged from 20-30 feet tall to slightly larger than human size. These robots had faulty programming and believed the only way to protect humans from mutants was to rule them.

Over a three-issue storyline, the X-Men discover that the Sentinels are created by a Master Mold. This was an even bigger Sentinel designed with software to create more Sentinels. Trask is horrified that what he used to supposedly help mankind against mutants would have been their destruction as well. He died destroying the Master Mold. The mutant race was safe from Sentinels—but only for a time. 

The Sentinels Evolve Into the X-Men’s Most Dangerous Foe

Over the following years, the X-Men fought new iterations of Sentinels. Bolivar Trask’s son Larry Trask picked up his father’s work. He created the Mark II Sentinels, new models that could adapt and counteract almost any superpower. Years later, another mutant hater, a robotics scientist named Stephen Lang, adapted Trask’s technology and created the Mark III Sentinels. He also created the so-called ‘X-Sentinels,’ which were androids that mimicked the X-Men themselves. And it was actually a mutant, the Hellfire Club’s Sebastian Shaw, who created the Mark IV-VII Sentinels.

“Days of Future Past” Shows the Sentinels at their Most Lethal

The true indicator of how much of a threat the Sentinels were was in Chris Claremont and John Byrne’s iconic two-part storyline, “Days of Future Past.” Running in 1981’s Uncanny X-Men #141-142, that story showed us a future in which Sentinels became fully sentient AI and took control of North America. They hunted mutants nearly to extinction, forcing the team to send one of their own into the past. All in order to help the X-Men stop this horrible future from ever happening. This story cemented Sentinels as the X-Men’s ultimate foe, and provided the basis for a two-part storyline in X-Men: The Animated series. Not to mention the live-action 2014 film of the same name.

Modern-Day Sentinels Almost Decimate the X-Men

In the “present time,” a Sentinel did massive damage to the mutant race. A giant “Wild Sentinel,” built by a lost Master Mold and made of metal junk, surfaced in South America. They were built in the service of Charles Xavier’s evil twin Cassandra Nova. She ordered them to obliterate the mutant island of Genosha in 2001’s New X-Men #114, killing 16 million mutants. Later, when the mutant population was decimated by 98%, human-piloted Sentinels were introduced. As a representative of humankind’s hatred of mutants, the Sentinels remained a perpetual thorn in the side of the X-Men.

Nimrod Is the Ultimate Evolution of the Sentinel

As the ‘80s and ‘90s storylines progressed, so did the Sentinels. In the ’80s, readers were introduced to Nimrod, an advanced Sentinel from the future that came back to the present. Hailing from the “Days of Future Past” timeline, Nimrod can transform to look like anyone. Also, its consciousness can extend outside its physical form. A Nimrod unit and a Master Mold mystically fused into the android Bastion, who was a major enemy in the ’90s era. In the most recent X-Men era, Nimrod came online in the present day. It emerged in the service of the mutant-hating organization called Orchis. The product of a powerful Mother Mold, a Sentinel that creates Master Molds, Nimrod has recently set back the mutant cause years, essentially running them out of their homeland of Krakoa.

Sentinel Powers and Abilities

The Sentinels initially had super strength, the power of flight, and energy blasts. They also had a program allowing them to detect and target anyone with an X-gene. The Mark II Sentinels had more advanced programming, allowing them to adapt to various mutant powers they encountered. They could also self-repair. When one of the Sentinels evolved and developed the power to teleport, it was considered a mutation, and so it self-destructed. Versions of the Sentinels from the future who time-traveled to the present were even more advanced, and could even reconstitute after being shattered to pieces, and download their consciousness to other computer systems.

The Sentinels in X-Men: The Animated Series

The Sentinels first appeared as the antagonists in the very first episode of X-Men: The Animated Series in 1992. In that two-part opener, “Night of the Sentinels,” the deadly robots were shown as the embodiment of mankind’s hatred of mutants. They were utilized by government forces to track down and contain mutants. They largely kept their comic book origins and design, and kept reappearing throughout the show’s five-season run. Sentinels also appeared in later X-Men animated shows, like X-Men: Evolution, and Wolverine and the X-Men.

The Live-Action X-Men Films’ Version of Sentinels

Despite being in several early drafts of the first two X-Men movies, their robot adversaries did not appear in the final films. We saw a glimpse of a Sentinel in the Danger Room sequence in X-Men: The Last Stand, but they weren’t the real deal, just a training hologram. Sentinels finally made their big screen debut in X-Men: Days of Future Past. In that 2014 film, Sentinels drove the entire plot. We learned that Bolivar Trask invented them as more rudimentary mutant-hunting robots in the ‘70s, reflecting their comic book aesthetics. We also saw future Sentinels in that film, which were highly advanced thinking machines that could replicate mutant powers. They had also taken over the world, making it a dystopian hellscape. We glimpsed the movie universe’s Mark I Sentinels one last time very briefly in a Danger Room sequence at the end of X-Men: Apocalypse.

