X-Men Reveals Official Origins of 2024’s New Class of Mutants (Their Powers Explained)

Marvel Comics has just introduced its newest class of X-Men, revealing both their origins and their powers. The introduction of the group of new mutants dubbed the “Outliers” has been one of the most exciting aspects of the franchise’s latest reboot, and now readers have learned a lot more about Jitter, Ransom, Calico, and Deathdream.

Uncanny X-Men #3 – written by Gail Simone, with art by David Marquez – features the new characters training with Rogue and her New Orleans-based X-Men squad in a makeshift “Danger Room,” allowing both readers and the mutant heroes themselves to get more familiar with these new characters.

The training exercise, in which they are tasked with working together to collect a belt from Nightcrawler, is interspersed with moments where the teens reveal their backstories, each elaborating on their family histories and their mutant powers, as well as explaining the circumstances which led them to being on the run.

Jitter’s Origins And Powers, Explained

Uncanny X-Men #3 – Written By Gail Simone; Art By David Marquez; Color By Matt Wilson; Lettering By Clayton Cowles

Sofia Yong, otherwise known as Jitter, is the first character to reveal her origin story in Uncanny X-Men #3. Originally from Singapore, Jitter was an academically gifted student, but she endured vicious bullying from her peers, as a result of both her academic performance and her stutter. She activated her mutant power in order to defend herself from her tormentors, but by accident she rendered one of her attackers permanently unable to walk. The issue makes it clear that she feels guilt over this incident.

Jitter’s mutant powers allow her to learn any skill she wants with enough concentration, but she only has access to that skill for one minute; once that minute runs out, Jitter will over-exert herself and be forced to rely upon her natural skills. As a result, she wears a stopwatch, which she sets for one minute in order to keep track of the time, and make the most of her temporary skills. Implementations of this power that have been depicted or described so far include using it to temporarily master martial arts or parkour.

Ransom’s Origins And Powers Explained

Uncanny X-Men #3 – Available Now From Marvel Comics; Uncanny X-Men #4 – Comes Out October 16, 2024

Valentin Correra, who calls himself Ransom, is the next character whose origins are revealed in Uncanny X-Men #3’s training montage. Hailing from Buenos Aires, as a newborn his nurses discovered that he didn’t have a heart. His wealthy parents felt ashamed of this, looking at this as though their son was imperfect. Eventually, Valentin was taken hostage, and when his parents refused to pay the ransom money, he was shot fourteen times. Rather than killing him, the bullets activate his mutant powers, and he subsequently ran away.

In place of Ransom’s heart is a black hole, which allows him to absorb matter, which he can in turn use to make himself stronger, such as absorbing the bullets he was shot with. Another example of his power in use is absorbing a blast from the Left Eye of Agamotto, when Gambit used it by accident in Uncanny X-Men #2, and using the energy from the blast in order to knock Wolverine onto the ground during a scuffle between the Outliers and the X-Men.

Calico’s Origins And Powers Explained

The X-Men Reboot’s New Mutants Are Making An Immediate Impact

Following Ransom’s backstory, readers learn more about Becca Constance Simon-Pinette, who calls herself Calico. Born in Clintwood, Virginia, Becca was raised by extraordinarily overprotective parents and sheltered from the outside world, though she found solace in her family’s library and her horse, Ember. In addition to this, her parents passed down their anti-mutant opinions to her. One night, she woke up to find her house on fire, and walked to the stables to rescue Ember before running away, leaving her parents behind.

Calico has a psychic connection with Ember, which she uses to transform the horse into a variety of different forms; these transformations render Ember’s new forms in flames, which also extend to Calico as well. With these powers, Calico is able to turn herself and Ember into a Pegasus, a knight, or a barnstormer, making the appropriate weapons and armor to go along with the roles. Since Calico and Ember are so heavily associated with fire, it calls into question what exactly caused the fire that killed Calico’s parents and burned their house down.

Deathdream’s Origins And Powers, Explained

New Mutants Like The Outliers Are Vital To The X-Franchise’s Success

Finally in Uncanny X-Men #3, Hotaru, also known as Deathdream, explains his origins. Born in Kyoto, Hotaru was stillborn, but was somehow revived by the nurses. However, he would die three more times that night, eventually learning how to revive himself. Whenever he was dead, he would think of being alive, and whenever he was alive, he would think of being dead. These experiences were incredibly traumatic, but also gave him the ability to communicate with the dead.

Jitter, Ransom, Calico, and Deathdream’s origins are varied, and each interesting in their own right, following the classic mold of the franchise’s best characters, while making each of them distinct.

With this ability, Deathdream is able to use the dead to fight for him. By summoning their spirits, Deathdream has abilities that include generating shadows, flying, and creating tendrils in order to grab his opponents. Yet while he might be the most powerful of all the Outliers, the downside to that is Deathdream’s powers are the hardest to control. One byproduct of this is that it causes him to become aggressive, exemplified during instances such as the moment in Uncanny X-Men #3 when he almost kills Nightcrawler in the Danger Room drill, before Rogue puts a stop to it.

Perhaps the greatest thing about these new mutants and their backstories is how they are helping to flesh out the post-Krakoa world of the X-Men franchise, showing that the X-Men are still needed even without their mutant nation. Jitter, Ransom, Calico, and Deathdream’s origins are varied, and each interesting in their own right, following the classic mold of the franchise’s best characters, while making each of them distinct. As these characters continue to play pivotal roles in the lore of the X-Men, more parts of their backstories will surely be revealed, and they’ll grow into welcome additions to the X-Men.

Uncanny X-Men #4 will be available October 16, 2024 from Marvel Comics.