The new “Destiny of X” era of the X-Men is about to get a bit more explosive, as Marvel Comics has just announced a new limited series titled X-Terminators formed and lead by Wolverine. The all-female superhero team will consist of Wolverine, Jubilee, Dazzler, and Boom Boom, and is set to be inspired by classic grindhouse films of the ’70s and ’80s.
Grindhouse films were created as low-budget adults-only films that featured gratuitous sex, violence, and horror, hence the “Parental Advisory” warning given at the bottom of the first cover of the upcoming X-Terminators series. X-Men fans are particularly excited for this limited series because it will highlight Dazzler and Jubilee, two beloved Marvel characters who have not been given much spotlight during the Krakoan Era. While the new X-Terminator team will certainly be different than the three previous iterations of the team using the same name, the series is promising to give readers a hardcore and explosive adventure that “puts the X in eXploitation.”
X-Terminators is written by Leah Williams, the writer for the popular X-Factor series that recently ended. Williams also wrote the Trial of Magneto event, which saw the Scarlet Witch finally regaining the trust of the mutant population years after she caused the Decimation. The series will be illustrated by the immensely talented Carlos Gómez (Amazing Spider-Man Beyond, Captain Marvel Annual #1) with Marvel sharing a gorgeous first cover by Federico Vicentini (X-Deaths of Wolverine, The Amazing Spider-Man). After Boom Boom, Dazzler, and Jubilee are kidnapped and forced to survive through violent, brutal death traps, Wolverine must come to their rescue, eventually forming an all-new, all-female X-Terminators team. While Dazzler has been seen playing in a band on Krakoa and Jubilee was in the ensemble in Excalibur, neither of the fan-favorite mutants have had series focused on them in years, so this announcement was a happy surprise for many fans.
In the official announcement about the upcoming limited series Marvel had this to say:
Writer Leah Williams (X-FACTOR, TRIAL OF MAGNETO) and artist Carlos Gómez (AMAZING SPIDER-MAN BEYOND) will take Dazzler, Jubilee, Boom-Boom, and Wolverine on a chaotic ride through a dark corner of Marvel’s underworld in a new limited series titled X-TERMINATORS. Influenced by grindhouse films, fans can expect plenty of blood, sweat and sweet REVENGE in this refreshing new take on Marvel’s merry mutants!
In typical X-Men fashion, what starts as a wild night out gets even crazier when Jubilee, Boom-Boom, and Dazzler are kidnapped and put into elaborate death traps by a mysterious new army of enemies. What are three fierce mutants with the power to blow things up to do? Expect a hardcore, neon-fueled, down and dirty type of adventure unlike any seen before in X-Men history with all the light blasts, fireworks, time bombs, and brawling you can possibly hope for!
The two creatives behind the series, Williams and Gómez, added their own thoughts:
“I’m excited about how gleefully transgressive this book is—it’s sexy, stupid, and chaotic,” Williams said. “One of my favorite moments in the making-of this book was Jordan [D. White] asking, ‘What do you think… Parental Advisory for this book? Or just T+?… I am leaning PA.’”
“I’m eager to be working on X-TERMINATORS with Leah!” Gómez added. “She’s an incredible writer and always delivers fun and engaging stories and this title is no exception! Did I mention it’s action-packed? Also, X-Men has been one of my favorite series, and it’s always cool to be back in the X-Family!”
Dazzler, Boom Boom, and Jubilee make an intensely bombastic and chaotic crew, as all three women have mutant powers that create some sort of light-based explosion, and are often seen as being weaker than some of the other X-Men heavy hitters, like Wolverine herself. However both Dazzler and Jubilee have more than proven that not only are they a force to be reckoned with without their powers, but both of their abilities are actually way more powerful than they first look. Additionally, Boom Boom was on the second and third iterations of the X-Terminators. The first X-Terminators team was during the 1988 Inferno event, while the second was formed by Cable during 2019’s Cable Reloaded, so Tabby Smith has a lot of experience being on teams named X-Terminator! With Leah Williams reporting that the limited series is going to be “sexy, stupid, and chaotic” there is no doubt that the story involving these wacky, wonderful women is going to be unlike anything readers have seen from the X-Office in recent memory.
X-Terminators is looking like it will check all the boxes for a truly iconic limited series, one that will hopefully bring some underutilized fan-favorite characters back into the Krakoan spotlight. Everyone wants to see more of Dazzler’s band Resurrections, and hopefully they will make a reappearance in the pages of this comic. Make sure to check out X-Terminators #1, the first of five issues in the limited series, when it debuts on July 7, 2022 to see Wolverine and her new X-Men team in a gratuitously violent grindhouse adventure.