The Sentinels in X-Men ’97

In the first episode of X-Men ’97, we learn that a secret army of Sentinels is being constructed in the Sahara desert, created by Bolivar Trask and Henry Gyrich. The X-Men arrive, and take them all out in an amazing action scene. Storm in particular does some damage. In an echo of the original cartoon, the revival series is using the Sentinels early on, hammering home the notion that these robots are the mutant race’s ultimate enemy. We’ll see as the first season of X-Men ’97 unfolds if more Sentinels are still out there, waiting to say “Halt Mutant!” in their eerie robotic voices.

Originally published on March 18, 2024.

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He’s one of the X-Men’s most notable foes, and he’s just made a big comeback in the Disney+ animated series X-Men ’97. Few villains have been as much of a thorn in the side of Charles Xavier’s students as the mysterious Mister Sinister. Here is the century-long history of one of the chief architects of the Marvel Comics mutant’s misery.

Mister Sinister’s First Marvel Comics Appearance

Two of the X-Men’s greatest foes made their debuts in the 1980s. One was the immortal mutant Apocalypse, and the other, the mad geneticist called Mister Sinister. This pale-faced, red-eyed, and razor-toothed villain made his first official appearance in 1987’s Uncanny X-Men #221, kicking off the seminal “Fall of the Mutants” Storyline. However, from behind the scenes, his first major move against the X-Men happened a year earlier, when they revealed him by name as the mastermind behind the infamous Mutant Massacre, in 1986’s Uncanny X-Men #211.

Mister Sinister and the Mutant Massacre Saga in X-Men

The “Mutant Massacre” storyline was where the X-Men first felt Sinister’s evil, though we would not formally meet him for another year. In this story, a band of vicious mutants called the Marauders slaughtered the mutants who lived under New York City in its sewer tunnels called the Morlocks. These Morlocks were created by stolen science of Sinister’s, and he considered them an abomination to be eliminated. The Marauders were organized by future X-Man Remy LaBeau, a.k.a. Gambit, who felt tremendous guilt about his role in the massacre for the rest of his life. Following the event, Sinister stepped out of the shadows and became one of the X-Men’s most mortal foes, fighting them for years. But he had been in the wings since long before Xavier formed the X-Men.

The Origin of Mister Sinister

The original Mr. Sinister was born in Victorian England, as Dr. Nathaniel Essex. When his first child passed away due to several birth defects, the brilliant biologist wanted to discover the source of human mutations. In fact, it became his singular obsession. He identified the random element in the human genetic code that caused mutations, which he called “the Essex factor,” later shortened to “the X factor.” But the scientific community of the time ridiculed him, eventually making Essex an outcast. But it didn’t deter his work, and he paid a London street gang called the Marauders to kidnap disfigured people and bring them to him for experimentation.

At one point, the Marauders encounter the ancient mutant En Sabah Nur, a.k.a. Apocalypse, who had just awakened from his centuries-long slumber. He was so impressed by Essex’s work with mutations he offered him immortality, and the gift of incredible powers, if Essex used his knowledge in Apocalypse’s service. At first, Essex said no, but eventually the death of his wife Rebecca and his second child cemented his descent into amorality. Learning of his twisted experiments, his wife’s final words to him called him “sinister,” which he then took as his name after Apocalypse enhanced him.

What Are Mr. Sinister’s Marvel Powers and Abilities? Is Sinister a Mutant?

Altered at a cellular level by Apocalypse, and his access to Celestial technology, Sinister now had enhanced durability and an extended lifespan. Over time, he absorbed the powers of other mutants via sampling their genetic material. Among these powers are telepathy, telekinesis, superhuman strength, energy projection, and control of his body at the molecular level, giving him shapeshifting powers. He also rapidly heals from most injuries. His own innate scientific genius allows him to be a master at cloning, which he put to horrible use in the following decades.

Mister Sinister vs. Apocalypse

Apocalypse gave Essex incredible powers, but the latter quickly realized that En Sabah Nur was too dangerous and would likely destroy the world. He knew he had to engineer a mutant powerful enough to take him down. He believed that mixing specific bloodlines could produce a mutant powerful enough to destroy him. Sinister spent much of the 20th century attempting to bioengineer that very being. In Russia, he encouraged Gregori Rasputin to have as many children as possible, ultimately resulting in Colossus and Magik. Neither was strong enough to defeat Apocalypse.

Nathaniel Essex joined Hitler’s Third Reich in the ‘30s, and at Auschwitz, he experimented on children, including a young Magneto, possibly expanding his powers to what they ultimately became. After World War II, he embedded himself in the United States government’s Project: Black Womb under a new alias. There, he inserted his genetic material into the children of his fellow scientists. These children included Sebastian Shaw and Charles Xavier. He would later teach a young Xavier at Oxford. However, his biggest “science project” had to do with future X-Men Scott Summers and Jean Grey.

