Welcome, X-Fans, to another uncanny edition of X-Men Monday at AIPT!
Murder! Coups! Intergalactic intrigue! If you’re not reading writer Jonathan Hickman and artists Iban Coello and Federico Vicentini’s four-part Imperial event series, you’re missing out on the fun. And, if you’re an X-Fan (which, of course, you are), you’re missing the lead-in to Imperial War: Exiles (on sale September 3, 2025) — a tie-in comic starring disgraced Earthling Charles Xavier, his recently resurrected wife Lilandra Neramani, and their daughter — and Shi’ar Majestrix — Xandra.
Joining Jonathan Hickman on Imperial War: Exiles is co-writer Steve Foxe, who has returned to X-Men Monday to discuss how he found himself amid the latest Marvel cosmic conflict, what we can expect from artists Francesco Manna and Davide Tinto, and more. Read on to see what Steve has to say.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
AIPT: Welcome back to X-Men Monday, Steve!
Steve Foxe: Thanks for having me! I’m just glad those stamps I got on my frequent X-Men Monday card a while back didn’t expire.
AIPT: Yep! And your free 6-inch sub is on the way. Let’s kick things off with a question from X-Fan Hank — how did the Imperial War: Exiles one-shot and your involvement in the project come about?
Steve: The terribly unexpected version of how I got involved with Imperial War: Exiles is that Tom Brevoort and Annalise Bissa asked me to write it, and I said yes. Why wouldn’t I!? I love the mutants, and space is one of the few corners of the Marvel Universe where I hadn’t yet done anything (although I had a close brush with a cosmic project a while back that didn’t end up happening for reasons out of anyone’s hands). I had a great time working with Tom and Annalise on X-Men: Heir of Apocalypse, Timeslide, and the recent Phoenix short I did (for Giant-Size Dark Phoenix Saga) with Lucas Werneck, and I’m glad the feeling was mutual enough for them to invite me back.
On a wider scale, I’d known about Imperial for a long time, since I had Zoomed into a summit held last year, and I knew a space-set mutant book was on the table. I didn’t think to pitch for it, though, since I had been so involved with the end of the Krakoan era, and it seemed like the creative guard was very much changing. I SHOULD have been more proactive, but I’m glad the stars aligned for me regardless.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
AIPT: Well, speaking of Krakoa, you set foot there after Head of X Jonathan Hickman left the island, so — I believe — Imperial War: Exiles is your first time collaborating. How was the experience, and what’s Jonathan like as a co-writer?
Steve: You’re correct! While the Krakoan crew worked in very close collaboration, I came in after Inferno had concluded and Jonathan had moved on to develop other worlds. Prior to this, I had only met him via the summits, where he actually had some really constructive feedback for Superior Avengers and other stuff I pitched, so this was indeed our first time working on something directly.
Jonathan is a very generous collaborator, which I think is evident from readers’ perspectives, too. He has spoken elsewhere about building launchpads for other creators to take his toys and go in our own directions, and that’s been very true to my experience on Exiles. I’ve had a lot of event experience at Marvel, from Krakoa to Gang War to Blood Hunt to One World Under Doom to Age of Revelation, and half the legwork is making sure you’re fitting your piece into the larger puzzle in a way that won’t bump anyone else’s out of whack.
Thanks to the smaller (just in terms of number of issues) scale of Imperial, Jonathan could keep a close eye on all the series. He built scaffolding for each of us that enabled us to tell a story that would fit where he needed it to fit while also enabling us to kick off what we wanted to kick off. Knowing I was already cleared on 90% of my one-shot’s plot from the jump allowed me to focus on character voice, pumping up the action, introducing cool new villains, etc. — a very freeing starting point for any writer.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
AIPT: For those who are just learning about Imperial War: Exiles — or think it’s related to Blink and multiversal mutants — what do folks need to know about this one-shot, and why should they pick it up?
Steve: Oh man, I’m actually a DIEHARD fan of the old Exiles run, and doing an Exiles series was always on my dream gig list. I just never expected it to be this Exiles series. And true to relatively recent series like Hellions or Marauders, we’re taking a familiar name and repurposing it here. Charles Xavier and Lilandra Neramani aren’t jumping through the multiverse — they’re very literal exiles from political turmoil engulfing Shi’ar space.
