An X-Men leader has resurrected one of Apocayplse’s most dangerous teams with a host of deadly new mutants at her side.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for X-Men: Curse of the Man-Thing #1 by Steve Orlando, Andrea Broccardo & Guru-eFX, on sale now
As a Great Captain of Krakoa, Magik has become a crucial part of the defense of the mutant nation, even outside of her role helping other major X-Men. She’s proven herself time and time again. And now, it looks like she has her own personal squad she can call on in times of emergency.
In X-Men: Curse of the Man-Thing #1, Magik just revealed her own monstrous team of mutants and introduces them as the Dark Riders, setting her up to try and redeem the formerly villainous group name.
Various heroes from across the Marvel Universe have been contending with the unexpected reach of the Harrower — a dangerous new villain who was able to briefly kill Man-Thing and usurp his powers for her own ends. Looking to fight against her influence and make up for the actions he took that otherwise have caused so much strife around the world, Man-Thing calls upon the demon he bargained with decades ago, Belasco. However, Belasco has since been usurped in Limbo by Illyana Rasputin, aka Magik, New Mutants veteran and currently one of the Great Captains of Krakoa. Having inherited the connection to Ted Salis that Belasco had utilized, Magik is able to actually offer him some help in saving the world.
To that end, Magik offers to work with Ted to save the day by teleporting in her own new team of mutant heroes to fight alongside her. Magik introduces them as the Dark Riders, a deep-cut reference to Apocalypse. The Dark Riders were a band of dangerous and fanatical figures, working with Apocayplse and other villains to play surprisingly important roles in the history of the X-Men. While fighting alongside Apocalypse, the group held the original X-Factor at bay long enough for Apocayplse to infect Nathan Summers with the Techno-Organic Virus, which forced him to be sent into the future to survive. After Apocalypse was defeated by Stryfe during the events of X-Cutioner’s Song, they fought by his side until he was seemingly lost in battle against Cable in the heart of a time-storm.
Soon, the group ended up under the command of Genesis, Cable’s adopted son from the distant future, corrupted into a monster. Alongside them, they targeted the X-Men and their allies, only for many of them to die in combat against a feral Wolverine after Genesis tried to convert him into a soldier for his growing armies. The group finally reunited one last time during the build-up to Inhumans Vs. X-Men, becoming enemies of Magneto’s iteration of the Uncanny X-Men and actually coming close to preventing the Five on Krakoa from ever realizing their full potential by killing Elixir, only for his healing powers to promptly restore the young mutant hero.
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The new iteration of the Dark Riders are also all fearsome fighters — albeit all of them are more heroic than the previous villainous versions of the group. Describing them as her “Monster Mentorship Program,” Magik quickly introduces Salis to former X-Man Marrow, former Jean Grey Institute student Shark Girl, former Brotherhood of Mutants member Mammomax, former MLF brawler Forearm, and former Young X-Man Wolf Cub. Each of them are quick to jump into combat against Harrower’s creations, holding the line while Man-Thing is able to overwhelm Harrower and force her to retreat and Magik helps Storm and the Avengers clear up her creations around the world.
As a Great Captain of Krakoa, it’s good to see Magik be given her own team to work with. As an instructor with the New Mutants, she’s shown real aptitude with the younger mutants of Krakoa. But now, she can help the team of largely deadly fighters better hone their abilities while also giving them an outlet to lash out.
For Marrow especially, this is a welcome development. The former X-Man has grown increasingly in role and purpose lately, working alongside the Morlocks in Madripoor while almost being elected to a position within the X-Men. It’s a welcome position for her to take in Krakoa — especially if it continues to pair her with Magik, who seems to enjoy the company she’s assembled around her. The new Dark Riders could, like the Marauders before them, redeem the formerly villainous title for Krakoa.
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