Marvel Comics has revealed the results of the fan election to decide the final member of the first official X-Men team of the Krakoa era.
In a short comic from writer Zeb Wells and artists David Messina and Rachelle Rosenberg posted on Twitter, Banshee and Polaris – the two oldest and longest-running characters up for the election – debate the pros and cons of being chosen. Polaris wonders if Krakoans would rather elect her father Magneto, while Banshee wonders the same thing in reverse, if they'd rather have his daughter Siryn.
Bonding over their long tenure working alongside the X-Men, Banshee and Polaris await the results of the vote – with Polaris finally being announced as the winner.
That means that Polaris is officially the newest member of the Krakoan X-Men team, the full line-up of which will be introduced as part of the 'Reign of X' line's upcoming Hellfire Gala crossover.
"The X-Men election was an amazing experience for the whole X-Office," X-Men line editor Jordan D. White states in the announcement. “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."
That new title, relaunching X-Men #1 from writer Gerry Duggan and artist Pepe Larraz, will kick off on July 21.
"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," Duggan states in the announcement.
"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," he continues. "Can't wait for you to join us. Hope you survive the experience."
In terms of story, each member of the new X-Men team was elected from the citizens of Krakoa with one member coming from each of the island's districts. On a meta level, fans were invited to vote for the final member of the team from a list of candidates including Armor, Banshee, Boom-Boom, Cannonball, Forge, Marrow, Strong Guy, Sunspot, Tempo, and of course the winning candidate, Polaris.
The Hellfire Gala, meant to celebrate the rise of Krakoa and the start of the new mutant era, will run through nearly all of Marvel's June X-Men titles, including a one-shot titled Planet-Size X-Men that is billed as setting the stage for the next era of the X-Men.
Stay on top of everything coming in the world of Krakoa with our listing of all the new X-Men comic book releases planned for 2021 and beyond.
