Published Mar 30, 2026, 9:00 AM EDT
Robert Wood is a writer and editor based out of Cheshire, England. He is the author of 'The False Elephant: and 99 Other Unreasonably Short Stories' - 100 stories, each told in exactly 100 words.
Rob got into comics via Bendis' Ultimate Spider-Man and the UK anthology 'The Mighty World of Marvel,' which was running Frank Miller's Daredevil, Classic Hulk and Contest of Champions II.
Prior to journalism, he worked in copywriting and copyedited for Oxford University Press. He is on X as @PinchTwigs and Instagram as roobwoodjourno.
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The five founding X-Men just unveiled a radical new redesign, as the iconic heroes embrace their biggest power upgrade of all time. That's because Cyclops, Jean Grey, Angel, Beast and Iceman have been chosen as the latest heralds of Galactus - cosmically empowered beings with the godlike redesigns to show it.
Marvel's Founding X-Men Are Redesigned as Heralds of Galactus
This year, Marvel's What If...? title turns fifty, and the publisher is celebrating with a new series of variant covers from its up-and-coming 'Stormbreakers' artists. Alessandro Cappuccio's contribution is to ask "What If... the X-Men Were Heralds of Galactus?"
Cappuccio's art shows the X-Men descending on New York, riding one of Iceman's ice bridges. Their original yellow and blue costumes have been transformed, taking on a metallic sheen, while the X-Men now appear to have blue skin - something which Beast and Angel both eventually gained in mainstream canon, after their powers were experimented on.
Angel has a combination of his original feathers and his later metallic wings as Archangel, while Beast wields two scythe-like weapons similar to those used by Galactus' heralds Terrax and Stardust. The quintet crackle with cosmic energy, with Cyclops' eyes seemingly bathing the crowd below in a threatening red glow.
Other premises for the What If...? variant cover initiative see Rogue become Sorcerer Supreme, Wolverine gain Colossus' powers and Tony Stark merge his armor with a symbiote.
Do Fans Actually Get to Read These Exciting WHAT IF...? Stories?
At the moment, Marvel's What If...? tributes are only variant covers, and Cappuccio's art will appear on select issues of Uncanny X-Men #28. However, it's still possible Marvel fans will get to read this story.
Marvel has a recent history of using variant covers to introduce new ideas, then canonizing those that receive a positive fan reaction. The latest generation of Marvel heroes, the team known as the New Champions - were first introduced in a series of variant covers theorizing sidekicks for Marvel's biggest heroes, before being officially introduced to mainstream lore.
Other successes include Captain Marvel's current costume and the character Gwenpool. In each case, fans loved what the variant covers promised, and Marvel delivered. It's likely that some of those What If...? covers will be brought to life as full stories, though it likely depends on individual fan interest.
The Founders Aren't the Only X-Men to Serve Galactus
But Only One X-Man Has Literally BECOME Him
While the founding X-Men are the latest mutant heroes to become Galactus' heralds, fans of the idea do have somewhere else to turn. The recent What If...? Galactus series imagined multiple heroes as Galactus' new heralds, including X-Men's Rogue and Gambit (as well as Spider-Gwen, Hulk and Moon Knight.) Similarly, 1982's What If...? #33 famously imagines mutant pop star Dazzler in the role.
Another place to turn is the recent three-issue Unbreakable X-Men, from Gail Simone and Lucas Werneck. A tie-in to the alt-future of Age of Revelation, the story sees an older Rogue steal Galactus' power to protect her mutant students.
As a result, she's transformed into a cosmic being of unfathomable might. This story was particularly exciting for fans as Age of Revelation is not an alternate reality but a potential future, implying the mainstream Rogue's powers will one day grow so powerful, she can steal even the powers of a cosmic god.
What If...? has given the X-Men a history of being gifted, or outright stealing, Galactus' powers - now, Alessandro Cappuccio has delivered the coolest version of that concept, and hopefully fan interest will be enough to see the resulting art expanded into a full story.
Uncanny X-Men #28 is coming May 13 from Marvel Comics, while all issues of What If...? Galactus and Unbreakable X-Men are available now.
Movie(s) X-Men (2000), X2, X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), X-Men: First Class (2011), The Wolverine (2013), X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), Deadpool (2016), X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), Logan (2017), Deadpool 2 (2018), Dark Phoenix (2019), The New Mutants, Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)
First Film X-Men (2000)
TV Show(s) X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men, X-Men (1992), X-Men: Evolution (2000), Wolverine and the X-Men (2008), Marvel Anime: Wolverine, Marvel Anime: X-Men, Legion (2017), The Gifted (2017), X-Men '97 (2024)
Character(s) Professor X, Cyclops, Iceman, Beast, Angel, Phoenix, Wolverine, Gambit, Rogue, Storm, Jubilee, Morph, Nightcrawler, Havok, Banshee, Colossus, Magneto, Psylocke, Juggernaut, Cable, X-23
Video Game(s) X-Men: Children of the Atom (1994), Marvel Super Heroes (1995), X-Men vs. Street Fighter (1996), Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter (1997), Marvel vs. Capcom (1998), X-Men: Mutant Academy (2000), Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes (2000), X-Men: Mutant Academy 2 (2001), X-Men: Next Dimension (2002), Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (2011), Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (2011), X-Men Legends (2005), X-Men Legends 2: Rise of Apocalypse (2005), X2: Wolverine's Revenge (2003), X-Men (1993), X-Men 2: Clone Wars (1995), X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse (1994)
Comic Release Date 213035,212968
The X-Men franchise, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, centers on mutants with extraordinary abilities. Led by the powerful telepath Professor Charles Xavier, they battle discrimination and villainous mutants threatening humanity. The series explores themes of diversity and acceptance through a blend of action, drama, and complex characters, spanning comics, animated series, and blockbuster films.
English (US) ·