Earlier this year, X-Men fans got a chance to vote for two members of the recently relaunched, superhero-ized X-Men team - and some time next summer, it seems they'll get another chance, as X-Men series writer Gerry Duggan has revealed that the Hellfire Gala party and its accompanying X-vote will happen annually.
During a conversation about the aftermath of 'The Hellfire Gala' event as part of Marvel's X-Men Comic-Con At Home panel, X-Men group editor Jordan D. White and writers Gerry Duggan (Marauders, X-Men), Vita Ayala (Children of the Atom, New Mutants), Benjamin Percy (Wolverine, X-Force), and Leah Williams (The Trial of Magneto) all agreed that the Hellfire Gala - both the story and the party itself - were a success.
Moderator Ryan Penagos then asked a fan-submitted question about whether the Gala would become an annual event.
"When Emma threw that party, she said it was the first and that she didn't intend for it to be the last," answered White. "So if people are into it, I think we'd be thrilled to keep it coming."
The writers each echoed White's approval for the idea of telling another 'Hellfire Gala' story next year - "Who doesn't want an excuse to dress up and show off to all the humans, flex on them?" joked Ayala. But the news didn't stop there.
As the conversation turned to who each of the writers may have voted for in the X-vote, Duggan personally expressed his vote for Tempo and his wish to bring her to the X-Men, while also stating his excitement over adding vote-winning mutant Polaris to the team.
The panel discussed the lengths fans went to to campaign for their favorite candidates, including building websites and Twitter accounts dedicated to their favorite picks - with Williams even jokingly confessing she used multiple IP addresses to vote twice, once for Marrow and once for Tempo. This prompted Percy to likewise joke that he made numerous fake accounts to vote for Maggot - the punchline being that Maggot was not one of the characters included on the ballot.
While lamenting that his personal choice didn't make the cut, Duggan assured fans that he and they would get another chance to add their personal favorites to the X-Men during the next Hellfire Gala, which will also turn the X-vote into an annual event.
"The interesting way we're gonna do this from now on is, we'll have a yearly Hellfire Gala with a newly elected team," Duggan stated, hesitating slightly "...perhaps."
Duggan capped off the apparent announcement with a joke, adding "So if your favorite isn't on the X-Men, it's because you let that character down."
Marvel hasn't officially commented in response to Newsarama's inquiry about plans for an annual Hellfire Gala and X-Men vote. Despite Duggan's punchline, the rest of the panel, which can still be viewed, indicates the likelihood of such a plan being in place.
'The Hellfire Gala' introduced a new team of X-Men - only the latest in a legacy stretching back to 1963. Here are the best X-Men teams of all time.
