Warning: Spoilers forExceptional X-Men #3!Since Charles Xavier assembled the firstX-Men, the team has been home to some of the most powerful heroes in the Marvel Universe. Young mutants need as much help as they can get after the fall of Krakoa, and Emma Frost and Kitty Pryde have formed an unlikely alliance to continue educating and training those in need. Now, it’s official:Bronze, Axo, and Melee are the new class of X-Men.
Exceptional X-Men#3 by Eve L. Ewing, Carmen Carnero, Nolan Woodard, and Travis Lanham ushers in a new team of mutants under thetutelage of Emma Frostand Kitty Pryde. After getting off to a rocky start, with Emma trying to telepathically compel the three young mutants who turned to Kitty for help, they settle in andgo through some of the most important motions of becoming a team by revealing costumes, codenames, and powers.
Trista, Alex, and Thao have a broad range of abilities, from Trista’s metal skin to Alex’s mood-reading powers, and with veteran mentors like Emma and Kitty training them,they have all the makings of a promising team.
A New Class of X-Men Mutants Officially Forms, Debuting New Costumes
Bronze, Axo, and Melee Have the Trappings of Powerful X-Men
From the jump, Kitty and Emma’s group of new students havesome of the most crucial qualities to being a successful team. Trista Marshal, who gifts herself the codename “Bronze,” can change her body into a bronze-likemetal akin to Colossus, as well as use vine-like appendages. Alejandro Mateo Luna, or Alex, is given the name “Axo” as a nod to axolotls, thanks to his color-changing skin and mood reading. Thao Tran, whom Trista dubs “Melee,” has a phasing ability similar to Kitty’s and is named the group member most eager to charge into a fight.
X-Men Kicks Off Emma Frost vs Kitty Pryde With a “Super Saiyan” Throwdown
Emma Frost and Kitty Pryde’s decades old feud reignites in Exceptional X-Men as Frost attempts to psychically kidnap Pryde’s new mutant students.
It’s not easy being a mutant - especially in a world still reeling from Krakoa’s fall. Trista, Alex, and Thao have already faced the prejudices and judgment of human society and decided that they’re interested in something greater than themselves. They want to be heroes, and now they’re well on their way to accomplishing that goal. Not only are they lucky enough to secureone of the greatest mutant teachers in Emma Frost, but Kitty Pryde has plenty of personal experience with the difficulties of being anX-Men student turned soldier. Axo, Bronze, and Melee are set up to get both the training and support that they need.
Kitty Pryde and Emma Frost Can’t Solve Every Problem
While these three young mutants are luckier than many others still out there, and they’ve secured a spot with two incredible mentors, the odds are still against them. Emma and Kitty are well-equipped to train them, but they don’t have the resources of the old X-Men training facilities, and there’s no Institute to shelter them. They’ll be training and learning to control their powers right alongside all the problems of being in regular society, which is currently packed with anti-mutant sentiment. There’s a long road ahead, but Axo, Bronze, and Melee have what it takes to become the nextX-Men.
Exceptional X-Men#3is available now from Marvel Comics.
X-Men
The X-Men franchise, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, centers on mutants with extraordinary abilities. Led by the powerful telepath Professor Charles Xavier, they battle discrimination and villainous mutants threatening humanity. The series explores themes of diversity and acceptance through a blend of action, drama, and complex characters, spanning comics, animated series, and blockbuster films.
