There are big changes coming to the X-Men line in 2024, as mutantkind heads toward a new era in the wake of the fall of Krakoa. Along the way, writer Steve Foxe and a whole host of artists are introducing the Dead X-Men, a group of mutants who were killed in the fall of Krakoa, but who are now resurrected and uniting as a team.
With the resurrected mutants uniting to take on a mysterious mission that ties directly into the final fate of Krakoa in the upcoming Fall of the House of X and Rise of the Powers of X limited series, Newsarama spoke with Foxe about the new team and their place in the downfall of Krakoa and the rise of what comes next ahead of the January 31 release of Dead X-Men #1.
Steve, what can you tell us about who the Dead X-Men are? We've got a pretty good idea about the team make up thanks to the cover art, but what's the deal with the group as a whole?
Well, I don't think it's any huge spoiler to say that the Dead X-Men are the five X-Men Nimrod murdered at the Hellfire Gala, moments after their debut: Jubilee, Frenzy, Prodigy, Dazzler, and Cannonball. We played coy on that first cover by Pere Perez, but we've known since the Gala issue dropped that reader demand and anticipation to see these five in action together was intense.
And while the book was already in progress before their untimely demise became public knowledge, it's exciting to get to help bring the promise of that X-Men election to life in such a sweeping fashion. Their debut may have been cut short, but they're getting a mission of VERY high-stakes importance to balance that out, and a spotlight they don't have to share with any other teammates.
What's it like putting together an X-Men team that doesn't revolve around the main cast of core X-Men characters? What's your philosophy with this line-up?
The fun thing about these five is that, with the exception of Prodigy, they've all served as main-team (or close enough) X-Men before, so we've seen how they fit into an established team dynamic. But there's no elder statesman X-Man here - no Cyclops or Jean or Logan to call the shots - so this is our chance to see them on an even playing field together. I'd say Frenzy naturally falls into a “leader” position more than the others, but no one's a slack-off on this squad.
Frenzy is the steady, level-headed, driven natural leader. Jubilee brings the spunk and fire. Prodigy is the team's heart as much as its brain. Cannonball is a hero to his core, selfless and courageous. And Dazzler is a bit of a wildcard - she surprised me at times.
The one member of the team not revealed on any covers yet is Rachel Summers, most recently known as Askani. I have to choose my words carefully here so as not to spoil Kieron Gillen's intricate plans in Rise of the Powers of X and X-Men Forever, but Rachel was tasked by Xavier with putting together a team to boldly go where no mutants have gone before, and she's guiding them from afar. She's a bit like M from James Bond, if M was psychic and her head was on fire.
And of course Rachel is dating Betsy Braddock, who makes a dramatic entrance on our just-revealed third cover, wearing a costume I know a lot of Betsy fans have been eager to see back in action. My lips are sealed beyond that, but hey, we aim to please when we can!
Death and resurrection are hallmarks of the Krakoa era. How does this story take those themes and run with them beyond just the title?
Well, as readers who've stayed current on the books since the Hellfire Gala and through Fall of X know, resurrection isn't running so smoothly these days. But beyond that mechanic, I'd say the title means more outside of the story than it does inside of it. They're the “Dead X-Men” because they're the X-Men who died during the Hellfire Gala. In the story itself, they're just the X-Men, nothing Dead about it…unless their mission goes haywire and our still-unrevealed villain has anything to say about it!
There's been a “big secret” about Dead X-Men teased in previous announcements. What hints can you give us about that?
Almost none, alas! While we've worked hard to make sure you can read Dead X-Men all by itself and not miss anything or feel confused, the January books hold a lot of revelations for the future of mutantkind. Rise of the Powers of X in particular serves as a major genesis for our team's mission. What I can hint at is that this story is a deep tribute to the Krakoan era as a whole, and gets to pay homage to that in a very personally thrilling way. I'd also say to expect some familiar faces in unfamiliar roles, and one character in particular pushed to her nastiest extreme.
Which of these characters has been the most fun to connect with in this story?
Luckily, I got to work with this cast alongside my co-writer Steph Williams and artist Noemi Vittori for the X-Men Unlimited Infinity Comic arc this summer, which helped me get familiar with their voices under less dire circumstances. It's impossible to pick favorites, because these six are such major players in my mind, but it did feel extra surreal to write a full Dazzler story, since Pryde of the X-Men was one of my earliest gateways into the X-Men, and Marvel as a whole. She left such a major impression on me as a kid that one moment in particular - one single panel - just felt like a full-circle opportunity from where my fandom started.
You're working with several different artists on Dead X-Men. How did that decision come about, and how has it been working with multiple artists for one title?
I'm super thrilled it's worked out how it has. When I approached my editors, Jordan White and Lauren Amaro, with the proposal to loop in eight different artists, I thought for sure it wouldn't fly - it's so many moving pieces! But because the Dead X-Men's mission takes them to such distinct locales, I had the vision in mind that each scene could fall to a different artist, with some only appearing in one issue and some recurring through multiple. Jordan and Lauren were completely up for the challenge of making that a reality.
I'm so, so grateful to reunite with personal collaborators like Jonas Scharf (Dark X-Men), Lynne Yoshii (The Redroot Saga), Guillermo Sanna (X-Men Unlimited), as well as work with accomplished Krakoan artists like Vincenzo Carratù (Astonishing Iceman), Bernard Chang (Jean Grey), Javi Pina (X-Men), and David Baldeon (X-Factor). I've also been dying to work with Peter V. Nguyen, who did a Wolverine backup short recently, for ages. We also got a super fun surprise when we asked Lucas Werneck (Fall of the House of X) to do the main covers - I had suggested the team wear the '90s Jim Lee blue and gold jumpsuits for a retro pop and so we could keep looks consistent across all of our artists more easily…but Lucas went the extra mile and designed updates for the cast!
Every artist involved has worked on Krakoa in some fashion, which felt very meaningful to me because of the nature of Dead X-Men and because this upcoming launch of titles is helping us bid adieu to the era. Plus it means we got a BOUNTY of art coming in all at once, which was disorienting but incredibly cool - the whole series is just about done already.
What's it like working on an X-Men title that is part of the end of an era?
While there is a bittersweet feeling to helping close an era, there's also a sense of honor and privilege to being part of it. And the bittersweetness is tempered by the fact that I came into the fold when the end was in sight - before my Dark X-Men outline was approved, I knew the path to 2024 and the books readers are about to have in their hands.
I've said before, but before I wrote anything for Marvel, I worked in comics journalism (among umpteen other gigs), and one of my very last pieces was writing up the news that Jonathan Hickman would be launching two interlocked X-Men mini-series, with the goal of radically reimagining the line. I'm also very close with some of the creators who helped kick off the era, like Tini Howard. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd get to write several hundred pages of Krakoan stories by the end of things.
Bottom line, what should fans expect from Dead X-Men?
There's not a lot I can say about the plot itself, but so much of this book is me channeling classic, sweeping Claremont/Cockrum adventures. Despite being part of the finale of this era and spinning out of a cutting-edge book like Rise of the Powers of X, Dead X-Men is, in a lot of ways, the most "classic" X-Men story I've gotten to tell. It's a small group of mutants, none of whom have "Omega-level powers," up against the impossible. It's what made me fall in love with the X-Men in the first place, and I'm so excited for readers to get to experience this new launch slate in a few short weeks.
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