The Jonathan Hickman reboot of the X-Men is upon us, with the new line-up of X-Books announced at Comic-Con this past weekend. I’m rather disappointed. I have high hopes for the “Hickboot” and the Powers of X and House of X comics that are going to kick things off, starting this week.

But the reveal of the comics that come after is exactly like every other reveal of new X-Men comics in recent years. I call it the X-Men Assembly Line. It’s where every new relaunch of X-Men comics involves taking a random roster of mutant characters and putting them on random X-based teams.

I guess I was hoping for something new and different this time around. Most of the characters aren’t even getting new costumes.

X-Men 
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Artist: Leinil Francis Yu

Synopsis: The X-Men find themselves in a whole new world of possibility…and things have never been better! Jonathan Hickman and superstar artist Leinil Yu reveal the saga of Cyclops and his hand-picked squad of mutant powerhouses!

New Mutants
Writers: Jonathan Hickman and Ed Brisson
Artist: Rod Reis

Synopsis: The classic New Mutants (Sunspot, Wolfsbane, Mirage, Karma, Magik, and Cypher) get together with a few new friends (Chamber, Mondo) to seek out their missing member and share the good news… a mission that takes them into space alongside the Starjammers!

Excalibur
Writer: Tini Howard
Artist: Marcus To

Synopsis: Mutantkind has always been special…as has their relationship with the world—or WORLDS—around them. As this new era dawns, a new connection forms between mutants and the magic of the world… and that of Otherworld! Can the new Captain Britain forge a new way through the chaos with her companions Rogue, Gambit, Jubilee, Rictor…and Apocalypse?!?

Marauders
Writer: Jerry Duggan
Artist: Matteo Lolli

Synopsis: Even in this glorious new dawn, Mutantkind faces hardships and oppression from their human counterparts. Led by Captain Kate Pryde and funded by Emma Frost and the Hellfire Trading Company, Marauders Storm, Pyro, Bishop and Iceman sail the seas of the world to protect those hated and feared!

Fallen Angels
Writer: Bryan Edward Hill
Artist: Szymon Kudranski

Synopsis: Psylocke finds herself in this new world of Mutantkind unsure of her place in it…but when a face from her past returns only to be killed, she seeks help from others who feel similar to get vengeance. Cable and X-23 join Kwannon for a personal mission that could jeopardize all Mutantkind!

X-Force
Writer: Benjamin Percy
Artist: Joshua Cassara

Synopsis: X-Force is the CIA of the mutant world—one half intelligence branch, one half special ops. Beast, Jean Grey and Sage on one side, Wolverine, Kid Omega and Domino on the other. In a perfect world, there would be no need for an X-Force. We’re not there… yet.

So my general thoughts are that all of these might be fine. I’m going to give them all a try, because I am hope springs eternal for good X-Men comics. But again, it looks like just a random assortment of mutants tossed onto a random assortment of teams, exactly like every X-Men relaunch of the past decade.

I’m also disappointed that there’s no sign of Leah Williams or the Blob — though we do get Pyro, so my brother should be happy. No word yet if it’s original Pyro or new Pyro.

One good thing we do know about the Hickboot is that all of the various mutants killed in the latest Uncanny X-Men relaunch are coming back to life. We don’t know how, or if it will even be addressed. I hope Hickman doesn’t even bother to explain it and they’re all just alive again.

We’ve been promised that both Multiple Man and Strong Guy will show up in the Hickboot, so hopefully their deaths will indeed be undone. And unless someone says otherwise, I’m going to head canon Multiple Man’s resurrection into that of actual Multiple Man, and not the fake Madrox dupe that was a part of the recent Uncanny X-Men stuff.

What do you all think of this X-Men comic lineup? Any comics you’re particularly interested in? Let me know in the comments!

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