New X-Men #135
New X-Men #135 opens the 'Riot at Xavier's' arc — the creative and thematic climax of Grant Morrison's second year on the title — by delivering the first full appearance of the Omega Gang and the debut of Quentin Quire as Kid Omega, one of the most influential new mutant characters of the 2000s. The issue uses a student uprising against Xavier's pacifist dream as a vehicle to interrogate the foundational ideology of the X-Men franchise itself, asking whether peaceful coexistence still makes sense in a world where mutants are poised to inherit the earth. Morrison's decision to make the students — not an external villain — the antagonists was genuinely unprecedented in the title's long history, and the character of Quentin Quire has remained a fixture of X-Men storytelling ever since, appearing across dozens of series from Wolverine and the X-Men through the Krakoa era. The issue also marks the beginning of the final collaboration between Morrison and penciler Frank Quitely on the run, lending the arc an earned sense of culmination.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
Written by Grant Morrison and drawn by Frank Quitely (with inks by Tim Townsend and colors by Chris Chuckry), the issue was released on December 18, 2002, carrying a February 2003 cover date, under editor Mike Marts with Joe Quesada as editor-in-chief. Morrison has cited The Sekhmet Hypothesis as a conceptual influence on Quire's character and the arc's underlying ideas about mutation and social radicalism, acknowledging it in their memoir Supergods. The issue was the first chapter of a four-part story that editor-in-chief Quesada's office promoted as a direct escalation of the series' earlier 'E Is for Extinction' arc, with advance copy promising permanent changes to the X-Men's status quo.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of the Omega Gang (Kid Omega / Quentin Quire, Glob Herman, Radian, Redneck, and Tattoo) as a formed team — though the group is not referred to by name until New X-Men #140.
- First issue in which Quentin Quire assumes the identity and title 'Kid Omega'; his first full named appearance was the preceding issue #134.
- Kid Omega's iconic 'Magneto Was Right' T-shirt makes its debut here, a visual motif that became a recurring callback throughout later X-Men comics, including Wolverine and the X-Men #21.
- Issue title: 'Teaching Children About Fractals' — Part 1 of the four-part 'Riot at Xavier's' arc (New X-Men #135–138).
- Creative team: Grant Morrison (writer), Frank Quitely (penciler), Tim Townsend (inker), Chris Chuckry (colorist), Richard Starkings & Comicraft's Saida (letterers), Mike Marts (editor).
- This is the opening chapter of Frank Quitely's final story arc on the series; across his entire Morrison-era run he penciled only 10 issues total.
- The issue introduces the mutant drug 'Kick' (Hypercortisone D) as a plot-driving element; it is later revealed in the run to be the aerosol form of the sentient bacteria Sublime.
- Reprinted in: New X-Men Omnibus (2006), New X-Men by Grant Morrison vol. 5 TPB (2011), New X-Men Omnibus Second Edition (2012), and New X-Men Modern Era Epic Collection vol. 2 (2025).
Cast · 37 characters
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Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
Quentin Quire leads a group of rebellious students in an attack on a human gang. Meanwhile, Xorn takes another student group, the Special Class, on a camping trip.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).