Warning: contains a preview of X-Men Annual #1 (2022)!The younger brother of Cyclops - the X-Men member Havok - is about to meet his tiny doppelganger, as Marvel showcases the "X-Babies" version of Alex Summers in X-Men Annual #1 (2022).
The "X-Babies" are genetically modified toddler versions of classic X-Men characters created by the deranged, evil ruler of the Mojoverse, Mojo. While the first X-Babies were actually de-aged X-Men, Mojo was so impressed by the media ratings the young mutants got that he tasked his team of geneticists with manufacturing his own version of the X-Babies, who have appeared several times throughout the history of the X-Men, starting in the 1980s.
It was recently revealed in X-Men Unlimited Infinity Comic #62 that the X-Babies are still alive and well, after not being seen or heard from since 2015, and that Krakoa's Quiet Council is attempting to make a deal with Mojo's legal team to safely retrieve the X-Babies as mutant citizens of the island nation. Now, the return of the X-Babies has been teased even further, with an image of the X-Baby version of Cyclops' brother Havok turning up in one of their mission briefings, much to Alex Summers' surprise. However, the arrival of "Lil' Havok" is an even bigger treat for hardcore fans of the X-Men, as his appearance has been teased since Jonathan Hickman's 2019 soft reboot of the franchise with House of X/Powers of X. In an exclusive interview with AIPT, Steve Foxe - writer of X-Men Annual #1 (2022) - discusses how "Lil' Havok" actually first appeared on promotional artwork for HoX/PoX by Mark Brooks, joking, "It’s true, all of it: Mark Brooks predicted that I would one day find a way to get [Lil' Havok] into an X-Men Annual, even though Marvel had no idea who I was in 2019."
The Promise Of Baby Havok Is Coming To Fruition
In the interview with Chris Hassan, Foxe goes on to make it clear that this was not actually a plan four years in the making, but that he was inspired by Mark Brooks' artwork to include Lil' Havok in the X-Men Annual saying, "Sometimes you have to be the change you want to see in the world." Marvel fans love when comics make deep-cut references to stories or art from years past, and even if bringing Lil' Havok and the X-Babies to Krakoa wasn't actually part of the plan when the art was produced, it is still a complete joy that Foxe has decided to incorporate the incredibly random design decision by Brooks into an X-Men story.
A Cover Art Joke Is Now Official Canon
The exclusive preview for X-Men Annual #1 shows Forge giving the new X-Men team a full briefing of upcoming and possible missions, which included a distress signal from Mojo himself, with an image of a toddler Havok seemingly attacking Mojo, meaning that the evil Mojoworld ruler might actually need the X-Men to save him from his youthful experiments. Havok, who has never interacted with the X-Babies, is very shocked to see a toddler version of himself, seeing as that is pretty strange even for an X-Man. With teases about the return of the X-Babies being revealed in two completely different Krakoan stories, it seems more and more likely that the powerful scamps will be returning to the comics, and both Cyclops and Havok may need to deal with yet more unexpected siblings joining the sprawling Summers clan.
Writer Steve Foxe has created a truly ridiculous and joyous fan-service moment by bringing Mark Brooks' 2019 art depicting the X-Baby version of Havok into canon, and hopefully the X-Men's leader Cyclops will get a chance to gain another brother, one who is just a little bit younger and stranger than Alex.
X-Men Annual #1 (2022) hits stores December 21, 2022.
Source: AIPT