Marvel Comics’ relaunch of the X-Men franchise includes a new iteration of the tentpole title Uncanny X-Men, written by Gail Simone. Anticipation for the series has been steadily rising among the X-fandom since it was announced, and now Marvel has dropped a trailer for the series, along with preview pages that hint at the first adventure for Simone’s all-star mutant squad.

The upcoming Uncanny X-Men series will feature a new primary location, and introduce new characters, while at the same time offering something of a throwback to X-Men’s classic team books. The information released about the series by Marvel so far has made it clear the latest Uncanny volume will be exciting and ambitious, but will likely focus on more grounded, character-based storytelling.

Readers familiar with Gail Simone’s work know she excels at delivering exactly that, and fans encountering her writing for the first time should expect to come away satisfied that the X-franchise’s most iconic series is in exceptional hands.

Gail Simone’s Uncanny X-Men Is A Return To Form For The Franchise

Anchoring The “From The Ashes” Relaunch

The preview pages for Uncanny X-Men #1 begins as Gambit and Rogue reunite with Wolverine, who is in Mexico to fight a dragon. There is a collusion of elements here that immediately tell the reader that author Gail Simone is harkening back to a familiar X-book formula. The preview offers a glimpse of the tone and style of the book – both narratively, and artistically – while suggesting that the issue will start with a self-contained battle against the dragon Sadurang, before shifting focus to the larger plot that will occupy Uncanny’s initial arc.

Early plot solicitations for Simone’s Uncanny X-Men emphasize that Rogue will be stepping forward into leadership role, as the team navigates the post-Krakoan status quo for mutants in the Marvel Universe. The series is set to introduce a new group of mutants to the franchise, known as “the Outliers,” as well as a threatening new antagonist. Marvel elaborated on the initial synopsis for the series, further teasing that:

In today’s world, mutants need the X-Men more than ever. With Professor X gone, Rogue reluctantly finds herself as the X-Man designated to keep the team together. Rogue, Wolverine, Gambit, Nightcrawler, and Jubilee forge a new home in a New Orleans, and when four mysterious young mutants show up at their doorstep, that home becomes a haven. Protecting mutants from a world that hates and fears them, and using their powers to ensure there’s a future worth living in. They are the Uncanny X-Men!

In order to find out how these various plot threads all fall into place, readers will have to pick up Uncanny X-Men #1 when it hits shelves.

Writer Gail Simone Is Crafting “Uncanny” To Appeal To Every X-Men Fan

Uncanny X-Men #1 – Debuting This August

According to Gail Simone, the undeniable opportunity to add her name to the legendary roster of Uncanny X-Men writers came with a mix of emotions, as well as a mandate to live up to the legacy. As she stated:

“The shadows of the giants who have worked on [Uncanny X-Men] are all over the landscape, and it gets a little emotional to think about. Everyone has an X-Man they feel speaks to them directly. There’s no other franchise like it in comics. It’s an honor and a thrill and a panic, all at once. My first idea was, I want to lay out a welcome mat for all readers: new, returning and lifelong. They deserve the best mutant stories I can give them. I want to focus on the humanity, no pun intended. Big action, big personalities.”

With that in mind, the familiar feeling of the preview pages for Uncanny X-Men #1 can be linked back to Simone’s impulse to cater to every stage of the X-fan lifecycle. In many ways, this is a return to form for the franchise, which Gail Simone noted stands as truly singular in the history of the superhero genre.

The past half-decade of X-Men storytelling – collectively known as the Krakoan Era – was more than just innovative, it was revolutionary in its vision of mutantkind. Now, as the franchise relaunches once more, with the “From the Ashes” Era, it is natural to return to a more recognizable version of X-Men. Gail Simone – and her counterpart Jed MacKay, writer of Marvel’s other flagship X-title, X-Men – are in a sense the perfect caretakers of this new era, authors who know how to achieve novel results within familiar forms, rather than reinventing the form entirely.

Simone’s “Uncanny” Lays The Foundations For The X-Men’s New Era

Uncanny X-Men #1 – Variant Cover By Stephen Segovia; Jay David Ramos (Color)

With a line-up consisting of Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Jubilee, and the power-couple of Gambit and Rogue, the upcoming volume of Uncanny X-Men is stacked with some of the franchise’s most familiar, most beloved heroes. This makes writer Gail Simone’s responsibility even more imposing, given that the trajectory of these major mutant figures’ storylines in the “From the Ashes” Era will be defined by what she does with them in Uncanny. Of course, as the writer herself noted, there is also the lineage of the title to live up to.

As a veteran of the industry, Simone is more than up to the task; readers should feel confident that she is playing such a central role behind the scenes in this transitory period for Marvel’s X-Office. Among the author’s most highly-regarded work is her run on DC’s Birds of Prey, meaning that she brings the experience of writing a team book packed with exciting personalities to her upcoming tenure on Uncanny X-Men, along with the rest of her decades of experience as a comic book scribe.

Writers Like Gail Simone & Jed MacKay Are The Perfect Heirs To X-Men’s Legacy

Uncanny X-Men #1 – Variant Cover By Andy Kubert; Brad Anderson (Color)

According to Marvel’s “Legacy Numbering” system, the final issue of the latest volume of X-Men more than just served as the epilogue to the Krakoan Era – it also doubled as Uncanny X-Men #700. In other words, both Jed MacKay’s relaunched X-Men #1, and Gail Simone’s Uncanny X-Men #1 one, have a claim to being “Uncanny X-Men #701.” Meaning that both hold an equal stake in carrying on the legacy of the X-franchise, as it continues into its sixth decade as a pop cultural force.

Given the opportunity, both MacKay and Simone will offer more than worthy new chapters in X-history, ushering in a more familiar status quo for the franchise, while also opening up an entirely new frontier of possibilities. X-Men readers can certainly mourn the loss of the Krakoan Era – just as mutantkind must – but they should also recognize that this is a time of limitless potential for the series, as a new slate of some of comics’ most Omega-level talented creators have their turn at telling unforgettable X-Men stories.