25 Years Ago Today, Grant Morrison Introduced a New Era of Bizarre X-Men Heroes

It has been 25 years since some of the strangest mutants in existence were introduced to the ranks of the Xavier Institute student body in New X-Men #117 (2001) by Grant Morrison and Ethan Van Sciver. Morrison has created some of the wildest and most unusual comic book stories, regardless of where they have written. While their work on Batman was groundbreaking at the time, they were also the creator who wrote some of the most bizarre Doom Patrol comics in history. They are also the writer who created The Invisibles and The Filth, and the person who wrote the masterful Animal Man run that broke the fourth wall. This series had the hero realize he was a comic book character and that the creative team was responsible for ruining his life.

Morrison wrote the revolutionary New X-Men title from 2001 to 2004, with their run lasting for issues #114 through #154. Through their run, Morrison turned the X-Men title from a regular comic book drama into a high-concept sci-fi look at evolution and extinction. In New X-Men #117, just four issues into their run, Morrison introduced the world to some very weird mutants, with names like Beak and Glob Herman making their Marvel Comics debuts.

Grant Morrison Introduced Glob Herman and Beak to the X-Men 25 Years Ago

New X-Men #117 was titled “Danger Rooms,” and the first panel of the comic remains iconic, with Beast leaping through the trees, chasing a strange man with the body and face of a chicken. This was Beak, and this first panel of the issue was his first appearance in Marvel Comics. Beast told the mutant to fly, and when Beak tried, he almost got up before Beast tackled him to the ground. When this turned out to be inside the Danger Room, it was a wild introduction to one of the newest members of the Xavier Institute student body. This was something that readers should have expected from Morrison, who loved to bring out the most unusual and quirky heroes, especially in smaller supporting roles.

Beak is Barnell Bohusk. His bones are light and hollow, but durable, and his wings allow him to glide and fly for short distances. He also has talons that can tear through flesh and enhanced vision. However, as a mutant hero, his powers are little help in battle situations. This made him a perfect Grant Morrison underdog hero. There was another new mutant introduced here, but he was just seen walking along outside of the school. This was Glob Herman, whose body was made of wax with his skeleton showing through. However, his introduction was mostly ignored because it was followed by protestors outside the school with signs about protecting humans and about how God hates mutants. This was Morrison calling back to Chris Claremont’s running themes about persecution and bigotry among humans in the Marvel Universe.

This was shown even more by dialogue in the issue by Beast, who said that mutants like Beak can’t “slip between cracks,” and this means he lives with a target on his head. The main storyline at this time in X-Men history came thanks to Professor Xavier seemingly telling the entire world they were mutants, which put everyone in the school in danger. However, there was a huge twist here. It was never Professor X at all who exposed the Xavier Institute and its students as mutants. It was Cassandra Nova in Xavier’s mind, and then when Morrison introduced mutants who couldn’t fit in, it created the perfect storm.

This X-Men Issue Also Reveals Cassandra Nova is Professor X’s Sister

New X-Men #117 also had Cassandra Nova deliver a surprise attack on Beast when she infiltrated the Institute pretending to be Professor X. However, before she attacked, Beast said he had learned that she and Xavier shared the same DNA, and she introduced herself as Cassandra Nova Xavier, Charles’s genetic twin. Nova then mind-controlled Beak into attacking Beast and beat him up with his prized baseball bat. This is also where Cassandra hinted at her origin, with her brother trying to kill her, although the details were saved for issue #121.

This comic took place after the genocide in Genosha, and Morrison took pains to show how, even after suffering all those losses and deaths, humans still wouldn’t give mutants a chance. The next issue introduced a young teenage girl, Angel Salvadore, and showed that even a child would be attacked and brutalized if they showed signs of a mutation. The Stepford Cuckoos also made their first appearance as Emma Frost began to show more signs of leadership with Xavier gone.

This was the start of a change in the X-Men comics, with Cassandra Nova’s origin unfolding, the human population’s continued persecution of mutants heating up, and the arrival of so many young teenage mutants who can’t hide who they are. Grant Morrison didn’t wait long to start turning up the heat on the mutant side of the Marvel Universe, and this was really the issue that started the wild ride.

Did you read New X-Men when Grant Morrison was writing the title? What are your favorite moments from their run? Let us know in the comments below.

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