Adam-X The X-Treme

Couldn’t sleep last night, so I digitally colored these.

These two come from Benjamin Tiesma – follow them on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Benjtendo

This is older, but I’d never put it on the site. This was done in jest, and actually never released, as the cover states.

THE FABIAN FAN

I’ve discovered (quite some time ago), I simply love Fabian’s writing. Pretty much everything he’s written – I’ve always found myself enjoying. And some of those things, I even… perhaps, one could say… obsess over. One of the first things, I recall was New Warriors. It wasn’t long into New Warriors when I was immediately enthralled. I’d loved Namorita from Sub-Mariner, I recognized Firestar from Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends… The internet back then was kind of … “new” (can you kids imagine that?). So I remember creating a website on Geocities dedicated to the New Warriors. When Fabian wrote Nomad, I was, yet again, hooked. When Fabian took over Thunderbolts (which was already amazing), he made the transition flawless.

So let’s talk about when Fabian wrote the X-Men and X-Force books. My obsession over Adam-X as a character was pretty well documented on the Internet, Twitter, and social media (and I’d created a site – before this one!) for Adam-X. So when the folks at the Unspoken Decade asked me to write a piece on Adam as a guest writer back in 2015, I jumped at the chance. (And because sites tend to disappear, I eventually mirrored it on my site here). That post goes into why I love the character and my (negative) thoughts on what and why they even thought of making Vulcan a thing. But who is Adam-X?

So let me summarize; the reason I initially loved Adam-X is that in his first appearance he took down all of X-Force – but mainly, he took down Cable. Cable had always been written as this tough guy that rarely ever has someone get the drop on him; and he had big guns, and was a time displaced character (something I am generally not a fan of) – so he had a few things going against him. So when Adam took him down – that immediately perked my interest. The fact that he (like myself) had long hair (back in the 90s – the good Lord has since decided I don’t need long hair – or… any hair on my head…) also helped me connect to this “rocking” looking character.

INTO THE X-BOOKS

Then Fabian wrote that fateful issue in X-Men #23 where Sinister is speaking to Scott Summers (Cyclops) and mentions “brothers” – as in plural. The world was ablaze with speculation as to who the “Third Summers Brother” was… most people seemed to speculate that the intended one was none other than everyone’s favorite Cajun mutant – Gambit. Which could make sense, with the red eyes (like Cyclops) projects energy (like Havok). But not what Fabian had in mind. Quoting Fabian –

“The character [X-Treme] WAS created to be the 3rd brother, but once I left the x-books, the following writers/editors chose to ignore the sub-plot(which is their call to make). the good news is that no writer/editor contradicted the storyline plans I had, so maybe someday I could still pick it up.“

As the quote says – before Fabian could tell the story, he was no longer on the X-Books and the story line remained unresolved – like the thousands of other danglers that seem to linger in the “Unresolved Issues” that seem all too common with the X-Books.

As the years went by, most characters continued to evolve; however, Adam was forgotten – except for people who seemed to be stuck on his appearance and how he looked. The thing is he never got to continue appearing, so yeah – he got locked into that 90’s look he had – and everyone seemed to be focus on “oh, he’s so extreme – he burns blood!” And I feel like none of those people read X-Men #39 which was a very touching tale and showed how Adam used his powers very differently (it also showed a very compassionate side to him). But I even talked about the minor changes I’d make to Adam’s costume to make him fit in modern comics.

Anyway, in 2006 – Ed Brubaker did the X-Men: Deadly Genesis which told of a story of a team of mutants that existed – and went after Cyclops and the team (when they’d been attacked on Krakoa – before Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Storm, etc., appeared in Uncanny X-Men #94/Giant Size X-Men #1) – this team considered of a specific mutant named Gabriel Summers, better known as Vulcan. His team had been killed on Krakoa trying to rescue Scott and the others, and when they ejected Krakoa into space, Gabriel had been imprisoned (unknowingly) and somehow kept alive (he – somehow? some reason? Suddenly absorbed all the powers of his teammates – including a mutant named Darwin who could adapt to any danger). Professor Xavier so ashamed of the loss – wiped everyone’s memory of all of the members. House of M happens, “No More Mutants” – a ton of mutant energy (listen people, this is comics!) goes into the air – hits Vulcan and awakens him. And the entire story of “The Third Summers” story is resolved, as far as Marvel is concerned. I talk more about the mess Vulcan creates in this post.

But I never gave up – I even wrote up what I’d do if I was given the chance to write Adam.

