 |
| Young X-Men | |
|---|---|
 Cover of Young X-Men 5 (Oct, 2008), art by Terry Dodson | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| Schedule | Monthly |
| Format | Ongoing |
| Publication date | April 2008 - March 2009 |
| Creative team | |
| Created by | Marc Guggenheim Yanick Paquette |
| Written by | Marc Guggenheim |
| Artist(s) | Rafa Sandovol |
Young X-Men was a comic book series published by Marvel Comics. It lasted for 12 issues, from April 2008 through March 2009. The series was written by Marc Guggenheim. [1]
Blindfold has a vision of a team of X-Men facing off against a deadly old foe of the X-Men, Donald Pierce, former member of the Hellfire Club. After one of the members is murdered in the ensuing battle, she wakes up violently from the nightmarish dream. Elsewhere, Cyclops is seen across the world, recruiting several teenaged mutants such as Eric Gitter, and former students like Sooraya Qadir (Dust), Nicholas Gleason (Wolf Cub); and Santo Vaccarro (Rockslide). Santo, however, refuses to join unless Scott accepts Ruth Aldine (Blindfold) whom Scott had originally planned not to recruit, to be on the team as well.
After assembling the Young X-Men in the Danger Cave, he gives them their costumes, which have the appearance of the standard yellow and black training uniforms. He lectures them that he is reforming the X-Men, beginning with perhaps the last generation of mutants. Their first mission is to take down what he claims is the new incarnation of the Brotherhood of Mutants, under the control of Sunspot (who is now Lord Imperial of the Hellfire Club) and is accompanied by his friends and former teammates, Cannonball, Magma, and Danielle Moonstar.
After they fail in training sessions against Brotherhood simulacra, Cyclops decides to send them after Moonstar and Magma in small teams, each with a specific target. When surprise-attacked by Dust, Rockslide and Wolf Cub in Los Angeles, Magma responds violently by destroying their Blackbird. In the Colorado Rockies, Moonstar proves herself superior to the young mutants Blindfold and Ink despite her lack of powers. However, she is taken down by an unseen force that Blindfold seems to know. Carrying the unconscious Moonstar back to their Blackbird, Ink asks Blindfold how her powers work. After she is done explaining, Ink immediately knocks her unconscious. Ink then delivers the unconscious Blindfold to a mysterious man in the shadows who happens to be Donald Pierce. When questioned about why they aren't dead, Ink explains that he is a mercenary not a killer.
Rockslide, Wolf Cub, and Dust recover from their crash and attack Magma. Magma, though unprepared, is much more experienced. She turns Dust into glass, sends Wolf Cub packing, and turns Rockslide into a pile of rocks. Distracted by Rockslide, who reforms, she is eviscerated by Wolf Cub, knocking her out but leaving Wolf Cub with a nasty burn.
Cannonball and Sunspot are watching the battle in LA. After hearing nothing from Danielle, they are convinced that the Young X-Men are coming after them. Graymalkin watches Ink talk to Cyclops in the shadows, Ink having lied about what happened to Blindfold and Moonstar. Graymalkin appears to be talking to himself, knowing something nobody knows. He says "Very well. I'll kill the Cyclops." Danielle Moonstar confronts an awakening Blindfold and is very confused. Blindfold apologizes and points out that Donald Pierce is behind her. The other Young X-Men discuss Blindfold's vision and Dust's critical condition. Ink is surprised he is included in it as part of the team. Elsewhere, Donald Pierce ambushes Moonstar and Blindfold, and disappears.
Ink shaves his head and has a lightning bolt tattoo on it, assuming he will gain telepathy. Ink, Rockslide, and Wolf Cub lead an attack on the Hellfire Club to fight Cannonball and Sunspot. Graymalkin attacks Cyclops back at the Danger Cave, leaving the Young X-Men on their own. Wolf Cub wounds Sunspot, angering Cannonball. Graymalkin takes out the lights to the Danger Cave, saying it gives him more power. He then exposes Cyclops for who he really has been this whole time, Donald Pierce. Once both teams learn the truth, they go after Pierce, but arrive too late to save Wolf Cub, who was the then-unknown teammate that was killed in Blindfold's vision.
