Adam-X The X-Treme

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:

While Deathbird never encountered Adam, she was directly related to D’Ken (who is the father of Adam). Learn all about her here!

It looks like it’s just a cameo appearance (along side of Night Thrasher and a few others). But I am just happy to see Adam appearing somewhere. With Deadpool, and breaking the 4th Wall (which the issue seems to be focused on), it’s difficult to know if what’s happening in the issue is considered “in continuity” or some “alternate world” of the 4th Wall.

When I initially saw both Adam and Night Thrasher, I thought this was going to be something where they spoof the lesser accepted characters – but sure enough, included in there is none other than the Robbie Reyes Ghost Rider as well as Silver Surfer.

Eagle eyed Twitter user @HLHPattison noted that it looked like they were doing a nod / homage to NEXTWAVE.

Check it out…

Calling it NextForce is a clear indication that it’s definitely intended to be a homage to NextWave. I am, however, curious if Adam will be appearing in the next issue…

In one of the recent articles, there was disappointing information from Jordon D. White about Adam-X:

AiPT!: There was a time not too long ago when including a controversial ’90s character like Joseph in a modern X-Comic would seem insane. So on that note–Jordan, in your time as X-Men Senior Editor, have you ever received a story pitch so ridiculous you just had to say no? And if so… what was so crazy about it?

Jordan: Errrr… well, I don’t know that I’ve ever been pitched the return of a character that I thought was too crazy. There’s no bad characters, it’s all how they are used and if someone has a story to tell with them. Although, that being said, I was literally telling Chris Robinson yesterday that we are not bringing Adam-X back any time soon. Sorry, guys.

I think the only “too crazy” things I have had to say no to are things that went too far in the realm of violence or sex… which is ironic since in my tenure as Deadpool editor I definitely put out a lot sex and violence that other editors might think was ALREADY too much. But in general, I am a fan of someone pitching an idea that is “too crazy to work” and then telling me why it works. I think that can lead to some really fun and surprising stories.

Matthew: Let me bring Adam-X back, you coward!

I’ve rambled about how much I enjoy the character. I’ve even said how a joke character like Squirrel Girl went on to be a major player, so while many joke about Adam-X for his “90’s X-Treme Looks” – there’s no reason Adam couldn’t be used in a viable manner, and be given the chance to get away from the 90’s nitch so many people know him for. I’ve even compared him to Vulcan, who went on to “steal” Adam’s story to explain Sinister’s “brothers” comment to Scott.

But something I’ve not talked about is… what would I do, if I was given the chance to write Adam-X in the Marvel Universe as it stands right now.

One of the things I discussed previously, is about how I’d do a slight redesign of Adam-X. Wouldn’t even be that big of a change; mostly tapper down on the amount of blades he has. Adam originally had blades on his shoulders, arms, legs, everywhere. So I would remove them, and just leave the ones on his glove and a knife on the side of his boot (which is what he would use to throw to cut people), plus his axe (maybe just one). I would leave the long hair, the backwards hat. Maybe remove the soul patch on his chin, and just leave him five o’clock shadow or just clean shaven.

So now, story wise – what would I do. One of the important details to know is, Darkhawk, under the control of one of the Talons, murdered Lilandra. This, it would seem, left the Shi’ar Imperial Throne without an heir. Lilandra had no children of her own, Deathbird is exiled (again), and D’Ken was killed (again), by Vulcan. And Vulcan, who had married Deathbird to take the throne vanished into the Cancer Verse (fitting, since I felt like he was a disease) and has not (yet) returned.

So who sits on the Shi’ar Throne? Right now, it’s none other than the Shi’ar most powerful member of the Imperial Guard – none other than Gladiator. Gladiator does not want the throne, but he is the best suited when there’s no natural heir.

Enter, The Starjammers. We discover that Adam, at some point (perhaps after Cyclops had called on him to help stop Juggernaut in Uncanny X-Men #542, had asked Cyclops (off screen) about finding a way to return to space, since he wasn’t having much luck on Earth – and wanted to check out if there was indeed any truth to what Erik the Red had told him, in the pages of Captain Marvel (Legacy) #2 and #3. With Corsair alive again in the Marvel Universe, the Starjammers are called down to pick up Adam and take him to Shi’ar space. The entire trek, Corsair keeps talking about how Adam looks strangely familiar, similar to how Phillip Summers (Christopher Summer’s father) had done in the pages of X-Men #39. Adam insists that he doesn’t know Corsair, but Corsair persists. Hepzibah and the others think that Corsair is a little out of his mind (since none of them had ever met or seen Katherine before her demise, at the hands of D’Ken).

Refusing to give up his fight, Corsair manages to sneak some DNA from Adam and gives it to Sikorsky to analyze. Sikorsky returns with the fact that Adam possesses both Shi’ar and human DNA (something we already know). Sikorsky then notes that Adam shares a similar DNA strand to Scott and Alex. When Corsair asks what that means, Sikorsky confirms that Adam possesses DNA from Katherine Summers, as the only logical explanation. Corsair is shocked. Corsair confronts Adam about this, and Adam explains he never knew who is “biological mother” was. Only that he was “created” as the sole purpose of combining powerful Mutant DNA into the Royal Shi’ar Bloodline, and that according to Eric the Red, Adam was the son of D’Ken. Adam confirms that, according to Eric that Katherine was kept as a “pleasure maid” and bore Adam as a son, from D’Ken.

