Marvel May Be Teasing Spider-Man Joining the X-Men
Big things are coming for the X-Men, and it looks like these things might include Spider-Man. On Saturday, at MegaCon in Orlando, Florida, Marvel Comics revealed new details about Fall of X, the next era of the X-Men. Before the Fall of X panel began, Marvel released a teaser image for Fall of X featuring artwork by Bryan Hitch. A list of titles appears along the right edge of the image, revealing what book participating in the Fal of X story. There are previously announced new series, returning series, and some new additions to the X-Men line. However, there are also a couple of surprises, including a title called Uncanny Spider-Man.
We can infer from this that Spider-Man is involved in the Fall of X and that his role is significant enough that Marvel is launching a whole new series to tell that part of the story, as it seems unlikely that Uncanny Spider-Man will replace Amazing Spider-Man in Marvel's publishing line. The "Uncanny" adjective has often been used to imply a title's connection with the X-Men (the soon-to-be-relaunched Uncanny Avengers is another example), further emphasizing the significance of this new Spider-Man series in the Fall of X.
Is Marvel having Spider-Man joining the X-Men?
Spider-Man and the X-Men have a long history of teaming up in the Marvel Universe. In fact, in 2009, Marvel published a miniseries titled X-Men and Spider-Man, with each issue chronicling a meeting between them during a different Marvel era. The 2015 Spider-Man and the X-Men miniseries saw Spider-Man serving as a teacher at the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning.
More recently, Zeb Wells wrote the Hellions series early in the Krakoan era of X-Men before moving on to relaunching Amazing Spider-Man. Since then, Wells has been the architect of Dark Web, a Spider-Man and X-Men crossover event. Could Wells also be writing Uncanny Spider-Man, once again combining his interest in Spider-Man and the mutants? It seems possible, though we know nothing at this point for sure.
Is Spider-Man a mutant?
Another interesting note comes from the current Sins of Sinister storyline, which is set in a dark future where Mister Sinister's plans come to fruition. Set in this timeline, the miniseries Nightcrawlers followed a group of mutant chimeras created by combining Nightcrawler's DNA with that of other mutants.
Well, other mutants and Spider-Man. One of the chimeras in Nightcrawlers is named Wallcrawler and is apparently the result of fusing Nightcrawler's DNA with Spider-Man. It's odd that Spider-Man is the only non-mutant DNA that Sinister, who has devoted his entire life to using mutants for his own ends, would use. Does this mean that Spider-Man is secretly a mutant? Is Wallcrawler's future existence foreshadowing the plot of Uncanny Spider-Man? Does this have anything to do with the upcoming shocking Spider-Man revelation? Or is there something else we don't understand?
Uncanny Spider-Man and the X-Men in Fall of X
The Fall of X is being hyped as a big change for the X-Men. After years of prosperity, a conspiracy is set to bring everything that Krakoa has built crashing down. It's also an era that will see more of the rest of the Marvel Universe getting involved in mutant affairs, with titles like Uncanny Spider-Man, Uncanny Avengers, and Invincible Iron Man all involved in the Fall of X. Wolverine will also cross over with Ghost Rider.
The fall of X kicks off with the X-Men: Hellfire Gala #1 one-shot in July. Readers can get a taste of what's to come with a preview in Free Comic Book Day: Avengers/X-Men #1, releasing on Free Comic Book Day, May 6th.
