Warning: this article contains spoilers for X-Men #15 and X of Swords: Destruction!
The unbelievable Gwenpool has just joined the X-Men. Let's face it, Gwenpool is no ordinary superhero, even by Marvel standards. She technically originates from a world just like ours, where superheroes are just comic book characters. Having entered the comic book world, she knows things she has no right to know from an in-universe perspective - such as Peter Parker's secret identity - and she has strange powers that feel like reality manipulation to the inhabitants of the Marvel Universe.
Gwenpool has spent years trying to find a place inside the world of comics to call her own. Unfortunately, her wild and wacky nature means she just doesn't quite fit in anywhere, and for a while she became terrified she would be canceled, forgotten and relegated to an occasional data-page in a Marvel Universe Handbook. Fortunately, in the Gwenpool Strikes Back miniseries, she Gwenpool etconned herself as a mutant, and strode through a Krakoan gateway to live with the rest of the mutant race. Not only had Gwenpool found herself a home, she had also become part of the hottest Marvel story of the year. Not bad for a teenager who thought she was about to be canceled.
And now she's become one of the X-Men. In X-Men #15 and X of Swords: Destruction, Cyclops and Jean Grey reform the X-Men to rescue their friends from Otherworld. It's a high-stakes mission, being conducted without the blessing of Krakoa's Quiet Council, and any mutant who chooses to go with them risks permanent death. As far as Cyclops and Jean Grey are concerned, anyone who responds to their rallying cry is considered one of Krakoa's heroes - one of the X-Men. And that includes Gwenpool.
Gwenpool is only seen in the background in a couple of panels, but she is undeniably there, wielding Krakoan technology in the battle against the Swordbearers of Arakko and the demonic armies of Amenth. What's more, she's clearly having a blast, shouting out in delight as she shoots at Pogg Ur-Pogg. No doubt Gwenpool is well aware she's making a cameo in the latest X-Men X-over - she's been dropping meta quips in the background of X-Men books for some time now - and she knows full well this is a defining moment for her.
Gwenpool fans, rejoice! Not only is Gwenpool a mutant, she is also an X-Man, willing to respond to Cyclops' call to arms and head to the mystical land of Otherworld in defense of her fellow mutants. Given the reformed X-Men look set to become a permanent fixture in the upcoming Reign of X era, the future may well be brighter for Gwenpool than ever before.
X-Men #15 by Jonathan Hickman, Mahmud Asrar, and Sunny Gho, and X of Swords: Destruction by Jonathan Hickman, Tini Howard, Pepe Larraz, and Marte Gracia are available now.