It is notable that the first story arc of Young X-Men echoes a narrative pattern first established with the inception of the New Mutants in their eponymous graphic novel, which was also echoed in the first story arc of New Mutants volume 2, which gave rise to the New X-Men series that is the immediate antecedent for Young X-Men. All three of these storylines deal with the assembly of a new team of mutants, feature the cyborg Donald Pierce as the villain, and have one member of the team (Cannonball, Elixir, and Ink, in the respective stories) that initially works for Pierce before switching sides and joining the new team. This story pattern was also followed, to some extent, in the New X-Men arc that appeared within the House of M timeline. Further underscoring this continuity is the appearance of many of the original New Mutants in all three stories: as the protagonists in the New Mutants graphic novel, as teachers and mentors to the "new" New Mutants volume 2, and as the antagonists, the ersatz Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, in the arc in Young X-Men.
Graymalkin mentions a "Cypher" twice. The first is when he is alone the air ducts inside of the Danger Cave. He mentions that he is "not the only one that can help them. There is Cypher." [2] The second time is when he tells Donald Pierce (who was disguised as Cyclops) that "Cypher told [him] everything. [3]
After the adventure where Wolf Cub died, Cyclops asked Sunspot and Moonstar to teach the Young X-Men, they both accepted. Blindfold decided to leave the team, since she is no great contribution on the field of battle. Meanwhile Moonstar asked Anole, also a former member of New X-Men, to join the new team.
Ink finds out he is not a mutant at all. The artist who made his tattoos is in fact the one who gave Ink his powers, this tattoo artist is a mutant. Ink decides, since he is not a mutant, there is no place for him with the Young X-Men and leaves.
The new character, an African-American girl, reveals herself at the end of Young X-Men #8, however her codename is spelled "Cipher," rather than "Cypher" (as it is spelled in earlier mentions). [4] She had come to warn Ink that his teammates were in trouble and he is needed to come with her to save them. Although Ink is very skeptical about this young girl's motivations or intentions, she is shown wearing the standard uniform of the Young X-Men, and has a jet from the X-Men's headquarters to transport him to his team as well, to show that her information is legitimate, even though she refuses to give any more information, about herself or the team, other than that. However, she also gives into his demand to take him to his tattooist to give him some new abilities, even though she voices that she feels he is wasting his time while his friends are "dead or dying." She is still able to get him to the battle with the Y-Men in time, though, where Ink is able to turn the tide and save his teammates. Later that evening, Ink begins to ask Graymalkin about his connection to Cipher and just who she is, while Cipher, in a transparent form, spies on the two from the ceiling above. [5]
| Character | Real name |
|---|---|
| "Cyclops" (Trainer) | Donald Pierce (posing as Cyclops) |
| Moonstar (Leader) | Danielle Moonstar |
| Sunspot (Leader) | Roberto da Costa |
| Anole | Victor Borkowski |
| Blindfold | Ruth Aldine |
| Cipher | Alisa Tager |
| Dust | Sooraya Qadir |
| Graymalkin | |
| Ink | Eric Gitter |
| Rockslide | Santo Vaccarro |
| Wolf Cub | Nicholas Gleason |
Young X-Men ended with issue #12, released in March 2009.
| Issues | Characters |
|---|---|
| #1–4 | Blindfold, Dust, Ink, Rockslide, Wolf Cub |
| #5 | Blindfold, Dust, Graymalkin, Ink, Rockslide, Wolf Cub |
| #6–8 | Anole, Dust, Graymalkin, Ink, Mirage, Rockslide, Sunspot |
| #9–12 | Anole, Cipher, Dust, Graymalkin, Ink, Mirage, Rockslide, Sunspot |
| Title | Material collected | Date Released | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Volume 1: Final Genesis | Young X-Men #1–5 | December 2008 | ISBN 0-7851-3154-X |
| Volume 2: Book Of Revelations | Young X-Men #6–12, X-Men: Manifest Destiny #3 | June 2009 | ISBN 0-7851-3165-5 |
The New Mutants are a group of fictional mutant superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, generally in association with the X-Men. Originally depicted as the teenaged junior class at the Xavier Institute, subsequent stories have depicted the characters as adult superheroes or as teachers and mentors to younger mutants.