Why Is Mister Sinister Obsessed with the X-Men Leader Cyclops?

Sinister’s obsession with Scott Summers goes back to the 19th century. In his early years, he encountered a time-traveling Scott and Jean and marveled at their mutant powers. He discovered their surnames were Summers and Grey, and became obsessed with tracking their bloodlines. In the early 20th century, he opened the Nebraska State Home for Foundlings, an orphanage where he housed discarded children with genetic potential. Two of those children were orphans Scott and Alex Summers. Using the alias Dr. Nathan Milbury, Essex decided that Alex had less potential, and separated him from his brother.

While running the orphanage, Sinister masqueraded as another child named Nate, who was Scott’s only friend. He thought this way was easier to manipulate him. He even gave young Scott his first Ruby Quartz glasses to control his mutant optic blasts. When Scott Summers was almost adopted, Essex arranged for the death of his prospective parents. But Scott later escaped the orphanage, eventually going to Xavier’s School. Fortunately for Sinister, Scott met another Omega-level mutant there named Jean Grey, and they fell in love. Sinister hoped that their eventual union would produce the mutant to defeat Apocalypse once and for all. But Jean’s transformation into the Phoenix and eventual death temporarily halted that scheme. But as always, Essex had a backup plan.

Mister Sinister, Madelyne Pryor, Cable, Apocalypse, and Miss Sinister

Sinister created a clone of Jean Grey who he named Madelyne Pryor, and with false memories inserted her into the life of Scott Summers after Jean’s death. They married and had a child, the ultimate goal of Sinister’s centuries-long plan. That mutant child, whom Scott named Nathan Christopher Charles Summers, was named for the fake “best friend” he had at the orphanage, aka Sinister in disguise. The baby Nathan was an Omega-level mutant, so Apocalypse infected the child with a techno-organic virus. He would either survive and become more powerful, or the virus would kill him.

After being sent to the future, that child grew up to become the warrior Cable. As Cable, he came back in time on a mission to defeat Apocalypse, which he did, fulfilling Sinister’s decades-long plans. Apocalypse eventually returned, however. Despite seemingly dying several times himself, Sinister kept returning as well. He kept transferring his consciousness into new clone bodies of himself, including a female one, Miss Sinister. The assumption was always that the Sinister the X-Men had fought for years was the original. That, it turns out, was not the full truth.

Mister Sinister and the Mutant Nation of Krakoa

Despite years of enmity towards each other, Charles Xavier and Magneto asked Sinister to join them in establishing the mutant nation of Krakoa. Sinister had genetic material on almost every mutant on Earth, something they needed for the Krakoan Resurrection Protocols to give mutants immortality. They even gave Sinister a seat on the Krakoan Quiet Council, which ruled mutantkind. It was during this Krakoan era that Sinister’s biggest secret came to light. The Mister Sinister the X-Men fought for years wasn’t the original Nathaniel Essex, but his clone. Actually, one of four clones made in the late 19th century of the original Nathaniel Essex.

The Truth About Sinister, and His Many Clones

We learned during the Krakoan era that the real Essex died in 1895. He made three clones of himself, each believing themselves to be the real Essex, and sharing his memories. The one we know today as Mr. Sinister was a mutant born with an X-gene, one whose powers Apocalypse augmented. A human clone, who believed in homo sapiens’ superiority, became the hateful Mr. Stasis. Another clone, Orbis Stellaris, left Earth to learn about alien technologies. The fourth clone was actually of Essex’s dead wife Rebecca, called Mother Righteous, who wielded magic. Each had a different playing card designation on their forehead, with Sinister’s being a red diamond. The human supremacist clone Mr. Stasis has very nearly destroyed the mutant race with his Orchis initiative. Thus proving that in one form or another, Nathaniel Essex might be mutantkind’s greatest foe.

Live-Action Mr. Sinister Teased in 20th Century Fox Films like X-Men: Apocalypse, Deadpool 2, and New Mutants

Although most of the X-Men’s main foes appeared in live-action in the Fox X-Men films, Mister Sinister wasn’t one of them. They teased the character at the end of X-Men: Apocalypse, when we saw agents of “Essex Corps” cleaning up blood samples after Wolverine’s bloody rampage. Another tease happened in Deadpool 2, with the young mutant Russell living in the Essex House for Mutant Rehabilitation. In New Mutants’ Dr. Reyes worked for Essex Corporation too. Yet despite all this buildup, we never saw Sinister. This allows for the MCU to actually make Sinister their main villain for their eventual X-Men films without repeating what Fox did.

Mister Sinister in X-Men ’97

Before any MCU appearances happen though, Sinister will be the main villain of X-Men ’97 on Disney+, with actor Christopher Britton returning from X-Men: The Animated Series to voice him. He arrives in episode three of season one, “Fire Made Flesh.” We learn he created a clone of Jean Grey, which would produce a mutant child with Scott Summers for him. Once baby Nathan was born, he “activated” clone Jean to bring the child to him.

