The Outliers Would Have Been Perfect for the New Mutants and You Can’t Change My Mind

The 2024 revamp of X-Men “From the Ashes” has been met with mixed success but Gail Simone’s run on Uncanny X-Men has been a bright spot for many fans of the team. By the end of the first issue, it introduced four teenage mutants looking for a place to go. The group that called themselves the Outliers found the X-Men by luck and have stayed with them ever since. With issue 19 releasing at the time of writing, the Outliers have been going strong with the team the whole time. However, this deep into the story, there’s the lingering question of if they should have become X-Men already or if they should join the team at all at some point? However while the Outliers have a ton of potential, it feels like a missed opportunity that they weren’t the next class of the New Mutants.

While Exceptional X-Men‘s students feel like the New Mutants, the Outliers would have made more sense. They’ve been a standout for many fans of the X-Men as of late and for good reason. They may be the best batch of X-Men since New X-Men, but we could have waited until they reached that next point.

Carrying Their Legacy

It seems for every generation of X-Men readers, there’s always the new characters that represent the next generation of heroes. Every new lineup has felt like that as far back as Giant Sized X-Men. These new characters give the readers someone to relate to. On top of that, when we got The New Mutants, they were supposed to be the next class of students and not the heroes. Harnessing their powers and learning their dynamics as a group rather than individuals, that’s what the New Mutants were for.

Already a team from the get-go under the leadership of Ransom, they were made to be the next class. In a lot of ways they still are, but with the school itself gone and acting as a makeshift one under Rogue, they feel a little off. A lot of the book has given the Outliers plenty of time to shine but the X-Men haven’t as much. It’s not a complaint in the slightest but why bother even calling them the Outliers if they’re basically the New Mutants in every aspect.

It’s something that could have been interesting not just for them but also the New Mutants concept as a whole. That team may be beloved, but you’d think they would eventually change their lineup. Yes, the classics are a great team but shouldn’t they be their own branch of the X-Men at this point? Just feels like the Outliers had the perfect opportunity to become the New Mutants and move everything forward.

Class in Session

WIth the current status of the Outliers still going strong at the moment, they could turn into the New Mutants once a new status quo is found. With the school gone for now and the Uncanny team being reluctant, the Outliers rely on them for training. Yeah, the course they have to traverse through is challenging in Louisiana but it isn’t the Danger Room. They have a lot of potential and pretty neat powers as a whole. It would be a waste not to explore them deeper.

The “Raid on Graymalkin” story arc did put them together with Scott’s team up in Alaska for a few issues just on an opposing side. If these two teams were to unite again, the Outliers could finally be that class and not risking their lives as the X-Men right away. It’ll happen at some point, they’ll all die and come back. It is the X-Men after all but they don’t need to do that right away unless they’re going to die and not come back for a long time. Just letting them be kids without having to run and fight for their lives is something these kids need especially.

Since they joined up with Rogue’s team it doesn’t seem like they’ll have that option anytime soon. As it stands they have become some of the best new characters in the X-line of comics, but they’d be even better as New Mutants.

Do you think the Outliers should have been the New Mutants? Let us know what you’re thinking.

Marvel’s New X-Men Are Hunted by a New Breed of Sentinels