Seventeen years after its creation, Marvel brings back an underrated X-Men team to showcase mutants whose best traits don’t hinge on pure strength. Marvel’s mutants are synonymous with the X-Men, but Cyclops’ squad of Charles Xavier students isn’t the only team of mutant heroes in the Marvel Universe.

While the main X-Men team typically handles the frontline defense of mutantkind, the Marvel Universe is teeming with specialized mutant factions that cater to the diverse needs of their society. X-Factor usually acts as a private or government-sponsored strike team, the New Mutants and Generation X serve as the training grounds for the next generation, and Excalibur protects the UK. The Marauders are the rescue navy for those stranded at sea, and the Hellfire Club maneuvers through the high-stakes world of global elite politics.

Some mutant teams are more obscure and short-lived even though they deserve a bigger spot in mutant affairs, especially after everything mutantkind has gone through since their Krakoan dream died.

Marvel’s X-Club Returns, Led By Beast

X-Men #32; Written by Jed MacKay; Art by Tony S. Daniel; Covers by Marco Checchetto & Jay Anacleto

The X-Men have struggled to regroup, with Glob out for the count, Cyclops’ team doing their best to fend off Ms. Danger’s distractions, Magneto’s powers growing weaker, and Quentin Quire’s squad demoralized. Five issues later, the X-Men will face a new challenge that requires them to rethink their strategy. This time, it’s up to a different arrangement of heroes to save the day, though they will likely rely on brains rather than brawn to achieve it.

“While the X-Men’s rescue mission was compromised by the identity of the mutant they were tracking, it’s now completely shot to hell by the intervention of Department H! Normally, not a problem for the X-Men, but the Science Team wasn’t a group assembled for battle.”

The first official cover for X-Men #32 reveals the team who will take the spotlight in the next arc. Hank McCoy a.k.a. Beast leads the group, with Quentin Quire a.k.a. Kid Omega, Kuan-Yin Xorn, and Jennifer Starkey a.k.a. Animalia fighting by his side. This team is described as the “Science Team,” which makes it either the honorary or the official successor to the X-Club, the group of brilliant minds assembled by Hank McCoy to study and restore the X-Gene after M-Day.

Mutantkind Is A Goldmine Of Genius Minds

Science-Based Mutant Teams Are Rare

Mutantkind is often characterized by the physical power of its Omega-level heroes and villains, but its true untapped potential lies in its concentrated population of hyper-intelligent polymaths. The Marvel Universe is home to a staggering array of mutant geniuses who rival Reed Richards and Tony Stark in sheer cognitive skills. Characters like Forge, whose intuitive understanding of mechanics allows him to see inventions before they’re built, and Beast, a world-class authority on genetics and biochemistry, prove that the X-Gene is as much a mental evolutionary leap as it is a physical one.

Related

The X-Men’s Strongest Team Is An Underrated One

Every X-Men fan has their favorite version of the team, but Storm’s handpicked squad of ridiculously overpowered heroes is somehow still overlooked.

On the villainous side, Apocalypse’s calculating intellect and Magneto’s strategic mastery stand out, and Mister Sinister’s natural-born genius becomes extremely dangerous when he pairs it with his artificial mutation and his endless pool of resources. This intellectual dominance extends to the younger generation and the hidden corners of the world. Prodigy can mentally absorb the knowledge and skills of anyone nearby, and Sage’s brain works like a living quantum supercomputer. Even the High Evolutinary’s interest in mutant genetics highlights that the X-gene is the ultimate biological prize for the ultra-intelligent.

This amount of unbridled mutant intellect shows how important the X-Club can be. The specialized science squad could dedicate their shared efforts to solving the existential crises of mutantkind through data and theory rather than fistfights. Regardless of their line-up, which could be as ever-evolving as all other mutant teams, this concept could and should become a permanent fixture in Marvel lore.

Which is your favorite obscure X-Men team?

X-Men #32 is available from Marvel Comics on June 24, 2026.

Movie(s)

X-Men (2000), X2, X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), X-Men: First Class (2011), The Wolverine (2013), X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), Deadpool (2016), X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), Logan (2017), Deadpool 2 (2018), Dark Phoenix (2019), The New Mutants, Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)

TV Show(s)

X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men, X-Men (1992), X-Men: Evolution (2000), Wolverine and the X-Men (2008), Marvel Anime: Wolverine, Marvel Anime: X-Men, Legion (2017), The Gifted (2017), X-Men ’97 (2024)

Video Game(s)

X-Men: Children of the Atom (1994), Marvel Super Heroes (1995), X-Men vs. Street Fighter (1996), Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter (1997), Marvel vs. Capcom (1998), X-Men: Mutant Academy (2000), Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes (2000), X-Men: Mutant Academy 2 (2001), X-Men: Next Dimension (2002), Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (2011), Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (2011), X-Men Legends (2005), X-Men Legends 2: Rise of Apocalypse (2005), X2: Wolverine’s Revenge (2003), X-Men (1993), X-Men 2: Clone Wars (1995), X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse (1994)

First Film

X-Men (2000)

Character(s)

Professor X, Cyclops, Iceman, Beast, Angel, Phoenix, Wolverine, Gambit, Rogue, Storm, Jubilee, Morph, Nightcrawler, Havok, Banshee, Colossus, Magneto, Psylocke, Juggernaut, Cable, X-23

Comic Release Date

213035,212968