Hoping to make him stronger, he infected Nathan with a techno-organic virus… one that if he survived, would make him quite powerful. Although the X-Men rescue the child, Sinister escapes. We expect his machinations will continue throughout season one of X-Men ’97. It sure feels like Mister Sinister might soon claim the throne of the X-Men franchise’s most prominent and feared villain.

Originally published on March 8, 2024.

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X-Men ’97 on Disney+ has been a hit with both fans and critics, restoring Marvel’s mutants to their proper place in the pop culture pantheon. Although the show’s first two episodes have focused solely on the X-Men, there have been tiny hints of other Marvel heroes for the eagle-eyed viewer. Episode one displayed a Daily Bugle paper with a mention of Spider-Man for example. Speaking of Spidey, could we actually see the wallcrawler show up in X-Men ’97? According to a Screen Rant interview with X-Men ‘97 executive producer Brad Winderbaum, he dropped the following nugget of information when asked about other non-mutant Marvel characters appearing. And it sounds promising.

X-Men ’97 fits directly into the continuity of the 90s animated shows, and as you know, there were some awesome crossovers, most notably with Spider Man[: The Animated Series.] I will say that if you remember the awesome cameos from the original show, you’re going to be happy in X-Men ’97, without going into spoiler territory. It’s an exciting timeline to explore that ’90s world!

It sounds like there is definitely some kind of crossover in the works with the greater Marvel animated universe. Of course, this may occur in season two, which is well into production already. Technically, eight ’90s animated series take place in the same continuity as X-Men. These include Fantastic Four, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, and more. Although, the most notable crossover was with Spider-Man: The Animated Series, where the X-Men appear in a two-part episode. (It helped that both series were on the same network). Spider-Man ended on a bit of a cliffhanger. It would be fascinating if they resolved that storyline 25 years later in an X-Men series. Thanks to his popularity, we imagine Iron Man is a candidate too. We’ll find out as X-Men ’97 continues to unfold.

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A very delightful aspect of X-Men ’97 so far is the bigger role for Morph, the mutant shapeshifter and “comic relief” X-Man. However, thanks to his expanded role, it’s led many folks to comment that the character was a creation of the original X-Men: The Animated Series. That is only half true. Yes, the name “Morph” was an invention for the cartoon. But Morph has a history in Marvel’s X-Men comics, going back to the mid-1960s. Here’s how a discarded and forgotten X-Man got a second life thanks to the Saturday morning cartoon, and how that character then returned to the comics, and back to animation again.

Morph Took the Place of Thunderbird in X-Men: The Animated Series

When developing the original series back in the ‘90s, producers wanted to raise the stakes by having one of the team die in the first episode. In the original comics, the mutant named Thunderbird died in a very early mission with the second generation team, in 1975’s Uncanny X-Men #95. But seeing as Thunderbird was a Native-American character, the producers realized it was problematic to introduce a POC hero only to kill him off right away. That left the X-Men: The Animated Series creators in a bit of a predicament. Who would be the first mutant to die?

According to the behind-the-scenes book Previously on X-Men by Eric Lewald, the creators decided to comb through the back issues for a replacement for Thunderbird as the sacrificial lamb. There, they found a long-forgotten X-Man named Changeling. They changed the name to “Morph,” as DC Comics had a popular Teen Titans hero by that name already. Interestingly, when that character came to animation himself in 2003, DC changed his name to Beast Boy. The company thought the word “changeling” was too much of a mouthful for young kids.

The Original Version of Morph From the X-Men Comics Was Called Changeling

Marvel first introduced Changeling in X-Men #35 back in 1967. Created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Werner Roth, Changeling was a member of the mutant villain group Factor Three. (He also wore one of the goofiest helmets in comic book history.) Most of Factor Three consisted of already existing X-Men foes, but Changeling was a new character. The shapeshifter, who was second in command of the group, served the mysterious “Mutant Master,” a second-rate Magneto who sought mutant supremacy over the Earth. Eventually, the story revealed the Mutant Master was actually an alien who sought to destroy humans and mutants alike. Changeling turned on his master, helping the X-Men at the end. And for a long time, we didn’t hear from him again.

Changeling Becomes the First X-Man to Die in the Line of Duty

Professor X was seemingly killed in X-Men #42, leaving the team without their mentor. But in X-Men #65, he was shown to be alive, working in secret in the X-Men’s hidden bunker. In one of the X-Men’s first major retcons, Marvel revealed the Professor X who died was actually the Changeling in disguise. Discovering he had a terminal illness, the Changeling came to Professor X. He sought atonement for his crimes in his final days. Since Charles had to concentrate all his energies on preventing an upcoming alien invasion, he let Changeling take his place in the X-Men. He augmented his limited psychic abilities so he would pass among the team. Sadly, the villainous Grotesk killed him not long after, making Changeling the first X-Man killed in the line of duty.

