Dustin Gebel
As San Diego Comic-Con 2023 puts the focus back onto comics this year, new details about the upcoming Fall of X were revealed during the Designing the X-Men: A This Week in Marvel Special Event panel. Along with news that the mutant superteam will battle Doctor Doom and a New X-Men book coming soon, Marvel has also confirmed a new version of X-Men Blue is on the way. The one-shot is set to provide a definitive origin for everyone’s favorite swashbuckling mutant, Nightcrawler, and the history he shares with his villainous mother, Mystique.
X-Men Blue: Origins #1, set to release this Novembers, comes from scribe Si Spurrier and is drawn by Wilton Santos. The book looks to solidify Nightcrawler’s history just in time for his new role as the Uncanny Spider-Man. Kurt’s history has always been a bit fluid, thanks to the involvement of shapeshifters, demons and general X-Men chicanery. As Spurrier continues to weave a grand story about Nightcrawler’s evolution spurred by Krakoa, this serves as an opportunity for a cohesive baseline as the character approaches the Fall of X and a return to his superheroic roots.
In the press release for the announcement, Spurrier stated:
“It’s not often you get the chance to shine new light into the origins of a truly beloved character. To do so for two at once is an unprecedented privilege. With this book, we’re breaking new ground in more ways than one. We’re walking this path with the deepest love for Nightcrawler and Mystique, and the deepest respect for the formative stories that surround them. And yet… by shifting perspective… by wondering which parts of the standard history can be trusted and which are unreliable… by climbing into the minds and memories of mother and son alike… we’re enriching their shared tale in a way that will cast fertile shadows across everything they do from now onwards. This is one of those books that will be discussed for years to come.”
Marvel has shared a first look at Francis Manapul’s cover for the one-shot, which can be seen below:
X-MEN BLUE: ORIGINS #1
Written by SI SPURRIER
Art by WILTON SANTOS
Cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL
On Sale 11/29
Stay tuned to Comic Watch for more coverage of SDCC ‘23 and everything related to the upcoming Fall of X.