Marvel is getting ready for “Battle of the Atom,” a new 10-Part X-Event launching this September that seeks to shake the current X-Status Quo. It’s something that we seem to get every few years given the internalized narrative of the X-Books and it’s usually pretty entertaining, but this one is done specifically in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the X-Men.
So what does that mean? Covers! Variants! ALL THE VARIANTS!
But, honestly, enough out of me. Look at all these covers:
They’re all pretty darn great.
With recent history, Marvel has proved that some of their best event crossovers come from internalized things like this with the X-Men. “Messiah CompleX”, for example, is perhaps one of the better events of the last decade from Marvel, given that it has a grand and lasting impact on the X-Books without going outside the lines and spilling over into a myriad of titles. It’s self-contained and it’s efficient, and the subsequent follow-ups “Messiah War” and “Second Coming” followed the same pattern.
Here’s hoping that an event featuring Bendis, Aaron, Wood, Cho, Immonen, Bachalo, Lopez and Camuncoli — a freaking cavalcade of top notch Marvel talent if there ever was one — can capture that same magic.
For the full press release from Marvel, please see below.
Marvel Press Release
This September, celebrate the X-Men’s 50th anniversary with the first major X-Men crossover event in over three years—X-Men: Battle of the Atom! From the blockbuster creative team of Brian Michael Bendis, Jason Aaron, Brian Wood, Frank Cho, Stuart Immonen, Chris Bachalo, David Lopez & Giuseppe Camuncoli, comes an event so exhilarating, and so groundbreaking that fans will be talking about this for years to come! Three X-Men universes collide in the biggest war mutantkind has ever seen, and you won’t believe how it all plays out. One thing’s for sure—no reader will come out unscathed!
“If All-New X-Men #1 was the shot heard round the world, X-Men Battle Of The Atom is Valley Forge,” explained Nick Lowe, Senior Editor, Marvel Entertainment. “And there’s no group of creators I’d rather go to war with than Brian [Bendis], Jason [Aaron] and Brian [Wood]. And that doesn’t even mention the murderer’s row of artists.”
Hank McCoy brought the original X-Men into the present in the hopes of changing the course of history and stopping Scott Summer’s mutant revolution before it even begins. But as the young and confused X-Men try to cope with their devastating futures, the team begins to unravel from the inside. And just as mutant civil war is about to hit it’s boiling point, an unexpected third party comes in to change the game—the future X-Men! They’ve traveled back in time with a warning—the original X-Men need to go back to their rightful time or they will be the final nail in mutantkind’s coffin. They risked everything to come to the past and won’t leave until the All-New X-Men are back in the past. It’s monumental! It’s earth-shattering! It’s X-Men: Battle of the Atom!
Beginning in September and ending in October, this 10-part weekly event is not one any fan can miss:
• Part 1: X-Men Battle of the Atom #1
• Part 2: All-New X-Men #16
• Part 3: X-Men #5
Continued below• Part 4: Uncanny X-Men #12
• Part 5: Wolverine & The X-Men #36
• Part 6: All-New X-Men #17
• Part 7: X-Men # 6
• Part 8: Uncanny X-Men #13
• Part 9: Wolverine & The X-Men #37
• Part 10: X-Men: Battle of The Atom #2
Don’t miss out on the event of the season! Who will become unlikely allies? What is S.H.I.E.L.D.’s master plan? What are the consequences for altering time and space? Most importantly, what will determine the fate of our favorite superheroes? This fall, all will be revealed in X-Men: Battle of the Atom!
X-MEN: BATTLE OF THE ATOM #1
Written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS
Art by FRANK CHO
Cover by ARTHUR ADAMS
Wraparound Variant by FRANK CHO
Variant Cover by JOE MADUREIRA
FOC – 8/12/2013, On Sale – 9/4/2013
ALL-NEW X-MEN #16
Written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS
Art by STUART IMMONEN
Cover by ARTHUR ADAMS
Variant by STUART IMMONEN
Variant Cover by ADI GRANOV
FOC – 8/12/2013, On Sale – 9/4/2013
X-MEN #5
Written by BRIAN WOOD
Art by DAVID LOPEZ
Cover by ARTHUR ADAMS
Variant by TERRY DODSON
FOC – 8/19/2013, On Sale – 9/11/2013
UNCANNY X-MEN #12
Written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS
Art by CHRISTOPHER BACHALO
Cover by ARTHUR ADAMS
Variant by CHRISTOPHER BACHALO
Emma Frost Variant by MILO MANARA
FOC – 8/26/2013, On Sale – 9/18/2013
WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN #36
Written by JASON AARON
Art by GIUSEPPE CAMUNCOLI
Cover by ARTHUR ADAMS
Variant by KRIS ANKA
FOC – 9/2/2013, On Sale – 9/25/2013
