Update 4 Apr 15, 2010: Another day, another odd pairing of characters Marvel at least wants us to believe will be a new team of X-Men of some sorts.
Thursday we were given Nate Grey - a.k.a. X-Man, who according to editor Nick Lowe, "was the hope for the future, but he's
been torn apart by the present. Can he get himself together and fulfill
his destiny?" And then there's Jubilee apparently sporting fangs and some evidence of bloodsucking. Perhaps there is a Blade connection? Lowe makes no mention of either.
"When The Scarlet Witch said 'No
more mutants,' bubblegum-chewing X-gal Jubilee found out just how bad life can get.
She's de-powered and depressed. But is the world done with Ms.
Jubilation Lee?"
Update 3 Apr 14, 2010: Before today's teaser, we should note: you readers are getting good. You pointed out a couple of things, like that Lyra and Blade could both be considered mutants in their own right, as they were born with their powers, and they are not direct duplicates of their parents' abilities. You pointed out that all the teasers so far have been one male, one female.
The tradition continues with today's teaser, showing off Gambit, a long-term mutant member of the X-Men, and Elektra, a powerless human ninja.
Gambit has been on and off the X-Men for about two decades now. The enigmatic thief with a sly smile and an explosive touch has been through a lot in the last few years. After finally getting to be with longtime paramour Rogue after her temporary depowering, the two split again. Gambit was taken in by Apocalypse and made his new agent of Death. Whether or not all of the "Death" is out of the Ragin' Cajun is yet to be seen.
Elektra certainly knows Wolverine well. After all, she was instrumental in his death and rebirth at the palms of The Hand, the ninja clan. Other than that, she has little to no connection to the X-Men. Her past has included being a mercenary for hire, but what specific threat would require the skills of a ninja assassin?
Update 2 Apr 13, 2010: Erm... Spoiler Alert? It looks as though Hope is surviving Second Coming, so there's that. Raised throughout time by Cable, who may or may not have any relation to the girl, she's either the savior or damnation of all mutantkind. Yes, she's a redhead, and yes, her costume is a bit on the familiar side. And yes, she stole Cable's guns from the 90s.
Blade has fought alongside mutants on a team before, recently a member of Captain Britain's MI-13 squad. The daywalker has some hefty hate for Vampires, who aren't traditionally common foes of mutants. The teasers came with text from Marvel re-iterating that more information will be given during the X-Men panel at C2E2 on Sunday, April 18.
Update 1 Apr 12, 2010: As suspected, we received a second teaser for the Heroic Age of the X-Men today. And Marvel certainly wants to keep being nice and surprising.
Magneto of course has been a member of the X-Men before, along with being their greatest foe. He moves from being a genocidal maniac to being a teacher looking out for the children of the atom. Recently re-powered and re-joined with his old friendly foes, his inclusion into their Mutant Nation was the impetus for Beast leaving (and apparently joining the SecretAvengers, as we saw last week).
The Savage She-Hulk is one of the newish members of the Hulk family, and continues the non-mutant trend Spider-Man seems to have started. Lyra's connection to the X-Men is unknown at the moment, but she does continue the honored tradition of alternate future timeline kids joining the teams. The Hulks are currently dealing with their own World War, but it looks like the X-Men being brought front-and-center within the Marvel Universe is a goal in the Heroic Age.
Original Story Apr 9, 2010: And Lo, there came a fresh round of Marvel Teasers.
The game is once again afoot, with Marvel ending this week with what appears to be the start of a new round of teasers, this time featuring the X-Men's new lineup.
Yeahbuhwhat?
The presumably first teaser features two very familiar faces. Psylocke, who has died, come back, been on other worlds, come back, switched bodies, and so on, has been a relative mainstay on the X-Men for the better part of three decades. Her psy-powers have fluctuated during that time, but, combined with her ninja skills (see: one of those Freaky Friday type things), she's been a strong addition to many an X-Team.
Then there's Spider-Man. He's already on two Avengers teams. He's not a mutant, having gotten his powers from a freak science accident (or mystical connection to Spiders). Plus, he's not a mutant. Marvel isn't giving any hints as to why Peter Parker is apparently joining the X-Men, but promises more information at next weekend's C2E2.
We'll be there, and we'll likely be back next week with more X-Men team members if Marvel's pattern hold.