But don’t let the idea of political maneuvering and senate politics or whatever glaze your eyes over — Jonathan’s mandate from the start was for this book to never stop moving. We’re not getting bogged down in parliamentary proceedings — this is real pedal-to-the-metal space-chase excitement as a star-crossed family finds themselves together for the first time ever in their publication history, under some very dire circumstances, while surrounded by a motley crew. If you’re a fan of classic X-Men space stories, if you like mutant swashbuckling, if you want to see Charles Xavier try to be a GOOD dad for once, or if you just have a thing for scoundrels, rogues, robots, and weird aliens, this is the book for you.
All you NEED to know is that a father and a mother answered their daughter’s distress call in the middle of an intergalactic conflict. The rest, you’ll get from the book.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
AIPT: Charles Xavier has become a very polarizing figure among X-Fans. From a writer’s point of view, what does removing Charles from the X-Men and returning him to space do for the character?
Steve: Well, I’m sure a lot of mutants back on Earth are glad for the break, for starters. Seriously, though — taking ourselves outside of the world of the story, there are only so many times we can circle the drain of “is this character redeemable or has he crossed TOO many lines?” Charles Xavier is CENTRAL to the X-Men. It’s in the name. Over the last few decades, quite a few horrendous choices have been attributed to him in the interest of what he considers the greater good. And he’s going to continue to reckon with whether he made the right decision or not.
But this is not The Trial of Xavier: Space Edition. When Exiles picks up, he’s already well beyond Earth and is focused on doing right by Xandra and Lilandra, the family who needs him right now. He’s got a chance to rectify — and prevent — all new mistakes. And, given that he’s millions of miles away from home and from anyone else with any opinions on him or his past, he also has the cleanest slate he’s ever received. So we’re going to see Xavier try to be something of the hero he once saw himself to be, before he became the man behind the heroes.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
As a writer, it’s exciting to explore that potential. Who is Charles Xavier when given that fresh start? Who is he in the eyes of the woman who loves him, when Cyclops and Jean and the eyes of Earth aren’t also on them? Who is he to the daughter who barely knows either of her parents? Charles has more baggage than almost any X-character, but spaceships only have so much overhead storage room. We have to leave some of that back on Earth.
AIPT: Lilandra is a character who’s been off the playing field for about 16 years and has now returned to a very different Marvel Universe. Where is Lilandra’s head at since we last saw her in X-Manhunt: Omega?
Steve: You know that meme from Community where Donald Glover gets back from picking up pizza and the room’s on fire? Lilandra came back to discover her lover founded and lost a mutant nation, she has a daughter, and her empire is undergoing a coup in the midst of an intergalactic upheaval. I’d say she’s keeping it remarkably calm, all things considered.
As much as Charles Xavier is our “lead,” given that he’s the best-known character in the book, Lilandra has really emerged as the driver of the book in a lot of ways. She’s so capable and complex, and she’s had so few runs where she’s not more or less an accessory to a larger plot about someone else. In Exiles, we really get to see her when she has a purpose beyond, “What’s best for the Shi’ar?” Getting to explore her as a leader in exile, a new mother, a partner, and a hero in her own right has been a lot of fun so far.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
AIPT: Beyond Charles and Lilandra, X-Fans want to know who else they can expect to see among this new team of Exiles. Will you be able to answer each or any of these? Let’s see!
X-Fan Amanda wants to know if Sharra Neramani (aka Deathcry) might be in the mix.
X-Fan Lysander says, when we last saw Xandra during the Krakoan era, she was protected by the X-Men a lot. Could we expect some of the cast from S.W.O.R.D. or X-Men Red who have helped her before to show up?
X-Fan Misa wants to know if there’s any chance we’ll see Smasher and her husband, Cannonball.
X-Fan Rob Belgrave wants to know if we’re going to see the return of Cadre K or possibly identify more non-human mutants.
Anything you can say to those X-Fans without spoiling?
