Since 2019's game-changing House of X and Powers of X, mutantkind has experienced unparalleled growth and prosperity on the island nation Krakoa. Can it really last forever? Fall of X will usher in a new era of storytelling, and while many of our favourite X-Men will be "crushed under the weight of this new age," Nightcrawler is getting a bold new status quo.
Yes, Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler is set to become the Uncanny Spider-Man in a five-issue limited series this September.
Written by Si Spurrier and illustrated by Lee Garbett, we'll follow a hero who has long been seen as the heart of the X-Men. Kurt has always shined as one of the most heroic and daring mutants in the franchise and, as the darkness of Fall of X overwhelms his fellow mutants, Nightcrawler will embrace a new role as a classic New York City-bamfing hero.
Escaping the turmoil of Fall of X in a flash of smoke and brimstone, it’s time for Nightcrawler to play the swashbuckling, devil-may-care hero he was always destined to be.
Meeting a potential new lover, battling some of the most iconic members of Spidey’s rogues gallery, and saving civilians, mutant and human alike, Kurt is having the time of his life. However, it’s not all fun and games and Nightcrawler will also be a lone soldier on the frontlines of mutantkind's upcoming war with Orchis.
Along the way, he’ll also confront a long-simmering mystery surrounding his mother, Mystique, as Spurrier’s bold transformation of the character approaches what's described as a "startling" climax.
"What we've got here is a spectacular new beginning - which, yes, is code for ‘perfect jumping-on point’ - which leans hard into heroic, joyful, street-level action," Spurrier explains. "Writing Kurt has always been an exercise in heart. He was the first to feel the cracks in Krakoa...and the first to try and do something about it."
"Unfailingly loyal to his people, his friends and his responsibilities, he's gone through a lot. What's been missing for him is the joy. The freedom. The thrill. And that's where we find him now. In a restyled Spidey Suit, BAMFing across New York and rubbing shoulders (and butting heads) with the best heroes and villains of the Manhattan milieu."
"Is Nightcrawler really doing this for the thrill? Or is he hiding?" the writer ponders. "Is it easier to put on a mask and punch some villains in the nose than it is to stare trauma in the eye?"
You can check out Nightcrawler's all-new look on Tony Daniels' Uncanny Spider-Man #1 cover below!