Exceptional X-Men Variant Covers Include a Team Up With Godzilla

Godzilla photobombs the Exceptional X-Men in a new set of variant covers.

By Timothy Adams - July 19, 2024 09:11 pm EDT

Marvel has unveiled a new group of variant covers for the release of Exceptional X-Men #1, and Godzilla has decided to photobomb one of those covers. The comic is the last of the three flagship titles headlining Marvel's X-Men: From the Ashes era that takes place following the end of the Krakoan run. Writer Eve L. Ewing and artist Carmen Carnero are your creative team on Exceptional X-Men, which features Kitty Pryde and Emma Frost training a new generation of mutants. X-Men fans will be familiar with titles such as New Mutants and Generation X, and Exceptional X-Men will look to follow in their footsteps. As an added treat, Godzilla is joining in on the X-Men's new beginning.

Among the new covers are shots of the core Exceptional X-Men cast by artists Joelle Jones, Elizabeth Torque, and Rose Besch; the first in a series of character spotlights by Luciano Vecchio; and a Foil Variant Cover by Ejiwa "Edge" Ebenebe. Also available is the final part of Scott Koblish's Wraparound Connecting Variant Cover, a Godzilla Variant Cover by Leinil Francis Yu, and a logo variant cover.

Eve L. Ewing also commented on how the series gained its "Exceptional" naming: "Well, those who know that I was a poet long before becoming a comics creator will appreciate that Exceptional X-Men, in a world full of X-adjectives, simply sounds really good. But right now, they are exceptional in that they don't carry a lot of the same history on their shoulders as the main characters in our other titles. For better or worse, they have no ties to Krakoa or broader team politics or the previous era of mutantdom. They're just a group of awkward kids in the Midwest trying to figure out their abilities, like generations of young mutants before them."

Marvel reveals details on Exceptional X-Men's new mutants

Exceptional X-Men revealed character bios for Axo, Bronze, and Melee, "the three new mutants that Kitty Pryde and Emma Frost will mold into X-Men throughout the series," Marvel's press release reads. We learn Axo, Bronze, and Melee's real names, along with their mutant powers and quick bios. Bronze debuts in September's Exceptional X-Men #1, while Axo and Melee's first appearance is in October's Exceptional X-Men #2.

Axo's mutant power is emotion detection/manipulation; Bronze's mutant power is metallic skin; and Melee's mutant power is invisibility/intangibility.

You can find the variant covers for Exceptional X-Men #1 below. The issue goes on sale September 4th.