Marvel Reveals Its New X-Men Team

The time has come for the second annual Hellfire Gala, which means a new team of X-Men has officially been introduced. The current roster starring in Marvel’s monthly X-Men comic was unveiled during last year’s Hellfire Gala. With us now on Year 2, it’s time for Krakoa’s mutant population to elect a new lineup. Marvel opened the ballots back in January to let fans vote on the last member of the X-Men, with a wide selection of fan-favorite heroes to choose from. While some current X-Men members chose to stay on a team, a new batch of unlikely candidates are also revealed.

WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for X-Men: Hellfire Gala #1. Continue at your own risk!

X-Men: Hellfire Gala #1 comes from writer Gerry Duggan, artists Matteo Lolli, C.F. Villa, Kris Anka, and Russell Dauterman, colorists Rain Beredo, Frank Martin, Matt Milla, and Matthew Wilson, letterer VC’s Cory Petit, and designers Tom Muller and Jay Bowen. The oversized one-shot juggles various storylines while the Hellfire Gala plays out, but saves the main event for last. As the host, Emma Frost gets the honor of addressing the audience to announce the new X-Men team. She speaks telepathically to the assembled crowd full of mutants, human dignitaries, Avengers, Fantastic Four, and more.

The four X-Men that voluntarily step down are Wolverine (Laura Kinney), Rogue, Sunfire, and Polaris. This frees the foursome up to appear in other X-Men titles, and Wolverine is already slated to co-star in the upcoming X-Terminators. Meanwhile, Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Synch asked to be voted back. Emma Frost and Firestar had an interesting conversation earlier in the night, with Firestar not feeling wanted on Krakoa. She’s one of the mutants that’s chosen not to live on the mutant island, and now feels like an outsider because of it. Captain America offers Emma some friendly advice, which she takes to nominate Firestar to the X-Men. “Sometimes the best way to earn a person’s trust is by giving them more responsibility,” Cap told Emma. We’ll see if that advice turns out to be correct.

Next up is Forge, who is nominated by Cyclops. He believes it’s time Forge returned to being an X-Man. Of course, fans have kept up with Forge in the pages of X-Force, but now he joins the front-facing superhero team instead of working on the X-Men’s version of the CIA. To get Cyclops back for being nominated without his consent, Forge says he’ll only join if Cyclops’ brother, Havok, is also on the team. Magik, one of Krakoa’s Captains, volunteers herself, and Iceman does the exact same thing to round out the new X-Men roster.

It’s an interesting collection of X-Men, with a wide range of powers. Havok was a member of Hellions, the ragtag team of misfits under the leadership of Mister Sinister. Iceman was on Kate Pryde’s Marauders, and also starred in his own Marvel Unlimited Infinity Comic series. It’s about time another of the Original Five returned back to the team. Iceman also has a history with Firestar from the Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends animated series.

What do you think about Marvel’s new X-Men roster? Let us know your thoughts in the comments! X-Men: Hellfire Gala #1 is on sale now.