Nyla Rose, professional wrestler and former AEW Women’s World Champion, will make her comic writing debut next year on Marvel’s Giant-Size X-Men: Thunderbird #1.
Rose will co-write the story with Steve Orlando, who we recently learned will take over Marauders, while David Cutler will draw the one-shot.
But wait, you’re thinking, isn’t Thunderbird dead? Well, sure, but this is the X-Men we’re talking about, and in the Krakoa era, it’s easier than ever to get a second chance at life for Marvel’s mighty mutants. If you’re behind on your X-Men reading this week, you may want to catch up before reading further.
[SPOILER’S WARNING …]
The Thunderbird in the title is, indeed, the character who died on the very first mission by the New X-Men, aka the older brother of the mutant Warpath. He was introduced in Giant-Size X-Men #1 back in the 1970s, alongside Nightcrawler, Storm and Colossus, and met his end while battling to save the Original X-Men from, ironically, Krakoa.
But things have changed a bunch since then. With the X-Men now living on Krakoa and using their Resurrection Protocols to bring mutants back, it’s easier than ever to bring most mutants back to life. And in the final issue of The Trial of Magneto, which came out yesterday, Scarlet Witch used her magic to make it possible to bring back mutants who died without a connection to Cerebro — apparently one of the limitations of the process had something to do with the X-Men’s super computer and whether it had a “back-up” that could be used. Thunderbird was one of those mutants, and thanks to the Scarlet Witch’s actions, he was queued up and resurrected in that issue.
“At last, the news is out! Giant-Size X-Men: Thunderbird is coming, and I couldn’t be prouder to be a part of it! But this book wouldn’t exist without the incredible work of Nyla Rose and David Cutler, who are joining me on this blockbuster to tell a Thunderbird story that’s as raw, real, and riveting as possible,” Orlando told Marvel.com. “With their invaluable help, we’re taking Thunderbird on a two-fisted quest to reunite with his family and carve out a place for himself in this brave, new, Krakoan era. The world has changed while Thunderbird was away. The threats might’ve gotten more complex, but Thunderbird’s still sure there’s not a problem out there he can’t solve with his own two hands.”
The one-shot arrives April 27.