Uncanny X-Men #1 (701)
This issue carries the weight of a genuine publishing milestone: after 61 years and 700 numbered issues, Uncanny X-Men finally gained its first solo female full-time writer in Gail Simone, marking a long-overdue moment in the franchise's creative history. Beyond that landmark, the issue serves as the opening chapter of the post-Krakoa era, deliberately pivoting the X-Men away from the nation-state politics of the Hickman years and back toward the 'outlaw heroes' identity that defined the book's classic period. It delivers the first appearances of the Outliers — four all-new mutant characters (Jitter, Ransom, Calico/Becca Constance Simon-Pinette, and Deathdream/Hotoru, along with Calico's psychically-bonded horse Ember) — who represent Simone and Marquez's bid to carry on the franchise's tradition of introducing a fresh generation of mutants with genuinely original power concepts. The issue also establishes a Southern Gothic tone rooted in New Orleans, a creative direction that distinguishes it from every other volume of the title.
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The series was announced at Marvel's SXSW 2024 panel in March, where editor-in-chief C.B. Cebulski and newly appointed X-Men group editor Tom Brevoort — who had replaced longtime group editor Jordan White — unveiled the 'X-Men: From the Ashes' relaunch as a line-wide reset following the end of the Krakoan Age. Simone has said that Brevoort approached her directly about the assignment, and that his chief editorial request was that Rogue anchor the team and serve as the book's emotional center. The phrase 'From the Ashes' itself was reportedly suggested by Simone among a group of proposals and was derived from the opening text of Giant-Size X-Men #1 (1975). The full creative team on the issue consists of writer Gail Simone, penciller and inker David Marquez, colorist Matthew Wilson, and letterer VC Clayton Cowles, with Brevoort as editor.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published August 7, 2024 (cover-dated October 2024); carries legacy number #701 in the Grand Comics Database's cumulative count of all Uncanny X-Men volumes.
- Written by Gail Simone with art by David Marquez — marking Simone as the first solo female full-time writer of Uncanny X-Men in the title's history, which began in 1963; the closest predecessor was Kelly Thompson as one of three co-writers for ten issues in 2018–2019.
- First cameo/team appearance of the Outliers: Jitter (Sofia Yong), Ransom (Valentín Correa), Calico (Becca Constance Simon-Pinette), and Deathdream (Hotoru), along with Calico's psychically-bonded horse Ember — all new characters created by Simone and Marquez for the series.
- First appearance of the Hag (in cameo) and first appearance of Harvey, the young dying mutant whose precognitive seizure warns the team of 'the Endling' — seeding the series' central mystery villain.
- First appearance of Dr. Corina Ellis, the antagonist who has converted Xavier's former school into a mutant prison called Graymalkin Prison.
- Rogue is established as the reluctant team leader of a New Orleans-based squad (with Wolverine, Gambit, Nightcrawler, and Jubilee) operating as 'outlaw heroes' in a post-Krakoa world where Professor X is gone.
- The issue is the second of three core flagship titles in Marvel's 'X-Men: From the Ashes' relaunch — the line overseen by newly appointed group editor Tom Brevoort — which also includes X-Men by Jed MacKay/Ryan Stegman and Exceptional X-Men by Eve L. Ewing/Carmen Carnero.
- The series adopts a Southern Gothic horror tone set in Louisiana — a deliberate creative distinction from prior Uncanny X-Men volumes — with Simone framing Rogue as the issue's narrative perspective character throughout.