Rob Liefeld’s work with Marvel Comics has garnered renewed interest over the last three years thanks to his characters’ celluloid translations in the Deadpool franchise. Now, Liefeld is adding a new masked face to the mutant-occupied corner of the Marvel Universe. Via Entertainment Weekly, Liefeld announced that his next collaboration with Marvel, Major X, will hit store shelves beginning in April.
Marvel and Liefeld previously teased the event on social media this week by posting early sketches of the miniseries’ headliner. And if Liefeld’s previous characters are any indication, Major X is sure to make a big impact once his six-issue adventure concludes.
“Major X introduces a new character who is certain to mix up everything in the X-world,” Liefeld explained. “He hails from another existence, which is called the ‘X-istence’ — a mutant Shangri-La, a safe haven that has been a realm where mutantkind has lived in peace and harmony. They escaped there following a tragedy that befell mutantkind, and built this community. There are some familiar faces that he has forged this other society with. But then a terrible event happens within the X-istence that causes Major X to cross over and land in the Marvel Universe that we know.”
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Unfortunately, Major X’s attempt at dimensional travel lands him in 1991, the same year that Liefeld and Fabian Nicieza introduced Deadpool in The New Mutants #98. Liefeld promises that Major X will eventually catch up with mainstream Marvel continuity. However, the initial time setting prompted him to enlist his Image Comics co-founder and former Uncanny X-Men artist Whilce Portacio. Portacio, Brent Peeples, and Liefeld himself are all contributing art to the series.
As for the Major X’s identity, Liefeld compared the mystery surrounding the character to other fixtures in Marvel’s X-Men universe. “The X-Men franchise I understood as a kid was built on mystery,” he said. “As pretty as the artwork was, the Chris Claremont/John Byrne team created fantastic mysteries. The number one mystery that really carried the book for me was Wolverine. I’ve said this time and again, I was obsessed with creating the next Wolverine. When I introduced Cable, Deadpool, Domino, all of them, it was always, ‘am I gonna get the next Wolverine? Can I nail the landing and create the soap opera mystery?’”
He continued, “I know my soap operas: Double identities and mystery, mystery, mystery.”
You can check out the cover for Major X #1 (courtesy of Marvel.com) below, then share your thoughts on Liefeld’s newest creation in the comment section!
