The Children of the Atom are coming to the X-Men universe. But, before the mutant sidekicks make their debut in the comics, Marvel released a launch trailer teasing their arrival and what to expect from the newest batch of X-heroes.
Earlier this year, Marvel teased the new series Children of the Atom which came from the idea of editor Chris Robinson, who asked: "what if the X-men has sidekicks." Vita Ayala (Nebula) and Bernard Chang (Teen Titans) are teaming up on the Dawn of X series which will introduce a handful of new characters with powersets related to their adult counterparts. The group made their first (and only so far) appearance in Marvel Voices #1 as kids looking to get autographs from Forge and Shuri in the short story "Race" by Ayala, Chang, and Marcelo Maiolo.
The launch trailer takes a deeper look at the personalities of the Children of the Atom. Ayala described the series as X-Men but from the Generation-Z perspective. The five new characters are very much zoomers, as Ayala revealed: "one of them has a TikTok, one of them has a fitness Insta, one of them is basically the moderator for the mutant sub-Reddit, one of them is a cosplayer, and the other one makes mutant music." Ayala wanted to take a specific focus on Gen-Z and their perspective on mutants as a whole. Ayala said to expect the usual X-Men-related shenanigans including "powers, punching and bad guys."
It's going to be a lot of fun to see how the younger X-Men sidekicks relate to their grizzled mentors who have seen it all at this point. Adding a new perspective from a younger generation will allow the Dawn of X series to explore a handful of new topics from modern society that haven't been explored in the X-Men universe. It's really a great idea. Children of the Atom character bios and connections of the main X-Men haven't been revealed yet.
You'll have to wait a little bit longer to see the new X-team in action as Children of the Atom won't hit stores until mid-April. Until then, here's the solicitation to tie you over.
- Children of the Atom #1
- Written by Vita Ayala
- Art by Bernard Chang
- Cover art by R.B. Silva
- WHEN DID THE X-MEN GET SIDEKICKS?!Now! Don't miss the debut of the greatest teenage super hero team of all time! They've learned from the best, now they're ready to be put to the test! But who the heck are these kids, and where do they come from? Guest-starring the X-Men!
- In comic book stores and online April 15, 2020.