Storm, Cyclops, and Marvel Girl are going into space to help out some old friends - the Shi'ar Empire - in January 27's X-Men #17.
The story is part of the X-Men line's overall return to space in the newly-christened 'Reign of X' era, spearheaded by the new S.W.O.R.D. series. Back in 2019, Marvel editor-in-chief C.B. Cebulski told Newsarama there were some "very cool" things planned for the "cosmic side" of the X-Men - namechecking the Shi'ar Imperial Guard and the Starjammers.
And you might notice these Brett Booth-drawn pages feature Scott and Jean in some throwback costumes. From the looks of it, that's their 1986-era X-Factor costumes designed by Walter Simonson. It's not clear if it's a story reason for the costume change (not that we're complaining), or simply an aesthetic choice by Booth.
The issue will feature a primary cover by former series artist Leinil Francis Yu, with a 'Marvel vs. Aliens' themed variant by Russell Dauterman.
Speaking of Booth and flashbacks to bygone eras of X-Men lore, after this guest issue of X-Men he is sliding over to draw the first issue of the X-Men Legends title, paired with writer Fabian Niceiza. Their story will focus on twisted mystery of the third Summers brother from '90s X-Men comics.
"It's incredibly exciting to finally tell the story of the infamous 'third' Summers brother," Nicieza said. "25 years in the making, to see the truth about Adam-X revealed – and drawn so magnificently by Brett Booth – is one of the most surreal experiences of my career! Getting the opportunity to tell this tale while kicking off the new X-Men Legends series is x-tremely x-citing!"
X-Men head writer Jonathan Hickman said this current 'Reign of X' era is about expansion - and as they go into space, and into 20+ year old continuity questions, it certainly is.
Keep up to speed on all the new X-Men comics, graphic novels, and collections in 2020 and beyond.