Changeling Transforms Into Morph for X-Men: The Animated Series, Later Comes to Comics

Once X-Men: The Animated Series introduced Morph, he became pretty popular with kids. So the executives at Fox Kids asked the producers to bring the character back to life. His popularity on the show continued to grow, and Marvel Comics took notice. The show brought in an alternate universe version of the character in 1995’s Age of Apocalypse event. Here, he was given pasty-white skin and a bald head, and the real name of Kevin Sidney. Another alt-universe version of Morph became a lead character in the reality-hopping series Exiles. Sadly, that version of the character died too.

Morph Lives Again in the Pages of Marvel Comics

Flash forward to 2019, and the modern Krakoan age of the X-Men. In this era, all of mutantkind stands united, living on the living island sanctuary of Krakoa. Using Charles Xavier’s psychic backups in Cerebro, as well as Krakoan methods of resurrection, the original Kevin Sidney returned to life. He has not had a large role in this modern era, but he’s out there, waiting to become a main member of the X-Men again. And given his popularity thanks to X-Men ’97, where the character turns into all manner of fan-favorite mutants, we think it’s only a matter of time.

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If you ask any casual Marvel fan who the X-Men’s primary villain is, chances are they’ll tell you Magneto… and it’s true. The Master of Magnetism has been their primary antagonist ever since the first issue of X-Men came out in 1963. But he’s also often been an ally—and even a full member—of Charles Xavier’s mutant hero team. As X-Men ’97 has shown us, in that animated universe, Professor X left his whole estate and fortune to him. Of course, the producers of X-Men ’97 lifted this story right from the comics. From villain to reluctant hero to complex bad guy once again, here’s the comic book history of Magneto’s heroic turn.

When Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created Magneto back in the sixties, he was a pretty clear-cut villain. He believed the mutant race, a.k.a. Homo superior, were more genetically advanced than Homo sapiens and should therefore subjugate and rule them. There were not a lot of nuances to his fight against the X-Men in those early years. Whenever he fought the Avengers, or Iron Man, he was even more of a straight-up villain. But starting in 1975, a young writer named Chris Claremont started to view Magneto in a more sympathetic way. This led to one of the most interesting character arcs in all of comics.

The Tragic Backstory of Magneto

When Chris Claremont took over as Uncanny X-Men writer with the title’s revival in 1975, it was a year before the mutants fought against their original foe once again. But when they did, there was instantly a change in his demeanor. Magneto wasn’t quite so mustache-twirling anymore, and seemed dismayed at having to kill to save other mutants. Claremont’s Magneto had a conscience. He also had many aliases. Over the years, Charles Xavier often referred to him as Magnus. However, his other aliases include Erik Lehnsherr (used in the live-action films) and Max Eisenhardt. Magnus returns to fight the new X-Men after a story in Defenders, where he was de-aged into a child. He later became an adult in his prime once again. All of this will matter in his later heroic turn.

It wasn’t until Uncanny X-Men #150 in 1981 that we learned the source of Magneto’s pain and rage. After a terrorist attack against a Soviet sub, Magneto nearly kills the teenage Kitty Pryde. Horrified at his own actions, in which he not only seriously injured a fellow mutant but also a young Jewish girl, he describes growing up in the concentration camps of Auschwitz, and losing his entire family. These traumatic events are the reason that he’s willing to do anything to make sure mutants aren’t hunted down and murdered as his own Jewish family was during the Holocaust. It’s here he begins to wonder if he’s become the monster he hated so much as a child.

How Xavier Met Magneto in the Marvel Comics Universe

Not long after that issue, Claremont explores the past of Charles Xavier and Magneto even further. Those early Lee/Kirby X-Men issues established that the two powerful men knew each other years prior, and part ways at some point. But they never elaborate on it further. It was nearly two decades later, in Uncanny X-Men, that we learned that the two met years before Charles lost the use of his legs. It was during a time when he was in Israel using his mental abilities to help trauma victims recover.

It’s in this Israeli hospital that Xavier first met Magnus, the name Magneto was going by at the time. Neither knew for sure the other was a mutant. Xavier suspected something was different about Magnus, when he had trouble reading his powerful mind. Eventually, the pair revealed their powers to each other when fighting a Hydra terrorist attack. This attack proves even more to Magneto that humans will always try to exterminate mutants, and he and Charles’ ideological paths diverge at this point.

Magneto Becomes a Nuanced Villain, then Later, a Hero

After almost killing Kitty Pryde in Uncanny X-Men #150, Magneto begins to show a more honorable side. He sides with the X-Men in the seminal 1982 graphic novel God Loves, Man Kills, which was the basis for the film X2. He also fights alongside the X-Men in the event series Secret Wars. It’s also around this time that Magneto discovers that the Avengers’ Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver are his twin children. This revelation softens his character’s temperament even further.