THE LEGEND FINALLY TOLD

This is a lot of needless backstory – just to get to where I was going to go – talking about X-Men Legends #1 and 2. I am not sure what gods finally smiled down – but it was finally announced that Fabian would finally be able to tell Adam’s story in a new series entitled X-Men Legends with the first two issues focusing on Adam’s origin.

The issue takes place in the past and opens with Eric The Red, who we’ve seen pestering Adam (namely back in Captain Marvel featuring Genis Vell) commanding the Crystal Claws to attack (in Alaska – and if you know your X-Men history – you know the grandparents of Scott and Alex live here) – at the same time, Cyclops and Havok find themselves attacked as well – so this isn’t a coincidence. Scott and Alex learn that their grandparents have been taken and a note has been left that says “Deliver the Forsaken One” (something Eric the Red called Adam in the Captain Marvel issues).

The issue cuts over to Adam at a farmhouse just having a zen moment when a young boy encounters him. But it’s not just the kid who is there – Cable also shows up and says that they need Adam’s “help” and explains the situation. We do see some backstory where Adam was genetically made in a test tube – where there’s other tubes that are (presumably destroyed in the ensuing fires and explosions) marked “Eve.” (Fun Note: In the recent Secret Wars, Fabian wrote the X-Men portion – and Adam became known as Burner – and similar tubes were seen where there was an “Eve”, “Seth” and “Able”).

Adam’s angry – and thought that he was done with Eric the Red (he believed he perished in the explosion in the aforementioned Captain Marvel issues). Adam eventually finds himself attacked by Raza and Hepzibah of the Starjammers before Cyclops and Havok show up and try to end things peacefully. Adam uses his power in yet another unique fashion and bolts – but can’t get ahead of Corsair who – after saying that Adam is the brother of Cyclops and Havok – shoots Adam in the head.

In the following issue, Corsair does correct himself and explain that technically Adam was their half-brother – and is surprised when Adam stands up again. Corsair explains that Adam was a part of the former emperor’s D’Ken’s eugenics program. Merging Shi’ar DNA with that of other specifies in search of way to advance the deteriorating evolution of the Shi’ar race and that D’Ken had used Katherine Summers (his wife and the mother of Scott and Alex) cell samples, mixing it with his own, creating Adam. Corsair mentions that the bounty on Adam was from Eric the Red and that gave Adam a plan. Our heroes take Adam “prisoner” and meet Eric the Red on the Moon. Once Eric the Red and the Crystal Claws reveal themselves to pay for the bounty, Adam “breaks out” of his shackles an tags each of the Crystal Claws and Eric the Red before the others can react – and then triggers his power to render Eric the Red and the Crystal Claws unconscious.

And it seems that Corsair is about to betray Adam when he calls upon the Shi’ar Imperial Guard…

But Adam has an idea – and the others all agree to it. They use Oracle powered further by Mentor to erase the memory of how Adam was genetically related to D’Ken, and technically, perhaps the true heir to the throne (especially if you asked Eric the Red and the Crystal Claws, who had wanted to put Adam on the throne).

Adam then returns to the farmland that we see him at in the first issue, and he speaks with the boy about the boy’s father who has trouble standing – so Adam decides to hang out and be a helping hand.

MY THOUGHTS

As an avid Adam-X fan, X-Men Legends #1 and #2 gave me what I needed. It finally reveals and confirms Adam’s true origin. It gave me the Shi’ar whom I have always loved, it gave me the Starjammers (who could have easily been the X-Men’s Guardians of the Galaxy for the FOX movies). It gave me a wonderful, amazing story. Gave me great art and inks. Gave me everything I needed wrapped up nicely. This was an incredible story – perhaps, I am the sole person, aside from Fabian who has waited the longest for this day to finally come. I want to thank Fabian, Brett and Adelso who were always so supportive of my Twitter account focused on Adam. (Remember when I started this talking about being obsessed? Listen, I wasn’t kidding!) I’d made movies, shared images – all of which they kindly shared, retweeted, liked, and gave more exposure to my account – but also Adam-X.

My heart is very happy.

You might say… X-Tremely happy.

Fabian, Brett, and Adelso are a part of the team that’s making the story of Adam-X finally see the light. Fabian is writing, Brett is on the pencils and Adelso is on inks.

Here’s some of what we’ve been given..

X-MEN LEGENDS comes out in February 2021. Be ready.

I am not going to lie. I totally thought this was a prank, a joke, some cruel form of teasing that Marvel was doing… but it looks to be absolutely true!

