Marvel pushes X-Men spinoff Children of the Atom back an additional two months

Children of the Atom cover
(Image credit: Marvel Comics)

Marvel has decided to delay the X-Men spin-off series Children of the Atom again with it now scheduled to go on sale on March 3, 2021. This is the second time the teen mutant series has been pushed back.

(Image credit: Marvel Comics)

Children of the Atom #1 was originally announced for an April 2020 debut, but then put on hiatus (with many other Marvel books) due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The book was later rescheduled to come out January 6, 2021 - but now that has been changed as well.

Described by Marvel as a title about "the greatest teenage superhero team of all time," Children of the Atom focuses on a new team of mutants who are specifically mentored by older X-Men counterparts – with some of the members of the team even sporting powers and costumes that resemble those of their mentors.

This ongoing title by writer Vita Ayala and Bernard Chang was originally intended to be part of the recently-concluded 'X of Swords' event; these mysterious new mutants will now debut as part of the 'Reign of X' era of the X-Men title.

"They've learned from the best, now they're ready to be put to the test!," reads Marvel's solicitation for the first issue. "But who the heck are these kids, and where do they come from? Guest-starring the X–Men!"

In the interim, Ayala has taken over writing the X-Men's other young mutant title, New Mutants.

Keep up to speed on all the new X-Men comics, graphic novels, and collections.

Chris Arrant

Chris Arrant covered comic book news for Newsarama from 2003 to 2022 (and as editor/senior editor from 2015 to 2022) and has also written for USA Today, Life, Entertainment Weekly, Publisher's Weekly, Marvel Entertainment, TOKYOPOP, AdHouse Books, Cartoon Brew, Bleeding Cool, Comic Shop News, and CBR. He is the author of the book Modern: Masters Cliff Chiang, co-authored Art of Spider-Man Classic, and contributed to Dark Horse/Bedside Press' anthology Pros and (Comic) Cons. He has acted as a judge for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, the Harvey Awards, and the Stan Lee Awards. Chris is a member of the American Library Association's Graphic Novel & Comics Round Table. (He/him)