"Not 'xactly Lockheed cute, this one," remarks the card-carrying Cajun Gambit of Kate Pryde's pet dragon-like alien in Uncanny X-Men #1. The relaunch from writer Gail Simone (Marvel's The Variants) and artist David Marquez (Avengers) pits the New Orleans-based X-Men team — Rogue, Gambit, Wolverine, Nightcrawler, and Jubilee — against new villain Dr. Corina Ellis. But first, Rogue's X-Men head to Mexico City and awaken the sorcerer Sadurang the God-Snake: an Asgardian dragon whom Simone co-created during her two-issue stint on Tony Stark: Iron Man.
The synopsis states, "A core group of essential X-Men rise From the Ashes to face a world without a home — and without Professor X! All bonds among the mutant community seem to be slipping away, and Rogue reluctantly finds herself as the hero designated to bring them back together… but a fearless, malignant power is out there hunting mutants, and it has a terrible secret that may destroy what remains of the X-Men!"
"In today's world, mutants need the X-Men more than ever. With Professor X gone, Rogue reluctantly finds herself as the X-Man designated to keep the team together," the synopsis continues. "Rogue, Wolverine, Gambit, Nightcrawler, and Jubilee forge a new home in a New Orleans, and when four mysterious young mutants show up at their doorstep, that home becomes a haven. Protecting mutants from a world that hates and fears them, and using their powers to ensure there's a future worth living in. They are the Uncanny X-Men!"
UncannyX-Men #1 (legacy #701) is "a welcome mat for all readers: new, returning and lifelong," Simone said. "They deserve the best mutant stories I can give them. I want to focus on the humanity, no pun intended. Big action, big personalities."
Marvel has released the first preview pages from the debut issue (below), which hits stands August 7th with a series of variant covers from artists Jim Lee (X-Men), Stephen Segovia (X-Force), Pablo Villalobos (Jackpot & Black Cat), John Tyler Christopher (Old Man Quill), Luciano Vecchio (Resurrection of Magneto), Leinil Francis Yu (Wolverine), and Andy Kubert (Ultimate X-Men).