Breaking from the folks at AIPT (click the link to see the original article) – here’s the scoop:

Legendary X-writers return to classic eras of the mutant super heroes in all-new, in-continuity stories set during their groundbreaking runs! Featuring greats like Chris Claremont, Louise Simonson, Fabian Nicieza, Larry Hama, Peter David, and more, X-MEN LEGENDS will deliver startling tales month after month that dive into the rich history of the X-Men to tie up loose ends, resolve long-standing plot danglers, and reveal shocking truths that will change the past and future of the X-Men!

Fabian Nicieza, known for his explosive work on the X-Men in their nineties heyday, kicks off the series with a special saga of Cyclops and Havok that will solve one of the greatest X-Men mysteries of all time: Adam-X and his startling connection to the Summers bloodline!

“It’s incredibly exciting to finally tell the story of the infamous “third” Summers brother. Twenty-five years in the making, to see the truth about Adam-X revealed – and drawn so magnificently by Brett Booth – is one of the most surreal experiences of my career!” Nicieza said. “Getting the opportunity to tell this tale while kicking off the new X-Men Legends series is a x-tremely x-citing!”

Don’t miss this revelatory tale that will leave X-Men fans speechless when X-MEN LEGENDS #1 takes the comic book industry by storm this February! And stay tuned for news about the other decades-in-the-making stories coming your way in this one-of-a-kind title.

X-MEN LEGENDS #1

Written by FABIAN NICIEZA

Art and Cover by BRETT BOOTH

Fabian took to Twitter to clarify some things…

Mr. Sinister never said three, he said “brothers.” Whatever anyone did after that makes no difference since this story takes place at the time of its original revelation.

based on how linear time works, vulcan would be the fourth brother. adam would be the third. 😉

the story answers any questions you might have. and the story is pretty much EXACTLY what I wanted to tell in 94/95 (except it’s 50 pages instead of the 88 originally planned).

Fabian also took to Facebook:

And so it’s official. A story I wanted to tell since 1994/95 is being told in February! Working on it the last few months has felt very surreal, but I thank C.B. Cebulski, X-Group boss Jordan White, and editor Mark Basso for letting me tell it — and for having the confidence to make us the story that launches the X-MEN LEGENDS series.The incoming art from Brett Booth has been fantastic, crunchy, hoo-hah fun!

It will take place over 2 issues. #1 is “extra-sized” with 30 pages of story, issue #2 is the regular 20 pages, so 5p pages total. The original limited series outline was 4 issues at 22 pages each for 88 pages, so with a little judicious space management, I was able to tell the story in almost exactly the manner I’d always intended.

Continuity wise…

My understanding is the stories will all take place within moments of continuity. This issue takes place — and it is clearly footnoted that way — a few months after Captain Marvel Vol 3 #3 (which I wrote with Ed Benes art).

Special thanks to the folks at Alpha Flight Dot Net Twitter for pointing this out to me!

Adam-X appears to make a Cameo in the pages of X-Force #12 as Beast, Wolverine and Colossus step through a portal back to Krakoa. (Does this mean that Adam’s been on the island the entire time?) However, X-Factor #12 would almost seem to contradict that, stating that he’s been a part of the Mojoverse – enjoying success as a “video star” (ranked 5th popular there).

First let me say go follow BeefCakeBoss on Twitter and Instagram.

Go on. I’ll wait here.

Done?

Good. Now check out their shop on Redbubble.

Done?

Good. Now to say why I love it.

Is this Adam-X not the best thing since sliced bread? And BeefCakeBoss has done a ton of these and releasing new ones in batches on a frequent basis! Honest to the gods, all the reason in the world to follow him. His versions of these Marvel Mutants is beyond amazing. Puts the “X-Babies” to shame. I’d buy any comic with his art if it was a story about these Mutie Cuties.

So once again –

Go follow BeefCakeBoss on Twitter and Instagram.

Go on. I’ll wait here.

Done?

Good. Now check out their shop on Redbubble.

Done?

Good.

Much to my (pleasant!) surprise, and thanks to the eagle eyes of Let’s Talk New Warriors, Adam-X was spotted on the variant cover being done by Bagley deemed “every mutant ever” (which, while a cool title, pretty sure the cover doesn’t feature every mutant ever! In the pages of New X-Men alone, when they had Xavier’s School be a school for mutants, there were hundreds of them! And I know they’re not all featured on this wide cover… I think…!)
But regardless, I was very happy to see that Adam was remembered, acknowledge and drawn. I do wonder if Adam was remembered because Bagley (who worked on the original run of The New Warriors along side Fabian, who created Adam-X – that it was his nod to a good friend to include Adam on the cover as one of the mutants!) Whatever the case may be, I am quite happy. Here’s the other covers: