Marvel’sX-Menfranchise is in the early days of a new era, as ‘From the Ashes’ sets up a permanentstatus quofor the mutant heroes. Now, fans are learning aboutbig plans on the way in 2025, including an event story and a mysterious"special project."
Writing on his blogMan With A Hat, X-Men’s senior editor Tom Brevoort was asked about future plans for Marvel’s ‘X-Books.’ These currently include the flagshipX-Men,Uncanny X-MenandExceptional X-Mentitles, as well as team booksX-Force,X-Factor,NYXandSentinels, and solo titles includingStorm,Wolverine,Phoenixand more. Brevoort has confirmed that plans for the main titles are"pretty solid through the end of the year and our first tiny little crossover moment,“but also offers some hints about what’s next:
And from there, as we get into 2025, we’re talking about a storyline for around March, a special project for May, potentially a key one-shot for June and a big X-line Event around October. But all of that is subject to change as conditions on the ground shift in real time.
The “first tiny little crossover moment"is presumably the upcomingX-Men/Uncanny X-Mencrossover ‘Raid on Greymalkin,’ which will seeCyclops and Rogue’s teams clashdue to a planned raid on the X-Men’s former school, which is now being used to imprison mutants.
X-Men Gets Its Own Civil War, As New Epic Crossover Permanently Breaks the Team in Two
The latest era of X-Men comics has quickly reached a breaking point, as Rogue and Cyclops' rival teams come to blows in a “Civil War”-style crossover.
X-Men needs to establish a new sense of identity soon, especially having fractured the relationships fans know and love.
Our Take on X-Men’s Upcoming Event and Other Mutant Plans
X-Men Needs a Renewed Purpose to Keep Fans Interested in the Larger Franchise
A planned ‘event’ story is big news for fans. While the 2019-2024 Krakoan Era did have crossover events likeX of Swords, they were very much anchored in the franchise’s new direction during that time, which was a significant departure from the heroes as most fans know them. Prior to that,the X-Men’s last big event was 2016’sInhumans vs X-Men, which isn’t remembered particularly fondlyby fans. While comic fans sometimes complain of ‘event fatigue’ with big stories that take over all Marvel’s comics for a number of months, a crossover across the X-books is likely to be received more fondly, especially because the former friends and allies are sofractured following the Krakoan Era.
Other than the X-event, teases of a key project and"special one-shot"are interesting, even as they could amount to just about anything. The ‘From the Ashes’ era sees many X-Men out on their own in a way that’s unusual for the franchise, with heroes including Dazzler, Psylocke andMagik getting rare solo series. One of the big things that’s missing in this new era is a binding sense of purpose - the X-Men have lost their mutant nation and abandoned Xavier’s dream, having lost faith in their former mentor. While ‘From the Ashes’ is setting up a new status quo,X-Men needs to establish a renewed sense of identity sometime soon.
More news will emerge as Marvel continues its largerX-Menstory, but while the dates may be subject to changes, it’s clear that Marvel’s mutant franchise is taking a clear-eyed approach to what’s next.
Source: Tom Brevoort,Man With A Hat
X-Men
The X-Men franchise, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, centers on mutants with extraordinary abilities. Led by the powerful telepath Professor Charles Xavier, they battle discrimination and villainous mutants threatening humanity. The series explores themes of diversity and acceptance through a blend of action, drama, and complex characters, spanning comics, animated series, and blockbuster films.