Corsair is initially furious, because standing before him stood an heir of D’Ken. But the rest of the Starjammers, upon learning Adam’s secret help talk sense into Corsair. They all agree that what they need to do is go to the Shi’ar Palace and explain who Adam is. With no rightful ruler, Adam – as the son of D’Ken – is the natural heir to the throne. However, despite his displeasure of serving on the Throne, Gladiator does not want to give up the Throne to someone he doesn’t know – especially a “cross breed” such as Adam. Naturally, this leads to a conflict, where The Imperial Guard is fighting the Starjammers. In swoops Deathbird, along with her two siblings, Black Light and White Noise, who promise the Starjammers to aid them with putting Adam on the throne – and the Starjammers, fighting the Imperial Guard, need all the help they can get – and agree, but know that Deathbird plans to betray them.

As the fight with the Imperial Guard escalates, Sikorsky appears with the DNA that indeed does confirm that Adam is the heir of D’Ken. This splits the Imperial Guard into two factions (those simply loyal to the throne; and those who refuse to put a “half breed” on the throne). Those loyal to the throne team up with the Starjammers (which includes Gladiator) and just as the battle seems to be in their favor, Deathbird strikes Gladiator from behind with a blast that weakens him, then throws one of her famous spears at Gladiator. However, the spear that would have killed Gladiator is taken by Adam-X who leaps in front of the spear and takes the hit. Deathbird screams, furiously as she and her siblings are forced to retreat. Adam’s sacrifice that almost gets him killed earns Gladiator’s respect; final page of the limited series is with all of them kneeling to Adam who sits on the Shi’ar throne.

The follow up would be – what would Adam be like as the ruler of the Shi’ar? Would he even want such a position?

Real Name: D’Ken Neramani
Aliases: Emperor D’Ken
Identity: Not Known To The General Public of Earth
Occupation: Shi’ar Majestor
Citizenship: Shi’ar Citizen
Place of Birth: Aerie, M-31/Andromeda galaxy
Known Relatives: Emperor Neramani (father, deceased); Ka’ardum (adoptive uncle); unnamed sister (deceased); Deathbird (sister); Lilandra (sister, deceased); Vulcan (brother-in-law, deceased); Charles Xavier (ex-brother-in-law, deceased); X-Treme (son); Black Light (nephew); White Noise (niece); Sharra Neramani (niece or daughter)
Group Affiliation: The Shi’ar Empire
First Appearance: Uncanny X-Men #97
History: D’Ken Neramani was the ruler of the Shi’ar race, ruling over the Shi’ar Empire, which was one of the most powerful and wide spread extraterrestrial space faring races in the Marvel Universe.

Though Deathbird was technically older than her brother, D’Ken, she was denied the throne due to her actions, which resulted in murdering her own sister. This led to Deathbird’s exile and denial of the throne, which then placed D’Ken as the next rightful heir to the throne.

D’Ken led a small Shi’ar force to Earth, where he had detected “great genetic” potential, and in doing so – abducted Christpher and Katherine Summers, who threw their sons Scott (Cyclops) and Alex (Havok) out of the plane on a single parachute hoping that they would survive. Christopher Summers was made a slave in the mines, while Katherine was added to a part of D’Ken’s harem. After spending time in the mines, Christopher Summers sought to free Katherine Summers, but that attempt failed as it led to Christopher bursting into the room with D’Ken and Katherine. Christopher was subdued and forced to watch D’Ken gut her.

Little did Christopher Summers know that D’Ken was interested in a Shi’ar / Human hybrid and gathered Katherine’s genetics and mixed it with his own, and fertilized one of her eggs within the lab. At the same time, he also discovered that Katherine was pregnant and took that child and raised it in a lab as well. The first would result in the Shi’ar hybrid of Adam-X, and the second would lead to Gabriel Summers.

Christopher Summers was forced to work the mine pits, sentenced to death. He adopted the name Corsair and formed a rebellion with Raza, Hepizbah, and Ch’od and formed the Starjammers.

In the meantime, D’Ken grew increasingly more unstable. At the time, his youngest sister, Lilandra who was serving as the Grand Admiral of the Shi’ar Empire learned that D’Ken had hoped to tap into the power of the M’Kraan Crystal. Lilandra spoke out against him, which led to her arrest. Lilandra had managed to escape and took a ship headed for Earth, hoping to get the help of Charles Xavier and his X-Men. D’Ken sent Eric the Red after Lilandra to kill her before she could get the help from the X-Men.

Lilandra had reached Earth and explained to Xavier what was happening, but Eric the Red captured her and escaped through the stargate that led back to the M’Kraan Crystal, where D’Ken and the Shi’ar Imperial Guard waited. Xavier and the rest of the X-Men however, followed Eric the Red through the stargate; and had it not been for the power of the Phoenix, the universe would have been wiped out by D’Ken’s madness.

D’Ken was left incurably insane as a result of the power of the Crystal. Lilandra took up the mantle of becoming Empress of the Shi’ar Empire, with Xavier as her consort.

Many years later, D’Ken’s mental state was restored by Gabriel Summers, known then as Vulcan. Though Vulcan had originally sought to murder D’Ken, D’Ken convinced him that he should marry his sister, Deathbird, whom Gabriel had developed a romantic relationship with, so that they could rule the Shi’ar Empire after Lilandra had been overthrown. Vulcan agreed, but during the ceremony, he surprised everyone by murdering D’Ken, incinerating him so that only his bones remained.

Height: 6’0″
Weight: 187 lbs
Eyes: Hazel
Hair: Black (Feathers)

Powers: D’Ken possesses standard Shi’ar psychology and has no additional super powers. As a Shi’ar, D’Ken can lift 1 ton in Earth-like gravity and has a stamina superior to standard humans.