This is where Chris Claremont’s true vision for the Magneto/Xavier relationship begins to really take hold. Although modern readers have often viewed Xavier and Magneto as “Martin Luther King and Malcolm X,” that was not the original intent. (Although, Chris Claremont has admitted in an interview with Empire those parallels are also valid.) In Claremont’s plan, Magneto was based far more on Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin. He was a terrorist in 1947, eventually embracing a more peaceful approach, to the point where he was the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize 30 years later.

Magneto Becomes Headmaster of Xavier’s School

Magneto truly becomes a hero in 1985’s Uncanny X-Men #200. His recent adventures with his former enemies the X-Men lead to a true self-examination. He surrenders himself to a global tribunal, to stand trial for his many crimes. Because Magneto was turned into an infant and later “reborn” as an adult once more, this tribunal dismisses all charges against him, suggesting that the old Magneto “died” and the new one deserved a second chance.

In this same issue, a dying Xavier must leave Earth and go to Shi’ar space to heal. (They later echo this in the X-Men: The Animated Series finale.) He begs his old friend to take over as Headmaster of the Xavier School, teach the New Mutants, and fight alongside the X-Men. He reluctantly agrees. At this point, Magneto loses his helmet, and begins wearing his short-lived superhero costume. He also assumes the name of Michael Xavier, pretending to be the cousin of Charles Xavier to the outside world.

Magneto Reverts to His Old Ways

Magneto spends the next several years as not only the head of the Xavier School, but a member of the X-Men as well. He serves with the team during many major events, including their battles with both the Fantastic Four and the Avengers. However, his time as a hero does not go smoothly. The younger students, the New Mutants, never fully trust him. When Magneto joins the Hellfire Club in what he thinks is a power move to protect mutantkind, the students reject him. Things get worse when Doug Ramsey, the New Mutant called Cypher, dies under his tutelage. Eventually, the New Mutants leave Magneto, choosing mentorship under the original X-Men, then called X-Factor, and later, the cyborg soldier Cable.

The X-Men then died on a mission in Dallas, without Magneto at their side. Although resurrected, they do not tell their former enemy that they are alive and well. The loss of his allies further sends Magneto down a darker path again. He starts to feel he let down both the New Mutants and the adult X-Men. Slowly but surely, he reasserts his older, more militant ways. By the time Charles Xavier comes back to Earth and leads the X-Men again, chronicled in 1991’s record-breaking X-Men #1, Magneto is a villain. A sympathetic, nuanced villain to be sure but not anyone that was going to have brunch with Captain America or Iron Man.

Xavier and Magneto, Friends and Allies Once More

Much of the ‘90s and ‘2000s era comics portrayed Magneto as a sympathetic villain. However, more recent comics have established him as one of the good guys again. At least as far as the other X-Men are concerned. In the modern Krakoan Age, Xavier and Magneto realized for the mutant race to survive, they would have to put aside their ideological differences and work together on their island nation. The two friends finally buried the hatchet, seemingly for good. However, we know Magneto can turn on a dime. As the current Krakoan era wraps up, who is to say what side Magneto will be on when the dust settles?

How Will Magneto Show Up in the New X-Men ’97 Series?

As we saw in the second episode of X-Men ’97, “Mutant Liberation Now,” Magneto voluntarily surrendered himself to the United Nations to stand trial for his various actions as a mutant terrorist. He was seeking atonement for his crimes and a chance to prove himself as a worthy successor to the martyred Charles Xavier. When he saved the tribunal from an angry mob, they vindicated him, and he officially became one of the X-Men. All of this is a fairly straightforward adaptation of Uncanny X-Men #200. Will X-Men ’97 continue to be this faithful to the comics? It remains to be seen. But if they are, then we know Magneto’s heroic turn has a shelf life. That purple helmet will be back eventually.

Originally published on February 22, 2024.

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Aside from Cyclops and Jean Grey, the X-Men’s premier “power couple” is Rogue and Gambit. In fact, it’s hard to imagine the sassy southern mutants with anyone else. But as X-Men ’97 hinted at in episode two, “Mutant Liberation Begins,” Rogue also once had a relationship with their enemy and occasional ally Magneto of all people. This star-crossed romance began in the main 616 universe, but other versions of it flourished even more in other alternate realities.

Rogue and Magneto’s Savage Land Flirtation

The first hints of a romance between Rogue and Magneto began in the early ‘90s X-Men comics by Chris Claremont and Jim Lee. Specifically, in 1991’s Uncanny X-Men #274. After a period of time where the Master of Magnetism tried his best to be a good guy, he retreated to the prehistoric Savage Land. There, he met up with Rogue, during a very strange period in her life. As most X-Men fans know, Rogue’s mutant powers are energy and life force absorption. When she touches a mutant with her bare skin, she can absorb their powers too. When she was young, she touched the hero Carol Danvers for too long, landing her in a coma. But Rogue permanently absorbed Carol’s super strength and flight powers, along with her memories.

