Warning! Spoilers ahead for X-Men: Hellfire Gala #1!
Every X-Men fan’s favorite time of year has returned with the arrival of this week’s second annual Hellfire Gala, but some of the best dressed invitees did not seem to make it to the function. X-Men: Hellfire Gala #1 by Gerry Duggan, Kris Anka, Russell Dauterman, Matteo Lolli, C.F. Villa, and VC’s Cory Petit is filled with delights centered around the most exclusive party on Earth-616. Celebrity cameos, dramatic realignments in the superhero community, and international scandal form a heady mix for a high fashion cocktail of events. All that’s missing are four heroes: Gambit, Captain America (Sam Wilson), Black Widow, and Captain Marvel.
Last year’s Hellfire Gala was a masterclass in mutant excellence as the mutants of the world telepathically elected the Krakoan era’s first X-Men squad and the notion of mutant sovereignty expanded across the solar system as Mars was terraformed into the mutant planet Arakko. The Scarlet Witch’s temporary death dampened things a tad, but all’s well that ends well. This year’s affair was planned to be much more relaxed until it was forced to become a response to news of mutant resurrection being broken worldwide. In fact, this news inspires several heroes who hadn’t planned on attending to change their minds, including Tony Stark and Steve Rogers. The same cannot be said for Gambit, Captain America, Black Widow, and Captain Marvel.
Of course, these four are not the only heroes who seemed to miss the event this year; as much as fans may have wanted to see Doreen Green’s take on squirrel couture, Squirrel Girl was not at the Gala either. But unlike other heroes not in attendance Gambit, Captain America, Black Widow, and Captain Marvel all received Hellfire Gala 2022 redesigns and appeared on Hellfire Gala variant covers as part of the promotion for the giant sized one-shot. Understandably, some fans maybe disappointed to find that their favorite heroes were apparently invited and outfitted only to be nowhere to be seen the night of the Gala.
Of the four, Black Widow is the only one mentioned in the issue. In an interview between Janet Van Dyne and mutant fashion designer Jumbo Carnation, Janet playfully admits that Natasha may not be coming to this year’s Hellfire Gala. Other than that, Remy LeBeau has an alibi for not attending as well. Depending on the timeline of the Hellfire Gala and the events of Knights of X, Gambit may or may not be dead over in Otherworld. Sam Wilson and Carol Danvers’ absences are even more mysterious. Overall Gambit and Captain America’s Hellfire 2022 outfits received a lot of love among fans, which only adds to the disappointment over their lack of attendance.
It should be said that it is entirely possible that all four heroes did actually make it to the Gala, but just weren’t seen on panel in X-Men: Hellfire Gala #1. Amazing Spider-Man #9 is set up to take place in the middle of the Gala, so maybe a glamorous glimpse of the missing heroes will turn up there. Otherwise, it’s bittersweet to see that some of the best Hellfire Gala 2022 redesigns didn’t even appear at the X-Men‘s function.
X-Men: Hellfire Gala #1 is available now from Marvel Comics.
