As promised, Marvel has rounded out this week's trio of X-Men spin-off announcements with NYX, a revival of the cult-favorite early '00s limited series which introduced Laura Kinney, the second Wolverine, into Marvel Comics. The first two X-Men spin-offs announced this week for the upcoming 'From the Ashes' era were X-Force and The Phoenix.
This time around, the revived NYX will be written by Colin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing (currently writing DC's Outsiders) with art by Francesco Mortarino. Like before, the story will focus on young mutants making their way in the big city.
And while Laura Kinney will return to NYX, the book's central POV will be played by Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel, who was revealed as a mutant right at the time of the fall of Krakoa. She's been one of the underground X-Men since, and Kamala's brief history with Krakoa and time as a mutant freedom fighter will be relevant to the themes of the title.
Along with Wolverine and Ms. Marvel, the relaunched NYX will also feature Anole, Prodigy, and Sophie Cuckoo (just one of the five Stepford Cuckoo quintuplets).
"With Xavier’s school long gone and Krakoa destroyed, the greatest city on Earth is about to get a huge influx of mutants, whether they’re welcome there or not! See a group of former X-Men students navigate young adulthood, discrimination, and threats bent on shattering human-mutant relations for good in NYX," reads Marvel's official announcement.
"This is a book about mutants living past the end of their world and into a new beginning. This is Ms. Marvel embracing her mutant life in the neon streets of the Lower East Side. This is Anole trying to keep his head above water. This is Wolverine in the shadows of Bushwick, protecting her own. This is Prodigy writing history as it happens - and Sophie Cuckoo finding her own way," it continues. "The news reports are bleak. The streets feel dangerous. There’s something lurking underground. Evil coming from every direction. But they’re determined to make it. This is mutant community. This is mutant pride. THIS IS NYX!"
That vibe of lurid realism is part of what made the original NYX, by writer Joe Quesada and artist Josh Middleton, stand out at the time, with a gritty take on life as a teen in New York City (think something like the infamous '90s movie Kids but with mutants).
"This is the kind of book we came to Marvel to create. When the Hivemind first formed, Collin and I bonded over books like Runaways, Young Avengers, and the original NYX - stories that showcased that tense, wonderful place where the mundane world and marvels collided," says Colin Kelly in the announcement.
"And no book has embodied that more in recent years than Ms. Marvel - Kamala Khan is one of the most definitive protagonists in the Marvel canon, and we're deeply honored to be inheriting the character from Iman [Vellani] and Sabir [Pirzada], while chronicling a whole new phase in her growth as a young adult."
Iman Vellani is of course the actor who portrays Kamala Khan in the MCU, while Sabir Pizada, her co-writer, is also known for writing on several MCU shows. Vellani and Pizada have co-written several Ms. Marvel limited series set during her time as a mutant freedom fighter, including the current Ms. Marvel: Mutant Menace title.
"The opportunity to take on these characters is both an incredible challenge and an amazing honor,” adds co-writer Jackson Lanzing. "Sophie, Anole, and Prodigy have been personal favorites since their time on the New Mutants and New X-Men - in a sense, we've become who we are right alongside them. And returning Laura to NYX - while in a radically different context that centers her heroism over her victimhood - feels like the chance to really bring the character full circle and help her grow into the next phase of her life."
Laura Kinney, originally known as X-23, first debuted in the animated series X-Men: Evolution before being brought to comics with NYX. In both versions, she's a teen clone of Wolverine who is programmed as an assassin before eventually coming under Logan's wing.
"I was a big fan of Joe Quesada and John Middleton's version, so I was thrilled when Editor Annalise Bissa asked me to draw NYX!" artist Francesco Mortarino says. "I'm so glad to have the opportunity to work on characters like X-23 and Ms. Marvel, and NYC is a location that I love, so I'm eager to deliver the city vibes that I would see in books like Daredevil and Spider-Man! I've been really enjoying Jackson and Collin's scripts, and I can’t wait to bring them to life!"
NYX #1 goes on sale July 24 with a cover by Sara Pichelli, seen above.
Stay up to date on all the new X-Men comics Marvel has planned for release.
