For a long time, the X-Men were an oddity in the pages of Marvel Comics. They were extremely popular for years on end and able to stand toe-to-toe with the likes of Spider-Man and the Avengers through multiple series, but during the late 2010s, the characters were gradually diminished in favor of the Inhumans (which did not go over well). Flash forward to now, where the mutants’ Krakoan Age is starting to come to an end with Fall of X and something new ready to take its place. Whatever that is, it sounds like it’ll be part of a larger push to bring the mutants to the forefront of the comics canon.
On Facebook over the weekend, Marvel Comics’ executive editor Tom Brevoort revealed that he’ll eventually be jumping ship from the Avengers line of comics, a position he’s had for 25 years, over to the X-books. The change will come after he’s done with an upcoming Avengers-heavy crossover event, and once the Fall of X stuff wraps up with longtime X-Men editor Jordan D. White at its helm. “What I do will grow directly out of what they’re doing,” wrote Brevoort, “provided they leave me anything to work with. When we’re closer to the switchover happening and there’s something worth reporting on, you’ll hear more from us.”
Brevoort took over as the Avengers’ group editor back in the late 90s, and his his purview, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes became a more premier team in the Marvel universe. This lead to several offshoot branches (of the New, Secret, and Young variety) for the comics, and the team at the center of landmark event comics like Civil War and Avengers: Disassembled. Those Avengers teams have had various comic book relaunches over the years, and key members like Kate Bishop and Moon Knight have gotten solo comics ahead of their live-action appearances in the MCU. Those aforementioned events have since been adapted for the movies and shows to varying degrees of success.
And remember, all of this is coming as the mutants are going to gradually have their debut in the MCU rolled out via projects like The Marvels (through Iman Vellani’s Kamala Khan) in November, Deadpool 3 in potentially 2024, and who knows what else. So what happens in the comics is going to affect what happens in the movies, and vice versa, for better or worse. The mutants have been through a lot over the last decade, but can they withstand becoming a new tentpole for the MCU in future (eventual) phases?
[via Popverse]
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