Marvel Announces 'X-Men Black'

Today at San Diego Comic-Con, Marvel comics announced X-Men Black, a new event series comprised of five one-shot stories, each one focusing on a different X-Men villain: Magneto, Emma Frost, Mojo, Juggernaut, and Mystique.

The Magneto issue is written by legendary X-Men scribe Chris Claremont, who is arguably the writer most responsible for turning Magneto into such an enduring character, with art by Dalibor Talajic.

The Mystique issue is written by Seanan McGuire, who is writing the upcoming X-Men Gold Annual, and drawn by Marco Failla.

The Mojo issue is written by Scott Auckerman and drawn by Nick Bradshaw.

Juggernaut's issue is by writer Robbie Thompson and artist Shawn Crystal.

The Emma Frost issue is from Leah Williams, who wrote the first X-Men Gold Annual, with art by fan-favorite X-Men artist Chris Bachalo.

In addition, each issue will feature a chapter of a backup story about Apocalypse written by Lonnie Nadler and Zac Thompson, who are fresh off a well-received run on Cable.

The announcement was made just before Marvel announced the return of Uncanny X-Men.

Each of these villains has appeared recently in X-Men comics. Magneto has been mentoring the time-displaced original X-Men in X-Men Blue, which is about to come to an end with a climax involving Magneto's showdown with another villain on this list, Emma Frost.

Mojo was the mastermind behind the X-Men Gold and X-Men Blue crossover story "Mojo Worldwide," in which he invaded New York and televised the X-Men as he made them relive their greatest battles. Though the X-Men broke free of his control, Mojo has secretly set up shop on Earth.

Juggernaut was featured in the early issues of X-Men Blue with a new design and re-teamed with his old buddy Black Tom Cassidy. He was more recently featured in Thor #1.

Mystique was recently revealed as the final member of the Weapon X-Force team that Sabretooth is putting together in the pages of Weapon X.

Apocalypse himself hasn't been a presence in the X-Men books for some time, at least not in the present era. The 2016 crossover "Apocalypse Wars" - a banner event for Uncanny X-Men, Extraordinary X-Men, and All-New X-Men - featured stories revolving around Apocalypse's legacy and influence. For the Extraordinary team, that meant visiting a far-flung future where apocalypse controlled multiple worlds and Colossus had been corrupted as one the Four Horsemen. For the All-New X-Men team, that meant Beast and Genesis going back to ancient Egypt to meet young En Sabah Nur. In Uncanny X-Men, Archangel continued to struggle with Apocalypse's influence.

Are you excited for X-Men Black? Let us know what you think in the comments!