SDCC ’23: The Designing the X-Men panel teases what’s to come for Marvel’s mutants

Marvel kicked off their San Diego Comic Con with the first of multiple spotlight panels planned for the weekend. The Designing the X-Men panel at SDCC looked at the current and upcoming goings-on for Marvel’s merry mutants now that the Fall of X is upon them. Among the discussion was the announcement of a new one-shot, a tease for an upcoming issue of the main X-title, and a tease for a possible new team of X-Men.

First the one-shot. X-Men Blue: Origins #1 will delve into the origin of the fan-favorite mutant Kurt Wagner, aka Nightcrawler (or is that Uncanny Spider-Man?). The issue, set for release in November, is written by Si Spurrier, with art by Wilton Santos, under a cover by Francis Manapul. From Marvel:

THE DEFINITIVE NIGHTCRAWLER ORIGIN STORY! 
This is the one you can’t miss, True Believer! You think you know how the beloved blue devil came into this troubled world? You think you know the tale of his mendacious mamma Mystique? You don’t! Mother and son reunite in a mold-shattering tale that exposes secrets held for decades and redefines both characters forever. A collector’s item in the making. 

Will this be the book that finally canonizes Nightcrawler’s two penises? Probably not, but that would really make it a collector’s item, wouldn’t it?

In a separate press release for this one-shot, Spurrier described working on the story:

“It’s not often you get the chance to shine new light into the origins of a truly beloved character. To do so for two at once is an unprecedented privilege,” Spurrier shared. “With this book, we’re breaking new ground in more ways than one. We’re walking this path with the deepest love for Nightcrawler and Mystique, and the deepest respect for the formative stories that surround them. And yet… by shifting perspective… by wondering which parts of the standard history can be trusted and which are unreliable… by climbing into the minds and memories of mother and son alike… we’re enriching their shared tale in a way that will cast fertile shadows across everything they do from now onwards. This is one of those books that will be discussed for years to come.”

Next, a new issue of the main X-Men title will see the team go head to head once again with Dr. Doom. The December-shipping X-Men #29 is written by Gerry Duggan and illustrated by Joshua Cassara, and introduces what the publisher calls “Doom’s X-Men”:

With the X-Men at their lowest point, yet another group has moved to claim their title…this one a band of patriotic Latverian mutants loyal only to the great and terrible Doctor Doom! Beloved and celebrated by the nation they are bound to protect, this is one squad of X-Men for whom the Fall of X has given way to glorious summer. 

And finally, a classic oblique Marvel teaser image asks readers a simple question: “Who are the new X-Men?”

The image is notable for the font used; it’s the same typeface as the Age of Apocalypse X-Men logo. If it were for 2025, the thirtieth anniversary of that storyline, I’d say a return to Age of Apocalypse was a sure thing with this one, but who knows. Readers will apparently find out more about that in November.

Look for much, much more news about the X-Men and more from Marvel as the SDCC weekend continues.

Miss any of our earlier SDCC ’23 coverage? Find it all here!