The members of a new X-Men team will sport new costumes for their very special secret mission. Secret X-Men #1 features the mutants who lost out on last year’s X-Men fan vote to determine the last member of the team, with the results revealed during the Hellfire Gala. Marvel is gathering these X-Men together for a secret space mission in service of Xandra, the daughter of Professor Charles Xavier and Shi’ar Imperial Majestrix. An unlettered preview of Secret X-Men #1 by writer Tini Howard and artist Francesco Mobili shows the team trying on their spiffy new costumes.
The superhero suits revealed by Newsarama keep the traditional gold coloring from previous X-Men standard costumes. Instead of a brighter blue hue, there appears to be either a dark navy blue or black added to the design. The X-Men logo created by designer Tom Muller for Jonathan Hickman’s tenure on the franchise is also featured on the costumes’ chest. The first preview page shows Sunspot, Cannonball, Marrow, Boom-Boom, Tempo, Forge, Banshee, Strong Guy, and Armor trying on the suits in a spacecraft, more than likely gifted to them by Xandra.
Other images from the preview display the X-Men mid-battle against an alien threat, along with Xandra, the Imperial Guard, and her aunt Deathbird confronting the team. Marvel is revisiting the X-Men fan vote for a second year, with the voting opening today and ending at 11:59 p.m. ET on Thursday, January 13th.
“We had to do it, yeah? And I jumped at the chance to tell the story while I had the time,” Howard said when Secret X-Men was announced. “Cannonball was my vote, and Strong Guy? Tempo? Boom-Boom? This is the perfect team for an intergalactic X-Men mission. I hope they didn’t forget anything important!”
“The X-Men election was an amazing experience for the whole X-Office,” X-Men editor Jordan D. White said at the time. “All the creators and editors had a blast seeing the fans’ incredible response to this first-of-its-kind event and we were right there along with you rooting for our choices. It was the perfect way to kick off the new X-Men title.”
“Pepe and I are thrilled to have Polaris aboard this year’s X-Men team. Leah and David made her shine in X-Factor, and we’re going to make sure she continues to rock in X-Men,” X-Men writer Gerry Duggan added. “The outline is done and dusted, and every member of the team is going to have their issue not just to be the coolest mutant, but the most important character in the Marvel Universe for one month. Can’t wait for you to join us. Hope you survive the experience.”
The preview pages for Secret X-Men #1 and their new costumes can be found below. The issue goes on sale February 9th.
