Warning! Spoilers for X-Men: Hellfire Gala #1 by Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is asking the question, was David Bowie actually a mutant? It might seem like a silly question, but Doctor Doom is left curious after the idea is floated by him at the X-Men’s Hellfire Gala. After Spider-Man asks Victor Von Doom what kind of music he listens to and mentions the legendary artist, the supervillain actually wonders if Bowie might have been secretly a mutant.
The 2022 X-Men’s Hellfire Gala has come and gone, with some of the greatest heroes and villains on Earth visiting Krakoa to celebrate mutant culture. The evening featured some incredible high-fashion costumes, the debut of the new X-Men team, and a look at the future of Marvel’s mutants. However, Doctor Doom’s arrival at the event caught the attention of Spider-Man. After the web-slinger confronted Doom and joked about what music he liked, the supervillain ponders the question, could David Bowie have been a mutant?
In X-Men: Hellfire Gala #1 by Gerry Duggan, Kris Anka, Russell Dauterman, Matteo Lolli, CF Villain, Rain Beredo, Frank Martin, Matt Milla, Matthew Wilson, VC’s Cory Petit, Tom Muller, and Jay Bowen from Marvel Comics, Spider-Man encounters a spectacularly dressed Doctor Doom, where he jokes what mutant he would like to see resurrected now that the X-Men’s protocol has been revealed to the world. When Doom doesn’t offer a response, Peter Parker asks, “maybe Jimi Hendrix or David Bowie?” before saying that the villain probably only listens to “fascist marching music.” However, once Spider-Man leaves him alone, Doctor Doom is caught off-guard with the joke, asking the question, was David Bowie a mutant? Doom can’t help but wonder.
Marvel Comics doesn’t reveal if David Bowie is a mutant in their universe. Still, considering his incredible abilities as an artist and the countless times he’s reinvented his look, it’s not outside the realm of possibility that the legendary artist was born with the X-gene. The late singer lived a larger-than-life existence, and many saw Bowie as superhuman thanks to his bombastic stage presence and personality. It leads Doctor Doom to question whether Bowie might have been a mutant in his universe. Despite no definitive answer, the fact Doom even thinks it’s possible shows the impact Bowie had with his incredible talent.
Considering Marvel already has a music-powered mutant in Dazzler, making David Bowie a mutant would give the X-Men another popstar with superpowers. It’s an unlikely Marvel Comics will ever follow through on the question of the singer’s potential mutant background. Still, it’s a fun little moment to see Doctor Doom questioning whether David Bowie could have been a mutant in the Marvel Universe, as he seems to think it’s possible.