When Rogue went through the mystical portal called the Siege Perilous, it split her in two. The Carol aspect of her personality gained its own body. But as long as Rogue was alive, it could not sustain itself, so it tried to kill her. This version of Carol followed Rogue to the Savage Land, the hidden primordial world. There, Magneto killed her, saving Rogue’s life, and the two mutants reconnected. During their time in the Savage Land, Magneto and Rogue grew close. They found out that Rogue could actually touch him, because her powers were on the fritz. But when Magneto kills his enemy Zaladane in cold blood, Rogue is horrified at his turn back to the dark side. She leaves Magneto before a real relationship can begin.

In the Age of Apocalypse Reality, Rogue and Magneto Are Married with a Kid

In one alternate reality, Rogue and Magneto’s romance actually flourishes. This alternate reality, called the Age of Apocalypse, happened when a young Charles Xavier died, leaving Magneto to form the X-Men himself. Magneto’s X-Men led a charge against that world’s mutant despot, Apocalypse. This world’s version of Rogue was one of Magneto’s top X-Men, but she was in a relationship with the Cajun mutant Gambit. When Wolverine, who in this reality was their enemy, attacked the three of them, Rogue could only save one teammate. She chose Magneto, making her feelings clear.

A heartbroken Gambit leaves the X-Men, and Magneto and Rogue officially become an item. In this reality, Rogue permanently absorbed magnetic powers from Polaris. Since Rogue’s powers always contain a form of magnetism now, the two magnets cancel each other out. This allows Rogue and Magneto to touch. They soon marry, having a son named Charles, who has psychic abilities. However, the Age of Apocalypse timeline is eventually wiped out of existence, restoring the X-Men reality everyone was familiar with. Thus, consigning the romance of this reality’s Magneto and Rogue as something that never really happened.

The Doomed Romance of Rogue and Joseph, Magneto’s Younger Clone

Back in the main 616 timeline, the X-Men encounter a young mutant named Joseph, a clone of Magneto. Rogue feels a strong connection to Joseph, and since he does not have any of his genetic template’s darker tendencies or tragic past, the two strike up a relationship. This was during a time Rogue and Gambit were on the outs. Like her teammate Scott Summers, it seems Rogue could not resist a clone copy of a past love. It’s safe to say that Joseph dating Rogue didn’t endear Gambit to him much. Eventually, Joseph died and the real Magneto returned. Later, for a brief time, so too did the Magneto/Rogue romance.

Magneto Proposes Marriage to Rogue

After the events of Avengers vs. X-Men, Rogue and Magneto grow close again. Possibly because both have dark pasts as villains, they are trying to atone for as X-Men. In X-Men: Legacy #249, the two finally consummate the relationship in the main 616 timeline. Magneto falls hard for Rogue, and in X-Men: Legacy #274, he actually proposes marriage to her. Shocked, Rogue turns him down. Ultimately, Rogue returns to Gambit, and the two get married, and become “Mr. and Mrs. X.” Rogue and Magneto are simply not designed to be an “endgame” couple, and there’s always an obstacle in the way of any potential romance.

Rogue and Magneto in X-Men ’97

In episode two of X-Men ’97, Rogue and Magneto share a private moment in Xavier’s old office. The two come close to touching, and they make it clear that at some point in the past, the two shared a romantic relationship. Rogue reminds Magneto this is something she’d like to continue to keep secret. There are no hints of a Magneto/Rogue pairing in the original animated show, so whatever happened between them, it will certainly be a shock to everyone when they learn the truth. Especially poor Gambit. We’ll see if the Magneto/Rogue romance has a better chance of survival in the animated universe than it did in the comics.

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In the first episode of X-Men ’97, the series introduces us to a new young mutant, Roberto da Costa, a.k.a. Sunspot. As a new guest at Xavier’s School, Roberto fills the role Jubilee did in the original X-Men: The Animated Series pilot episode, as our POV character. Sunspot is a long-standing X-Men hero who was also an Avenger in the Marvel Comics. Here’s everything you need to know about the Brazilian powerhouse mutant known as Sunspot.

Sunspot’s Origin Story in Marvel Comics

During a time when Charles Xavier believed his X-Men to be dead, he considered shuttering his school. But he convinces himself that his School For Gifted Youngsters should remain open. However, he believed its third generation of students should train not to fight, but to simply control their powers. This was how writer Chris Claremont and artist Bob McLeod introduced the New Mutants, in Marvel Graphic Novel #4 in 1982. Among that original New Mutants lineup was Roberto da Costa, a young Afro-Brazilian teenager who came from incredible privilege, but also with a potentially deadly power.

