As the X-Men face their darkest hour in the upcoming Fall of the House of X, several key heroes will be returning from the afterlife to help save mutant-kind in the all-new Dead X-Men. The four-issue limited series will follow the resurrection of Cannonball, Frenzy, Prodigy, Jubilee, and Dazzler - the new X-Men murdered at the Hellfire Gala by Orchis - as they embark on a reality-bending quest from Charles Xavier in an attempt to save Krakoa.
At this year's NYCC Marvel announced the intertwining series Fall of the House of X and Rise of the Powers of X, which will be a formal goodbye to the X-Men's beloved Krakoan Age, while setting up the next stage of existence for Marvel's Merry Mutants.
Marvel's announcement of Dead X-Men - from writer Steve Foxe (Dark X-Men) and an impressive group of acclaimed artists like Vincenzo Carratù, Bernard Chang, and Jonas Scharf - reveals that the resurrected X-Men's journey could reverse Krakoa's tragic fate, as the five heroes travel throughout the past. Check out Pere Pérez's gorgeous cover above and the full synopsis of the series here:
The saga will revisit the key moments in realities’ past that paved the way to Krakoa as a team of fallen mutants are sent through history by Professor X on a desperate mission to reverse Krakoa’s fate! It’s an impossible quest that calls for an impossible team but who are the chosen heroes for this sacred mutant mission? Who are the DEAD X-MEN?!
Death was only the beginning! When the world turned against Krakoa, these five mutants lost their lives…but their mission as X-Men is just getting started. To preserve Xavier’s dream, they must accomplish the impossible—or die again trying!
X-Men's Dead Heroes Were Brutally Murdered By Nimrod
This year's X-Men vote included the beloved heroes Cannonball, Frenzy, Prodigy, Dazzler, Jubilee, and Juggernaut, with Cain Marko winning the vote and having his life spared at the annual Hellfire Gala. The other five mutant heroes were brutally slaughtered by Nimrod, crushed to death by the horrifying power of the mutant-hating advanced Sentinel robot. The fall of Krakoa has meant that the normal Resurrection Protocols, operated by The Five, have been halted, so most of the mutants whom Orchis murdered at the Gala have not been resurrected.
From the synopsis for Dead X-Men, it seems like the five newly elected X-Men murdered by Nimrod will somehow return to life, before being sent on a crucial and nearly impossible mission by Professor X. Much like Benjamin Percy's X-Lives/X-Deaths of Wolverine and Louise Simonson's ongoing Jean Grey series, Dead X-Men will feature the resurrected mutants traveling through time to key points in the X-Men's history in an attempt to save Krakoa's future. From Pérez's cover, it appears that Cannonball may be leading the team of "dead" X-Men, which makes sense given his experience as an X-Men leader.
Dead X-Men Gives These Beloved Mutants A Chance In The Spotlight
Many fans were quite upset at the tragic murders of Cannonball, Frenzy, Prodigy, Dazzler, and Jubilee, who are all beloved and respected mutant heroes in their own rights. The new team was quite an exciting one, highlighting the diversity of the X-Men while also giving a spotlight to some characters who have not been as present in the Destiny of X era. Now, these murdered mutants have a chance to once again step into the spotlight, risking their lives in a desperate, impossible adventure to change history and save Krakoa from the deadly machinations of Orchis.
Writer Steve Foxe hinted there is a "secret" behind the Dead X-Men, working hard with X-Men writer Kieron Gillen and Senior Editor Jordan White to ensure that Dead X-Men has a real impact on the mutant's future, and "the very existence of Krakoa." With so many different artists illustrating the limited series, and the heroes traveling through time, hopefully each time period will have art from a different featured artist. The X-Men murdered by Nimrod at this year's Hellfire Gala are finally coming back to life... and their impossible quest through the mutant's past could be the only thing that can change Krakoa's dark future.
Dead X-Men #1 from Marvel Comics debuts on January 31st, 2023.
Source: Marvel Entertainment