New X-Men is a superhero comic book series published by Marvel Comics within the X-Men franchise.
Sunspot is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is most commonly associated with X-Men-related groups the New Mutants and X-Force.
Cannonball is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the X-Men. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Bob McLeod, Cannonball first appeared in The New Mutants.
Danielle "Dani" Moonstar, originally codenamed Psyche and later Mirage, is a fictional Northern Cheyenne superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She first appeared in the graphic novel The New Mutants, created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Bob McLeod. The character is usually depicted as associated with the New Mutants.
Magma is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Chris Claremont, John Buscema, Glynis Wein, and Bob McLeod; she first appeared in the series New Mutants and appears in various X-Men comics.
Several fictional groups of mutants have used the name Hellions in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Hellions have always been portrayed as rivals of various teams of younger mutant heroes in the X-Men franchise, initially as actual villains and later on a team that was more of a school rival than actual enemies of the X-Men.
Dust is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character usually appears in X-Men-related comic books. Sooraya is a mutant with the ability to transform her body into a pliable cloud of dust. The X-Men travel to Afghanistan to rescue Sooraya, whose abilities have made her the target of antagonists.
Donald Pierce is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is depicted as a cyborg and is commonly an enemy of the X-Men.
Selene Gallio is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Chris Claremont and Sal Buscema, the character first appeared in New Mutants #9. Selene belongs to the subspecies of humans called mutants, who are born with superhuman abilities. She is often associated with the Hellfire Club's Inner Circle and is despised as an enemy of the X-Men.
Rockslide is a fictional mutant superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character has been depicted as a member of the X-Men, and a student in the Xavier Institute and a member of the former Hellions squad therein. After M-Day, he was one of only 28 students to retain his powers. He is best friends with Julian Keller (Hellion) and is extremely close to and protective of Cessily Kincaid (Mercury). Despite his earlier appearances as a stereotypical bully, he has evolved into a good-natured and fiercely protective friend to most of the school's students.
Blindfold is a fictional character, a mutant appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is usually depicted as a member of the student body of the Xavier Institute in X-Men-related comic books. She first appeared in Astonishing X-Men, vol. 3 #7 and was created by Joss Whedon and John Cassaday.
Graymalkin is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is a member of the Young X-Men and is named after the address of the Xavier Institute. His super-human strength varies on how much light he is exposed to and was discovered after his father buried him alive for finding him sexually experimenting with another boy.
"Manifest Destiny" is an American comic book storyline published by Marvel Comics through the X-Men related titles and a number of limited series, including a self-titled one. The arc was a follow-up to the storyline entitled "Divided We Stand" which started in the issues cover dated September 2008.
Cipher is a fictional mutant character, a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She is a young African-American woman who first appeared in Young X-Men #8 and was created by Marc Guggenheim and Rafa Sandoval.
"Necrosha" is a 2009–10 comic book crossover storyline published by Marvel Comics featuring the X-Men family of characters. In the storyline, Selene decides to utilize the techno-organic virus’s power to bring any deceased mutant back to life, allowing her to begin her quest to ascend to godhood. This prompts multiple mutant teams to fight against Selene in an attempt to free the newly resurrected mutants. The storyline is notable for reviving a vast majority of its characters.
X-Men: Regenesis is a comic book branding used by Marvel Comics that ran through the X-Men family of books beginning in October 2011, following the end of the X-Men: Schism miniseries. This realignment of the mutant population is ahead of the 2012 Marvel event Avengers vs. X-Men which begins during Regenesis with the mini series Avengers: X-Sanction and brings back Cable, who was previously thought to be dead following the events of X-Men: Second Coming.
The New Mutants is an original graphic novel published in 1982 by Marvel Comics, introducing the superhero team the New Mutants. The fourth issue of Marvel Graphic Novel, it was written by Chris Claremont and illustrated by Bob McLeod.
