The school setting is a major part of Marvel Comics‘ Mutant Mythology. The first team of Mutant heroes originally developed out of Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. However, there hasn’t been a formal school for young Mutants in some time. That changes with the new X-Men United book, which puts a new spin on the school setting and two other aspects of the classic comics.
Written by Eve L. Ewing, with art by Tiago Palma, X-Men United #1 introduces the idea of Graymatter Lane. The creation of Emma Frost and Kitty Pryde, Graymatter Lane is a psychic safe space. They reasoned that the chief problem with earlier efforts to educate young Mutants was making them a target with a physical meeting-place. Ergo, they needed a place to meet that was built upon a literal interpretation of the phrase “free your mind.”
The core concept of Graymatter Lane is that it be available to any Mutant anywhere. No more do young students need to worry about being collateral damage in the latest X-Men battle. With that in mind, the new school has adapted two classic elements of the original Xavier School for their purposes.
Which classic X-Men elements just got changed?
One of the first key elements Graymatter Lane incorporated was the idea of the classic X-Men Danger Room. Originally an obstacle course intended to hone Mutant powers, it was later enhanced with holographic alien technology. The new Danger Room operates on the same principles, but with a psychic twist.
All lessons in the Danger Room are overseen by Logan, Bronze, and Laura Kinney. Their respective powers either prevent them from being hurt or healing any damage they take. This is important, because any damage experienced within the psychic Danger Room is also transferred to the physical body. For that reason, the combat classes for novice X-Men open with practicing blocks to deflect simple attacks.
Another change from the classic X-Men formula involves how Graymatter Lane finds new students. They no longer have access to Cerebero; the computer developed by Professor X and Magneto to locate Mutants around the world. However, they developed an effective substitute, based around the powers of the empathic Mutant Axo.
The Cerebro substitute (which is not given a name in this issue) locates at-risk Mutants based on negative emotions. Once one is located, a team made up of the teleporter Rift and the stealthy Melee leave a card with instructions on how to reach Graymatter Lane where it will be found. It remains to be seen if this new venture will be successful, but it does offer a substantial update to the classic X-Men operation.
X-Men United #1 is now available at comic shops everywhere.
