Warning: Spoilers for X-Men #33!The latest crop of New Mutants has arrived in town, and one new X-Men member might be primed to lead them. It was recently revealed that Doctor Doom had been secretly recruiting and training a team of mutants, each with their own unique powers and codenames. This new team has already proven to be surprisingly efficient in their time together, to the point that some may argue that Doom is a better leader for the X-Men than Xavier.
However, while Doom may be coaching them behind the scenes, Ms. Marvel may emerge as the team’s on-ground leader, based on what transpires in X-Men #33. This same issue officially dubs Doom’s mutants as “The New Mutants.” It’s Kamala Khan who coins them as such, which is especially interesting coming out of her recent solo limited series, Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant.
The phrase “New Mutant” coming up again with Ms. Marvel can’t be a coincidence. This may be foreshadowing Ms. Marvel joining the team, potentially as a leader, which would be a natural progression for the character’s current journey.
X-Men’s New Mutants Title Return is a Long Time in the Making
X-Men #33 by Gerry Duggan, Joshua Cassara, Marte Gracia, and VC’s Clayton Cowles
Last summer, it was announced at San Diego Comic-Con that plans were in place for Marvel to revive the “New X-Men” name from the 2000s for a new series. The project has yet to materialize, but it’s possible that this New Mutants conception could be what was originally planned at the time. As a title for an X-Men subgroup, the New Mutants name dates back to 1982, first debuting in Marvel Graphic Novel #4 that year. The New Mutants were always conceived as a group of mutants who befriended each other, usually connecting through Xavier’s school.
Doctor Doom’s team presents a darker twist on such a concept, with this New Mutants squad training under Doom after living difficult lives as misfits in Latveria. Under Doom’s tutelage, they’ve become a force to be reckoned with, especially since defeating the actual X-Men line-up (Ms. Marvel included) shortly after their debut. They remain civil for now, and are slowly building a modicum of respect and friendship for each other. In this issue, Kamala and Slag especially seem to be getting along, building the foundation for what could become a teammate dynamic.
Ms. Marvel’s Connection to the New Mutants
The tail end of this past summer saw Marvel debut the limited series, Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant, which officially integrates Kamala Khan into the X-Men as she explores her newfound mutanthood. Especially considering how recently Ms. Marvel started being nicknamed as “The New Mutant,” this new X-Men team being nicknamed the same can’t be coincidental. If this is foreshadowing of the future, then Ms. Marvel becoming the Cyclops to Doctor Doom’s Xavier makes perfect sense.
Ms. Marvel spent much of that aforementioned series exploring her mutant identity in new ways. As she took the time to make sense of her new identity, her new mutant status became symbolic of wider identity themes that she’s explored before. As she becomes more confident in that identity and, most importantly, proud to be a mutant, becoming so secure in that identity that she leads her own X-Men would be a big step for her. She’s already warmed up to both Doctor Doom and his New Mutants, so Ms. Marvel leading her X-Men brings this summer’s character arc full circle.