Roberto, sometimes called Bobby, was the son of an extremely wealthy Afro-Brazilian entrepreneur by the name of Emmanuel da Costa. His father, who came from poverty and built a business empire, constantly pushed his son to his limits. While in high school, he became an exceptional athlete, excelling on the school’s soccer team. He was even eyed for potential Olympic training. However, one day racist bullies attack him, causing his X-gene to activate. He became a being of solid black solar energy, which resulted in incredible physical strength. The crowd, shocked at his appearance, all fled in terror, except for Roberto’s girlfriend, Juliana. Tragically, she later dies taking a bullet meant for Roberto.

Sunspot Joins the New Mutants, and Later, X-Force

Roberto joins four other students — Cannonball, Wolfsbane, Mirage, and Karma — as students in Xavier’s School. Dubbed “the New Mutants,” the intent was for them not to become X-Men, merely to hone their talents. Nevertheless, these New Mutants find themselves caught up in all kinds of superheroic adventures. During his time as one of the series leads in New Mutants, Roberto becomes close friends with Samuel Guthrie, a.k.a. Cannonball. The two friends part ways for a time when the warrior Cable reforms the New Mutants into the paramilitary X-Force. After this, Sunspot returns home to Brazil. However, in time, he would eventually join his old teammates as an X-Force member himself.

Sunspot Joins the Hellfire Club, Later Teaches the Young X-Men

Over the decades, Sunspot pops up in various teams. After a stint on X-Force, he leaves the team when his father dies. Since his father was part of the elite Hellfire Club, he inherited his position and became the Inner Circle’s Black Rook. Later, he becomes the head of the Los Angeles branch of the X-Corporation. X-Corp was a company designed to help civilian mutants around the globe. But when the Scarlet Witch de-powered 98% of Earth’s mutants, the X-Corp was dissolved. After that, Cyclops asked Sunspot and his former teammate Dani Moonstar to train a new generation, dubbed the Young X-Men. Thus bringing Roberto’s journey as an alumnus of Xavier’s School full circle.

Sunspot Becomes an Avenger

After the events of Avengers vs. X-Men, Roberto and Cannonball are asked by Captain America to join the Avengers. The two accept his offer, and go on many adventures with the team. In fact, Roberto uses his vast wealth to buy the often-villainous think tank Advanced Idea Mechanics, creators of M.O.D.O.K. He transforms it into Avengers Idea Mechanics. As a result, this new iteration of A.I.M. has its own Avengers team, the U.S.Avengers. Roberto leads the team first as Citizen V, and later, renaming himself Citizen X. His BFF Cannonball is along for the ride with each iteration. Sadly, Sunspot dies in the Asgardian War of the Realms. But as with most mutants in the Krakoan age, that is not the end of his story.

Thanks to the Resurrection Protocols of the mutant island of Krakoa, Professor X brings Roberto da Costa back to life, along with every other dead mutant whose psychic essence was stored in Cerebro. He rejoined his original graduating class of students, the New Mutants, for a space adventure to join with Cannonball, who was now living off-world. Eventually, when mutants took over the planet Mars and terraformed it into Arrako, Sunspot moved there, opening up a bar called the Red Lagoon. He would eventually return to Earth, however.

Sunspot’s Mutant Powers and Abilities, Explained

Originally, Sunspot could only absorb solar radiation and turn that power into super strength. His body becomes pitch black when he does this, as he drains all the ambient light from his skin. He had the equivalent strength of 2 tons, eventually expanding to 50 tons. When the immortal mutant Gideon experimented on him, he exposed him to more solar radiation, which gave Roberto the power to fly by generating thermal updrafts, and also the ability to project solar blasts. Although super strong, he’s not invulnerable, although he can take a heavy beating. He is immune to all forms of heat and fire, and any attacks on him with heat weapons only increase his strength. When in powered-up mode, Sunspot can even survive the vacuum of space, as his solar energy will sustain him.

Sunspot in X-Men: Days of Future Past, New Mutants, and X-Men: Evolution

In the X-Men live-action film franchise, Sunspot played a small role as one of the rebel mutants in 2014’s X-Men: Days of Future Past, portrayed by Adan Canto. In 2020’s The New Mutants, he’s a principal character, played by Henry Zaga, a young mutant traumatized by accidentally killing his girlfriend. Although not appearing in the original X-Men: The Animated Series, they showed Sunspot as one of the New Mutants recruits in X-Men: Evolution. These castings all came with some controversy, as none were Afro-Brazilian actors. Even the voice actor for his character in X-Men ’97, Gui Agustini, while Brazilian, is Caucasian.

Sunspot’s Future in X-Men ’97

In X-Men ’97, the mutant-hating group The Friends of Humanity kidnaps teenage Roberto da Costa. The X-Men rescue him, and although at first reluctant to join Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters, he strikes up a friendship with Jubilee. In this iteration, Roberto’s parents don’t know about his mutant powers, and he’s hoping they don’t find out. It remains to be seen if Sunspot becomes a fully-fledged X-Man by the time the first season of X-Men ’97 finishes up, or if we’ll have to wait till season two to see him in a superhero uniform battling Sentinels and other X-Men foes.

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