X-Men Spinoff Children of the Atom Delayed Again

Marvel Comics is delaying its X-Men spinoff Children of the Atom for a second time. Marvel first solicited the series for release in April 2020. The direct market’s pandemic shutdown caused Marvel to delay the series and eventually reset its debut for January 2021. The second issue of the series wasn’t in the company’s February solicitations. Now the publisher has rescheduled the first issue for release in March 2021. Written by Vita Ayala and drawn by Bernard Chang, Children of the Atom focuses on a team of new teenage mutants living on the mutant island nation of Krakoa. Marvel billed the series as the introduction of the X-Men’s first-ever sidekicks.

“X-Men is supposed to be something that is, you know, important to the now,” Ayala said in the previously released trailer for the series. “And so, what is more now than zoomers? One of them has a TikTok, one of them has a fitness Insta, one of them is basically the moderator for the mutant subreddit, one of them is a cosplayer, and one of them makes mutant music. For so long, it’s like the larger media in the X-Men universe is like, ‘Mutants are bad’ and like “the X-Men are evil because they’re mutants,’ and blah, blah, blah. I’m like, ‘What would zoomers think of that?’ They wouldn’t — they’d be like, ‘No, they’re great.’ But also, you know, it’s an X-Men comic. There’s going to be powers and there’s going to be punching and there’s going to be bad guys and all that kind of stuff. Bernard really, really brought the thunder on this. It’s really incredibly dynamic.

“X-Men was some of my first comics ever and to be able to play in that universe and also to be able to add to that universe is really a dream come true. It’s almost like the kids are our perspective. So anything that you don’t know, you’re discovering it through these kids. I don’t think we’ve seen this perspective in X-Men comics before. I think people are going to super dig it.”

While fans await Children of the Atom‘s debut, Ayala will take over writing the ongoing New Mutants series with issue #14 in December.

• Children of the Atom #1
• FEB200860
• (W) Vita Ayala (A) Bernard Chang (CA) R. B. Silva
• WHEN DID THE X-MEN GET SIDEKICKS?!
• Now! Don’t miss the debut of the greatest teenage super hero team of all time! They’ve learned from the best, now they’re ready to be put to the test! But who the heck are these kids, and where do they come from? Guest-starring the X-Men!
• Rated T+