Marvel 2025 – Exceptional X-Men 012 Analysis

This comic book issue deals with the current state of mutants after the fall of Krakoa, a time when they are scattered and hated by the world. The story focuses on a young team of mutants (Axo, Bronze, and Melee) who are being mentored by experienced X-Men members Kitty Pryde, Emma Frost, and Iceman.

Exceptional X-Men 012
Writer: Eve L. Ewing
Penciler: Federica Mancin
Color Artist: Nolan Woodard
Letterer: VC’s Travis Lanham
Cover: Carmen Carnero & Nolan Woodard
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Main Characters

• Kitty Pryde (Kate Pryde): The team’s leader and mentor, who is currently lost in time.
• Emma Frost: A powerful telepath, the team’s strategist, and co-mentor.
• Iceman: A veteran X-Men member and mentor.
• The Young Team:
  • Bronze (Nina): One of the young mutants.
  • Axo & Melee: The other young members of the team.
• Reggie (Reginald James McNair, III): A new mutant at the center of the events, who cannot fully control his powers.
• Ironheart (Riri Williams): An armored genius and superhero who assists the team with technology.

Plot Summary

1. The Inciting Incident: The story begins after an argument at the team’s “teamiversary” party causes Kitty Pryde to storm off. While cooling down in a park, she falls into a portal that suddenly appears next to Reggie, the boy Bronze has a crush on. On page 2, we learn from Reggie’s inner monologue that he is terrified he may have accidentally killed Kitty Pryde (though he doesn’t know who she is).
2. Kitty’s Disappearance and the Investigation: Iceman becomes worried when Kitty doesn’t return. He calls Bronze (whose real name is Nina), but she lies, hiding the fact that she is with Reggie. Meanwhile, Ironheart arrives at the scene and finds Reggie and Bronze.
3. Reggie’s Power is Revealed: Reggie confesses that he is a mutant. His power causes swirl-like portals or “holes” to form around him after he has been in one place for a while. He cannot yet control this ability and holds himself responsible for Kitty’s disappearance.
4. Emma Frost’s Intervention: Emma Frost arrives and, to understand the situation, enters Reggie’s mind. After reading his thoughts, she delivers the good news: Kitty is not dead. She has simply been sent into the past through “minor bursts of time travel” caused by Reggie’s power.
5. The Rescue Plan: A plan is formed to bring Kitty back. However, Emma Frost states that she and Iceman cannot go into the past. Because they are significant figures in young Kitty’s life, meeting her at the wrong time could disrupt the timeline. Therefore, the mission is assigned to the young mutants: Axo, Bronze, and Melee. Ironheart develops technology, using data from a portal-using mutant named Tank they previously fought, to allow the young team to track Kitty.
6. The Journey to the Past: Under Emma’s telepathic guidance, Reggie focuses his power to open a portal to the specific time and place where Kitty was sent. The young X-Men team steps through it into the past.
7. A New Threat: Immediately after the team departs, giant Sentinel robots appear in the present, drawn by the energy signature of the time portal. Emma urgently commands Reggie to shut the portal, signaling the start of a new threat in the present day.
8. The Cliffhanger: The team arrives in the past and begins searching for Kitty. They soon find her, but there’s a problem: the person they’ve found is not their adult mentor, but the teenage version of Kitty from when she first joined the X-Men. The comic ends with the caption, “THE TEAM FOUND KITTY… THE WRONG KITTY.”

How the X-Men’s Adventure Continues

This issue kicks off a classic “time travel” adventure for the X-Men. The direction of the story can be summarized as follows:

• The Main Mission: The young X-Men team’s primary goal is to rescue their mentor, Kitty Pryde, and bring her back to the present without causing permanent damage to the timeline. They must do this while avoiding interaction with anyone from the past, especially the younger versions of the X-Men.
• Risks and Obstacles:
  • Time Paradox: The smallest mistake the team makes in the past could completely alter the future. According to the preview for the next issue on page 15, Kitty will get a chance to change her own destiny, which would be a catastrophe for the team.
  • Inexperience: This difficult mission rests on the shoulders of a young, in-training team whose own internal dynamics are still developing.
  • The Threat in the Present: While they are in the past, their mentors Emma Frost and Iceman must deal with the Sentinels that have suddenly appeared.
  • Enemies in the Past: The preview for the next issue (page 15) also mentions a “time-displaced Sentinel,” indicating that the team will not only be fighting against time but also against tangible enemies in the past.

In short, the adventure is proceeding on two fronts: the young team is trying to rescue Kitty and preserve the timeline in the past, while their mentors are confronting the danger they left behind in the present. This serves as a critical test for the young team to learn how to operate on their own without their leader.