There is a lot of buzz around Brian Wood and Olivier Coipel’s reboot of X-Men for Marvel NOW! has been pretty intense, especially given that this marks an all female team as one of Marvel’s flagship X-Titles. We feel fairly confident that this team will pass the Bechdel test. Marvel has sent over the cover and the first few pages from the upcoming book, and it looks set to be a must-read.
Continuing a tradition that began with Chris Claremont‘s groundbreaking 17-year run on Uncanny X-Men, the team will consist of Storm, Rogue, Jubilee, Kitty Pryde, Rachel Grey, Rogue & Psylocke. The press says that the plot will begin with “an old enemy [showing] up at the X-Men’s door, seeking asylum from an ancient evil come back to Earth. Meanwhile, Jubilee has come home, and she’s brought with her an orphaned baby who might hold the key to the Earth’s survival…or its destruction! With an imminent alien invasion and an eons-spanning war between brother and sister around the corner, Storm steps up and puts together a team to protect the child and stop a new threat that could destroy all life in the Marvel Universe!”
It’s encouraging to see that along with Captain Marvel, Red She-Hulk and Journey into Mystery‘s Lady Sif, Marvel is fostering a roster of strong female characters fronting their books. Now we just need to see more female creators and titles emerge to shift the gender imbalance off-panel somewhat.
X-MEN #1 (FEB130492)
Written by BRIAN WOOD
Art & Cover by OLIVIER COIPEL
FOC – 05/06/12 On-Sale – 05/29/13