Steve: There are a ton of stories it’d be interesting to explore with Lilandra, Charles, Xandra, and the crew they’re assembling, and this issue is very much about a mother and father rescuing their daughter under dire circumstances. If you’ve read my past work on books like Dead X-Men or X-Men Unlimited, then you’d know I have a lot of love for Cannonball and Smasher and X-Men Red (and the Cadre K issues are among the earliest I remember buying myself!), but the initial focus is on giving you something you haven’t seen before with our core trio.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
AIPT: X-Fan Harry G is curious to learn what you’d say is the most interesting part about the dynamic and relationships between the crew.
Steve: The biggest thing that drew me to this book was getting to write a family that has never been alive together on the page in one place: Lilandra, Xandra, and Charles. They are a wildly atypical family, and Charles, especially, has struggled to be a good father so often in the past. Exploring this opportunity to have the full family unit together, and for Charles to try to get it right, has been a goldmine.
Beyond the biological family at the heart of the book, I wanted to put together a cast that would really surprise readers. Everyone was chosen with purpose, and everyone has pre-existing connections or thematic links to one another, but this is not a “get the gang back together” book. Some of my favorite runs of all time are full of characters you’d never expect to see interact with one another being forced together. To me, the spirit of Exiles demands a cast like that. And I hope that it becomes clear to readers why each cast member is hurtling through space alongside the Xavier-Neramanis.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
AIPT: What can we expect from artist Francesco Manna’s visuals in this one-shot?
Steve: I was so thrilled to be paired with Francesco, as he has brought that wide-screen superhero purity to the table in such a perfect way, even when I threw literally dozens of characters at him (with profuse apologies!). Any mutant space book is standing in the shadows of David Cockrum and John Byrne, and Francesco is channeling that classic superhero vibe while bringing a distinctly modern flair and sleekness to all the action — and there is a good deal of action, as I said above.
We’re actually also joined by Davide Tinto, who took up about half the book due to the condensed production timeline. Davide, too, has such a great handle on that sci-fi superhero pop art the setting demands while still feeling fresh and current. Davide got to design the antagonists that are going to be pursuing our crew throughout the series, and he really got NASTY with them — stoked for readers to meet them.
AIPT: Before we wrap up, I have to ask — do you have a favorite “X-Men in space” story?
Steve: Setting aside all the heavy hitters, I have two answers that are both kind of cheating. The first is Pryde of the X-Men, which I’ve said before is basically my origin story for why I do this at all. I wore that VHS out. (I actually recently sold almost all my childhood stuff, and that VHS is one of the only things I kept!) The climax takes place in space, so it counts. Nightcrawler, no!
The second, and I swear this isn’t because Rob Belgrave mentioned mutant Skrulls, is X-Men Vol. 2 #98, which is part of the “Ages of Apocalypse” storyline, and sees the X-Men shunted into an alternate future where mutants have helped bring peace to the galaxy. The main story takes place on X-World, and as a kid, I was OBSESSED with all the future designs for the X-Men, as well as Alan Davis’ many unnamed background characters. That kind of worldbuilding was super influential to young Foxe. I must have read it a dozen times, imagining who each of those random nobodies might be.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
AIPT: Finally, at San Diego Comic-Con 2025, Marvel just announced that we can expect an Exiles series in winter 2026. Anything you can tell us about the Exiles adventures to come?
Steve: Jonathan Hickman’s guiding inspiration for the series was Mad Max: Fury Road: a chase book in space. We’ve got a lot of fun character dynamics to dig into, some gnarly new villains, and I think anyone who has read my X-work knows I care deeply about mutant history and storytelling, but I took that directive to heart. The Exiles’ adventures are going to be fast and full of action and as much excitement as we can deliver. So buckle in and help us make this chase as long and thrilling as possible!
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
AIPT: Sounds like a plan, Steve! And if you want to be a part of that chase, X-Fans, remember that Imperial War: Exiles #1 goes on sale September 3, 2025.
For this week’s X-Men Monday eXclusive, we’ve got a little taste of what you can expect from Francesco Manna and Davide Tinto, courtesy of our friends at Marvel.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
Next X-Men Monday — August 4, 2025
In the next edition of X-Men Monday, writer Paul Allor discusses Marvel Rivals: Hellfire Gala #1, on sale August 6, 2025, and what comes next for Marvel Rivals‘ multiversal cast!
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
Until next time, X-Fans, stay eXceptional!
