If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.
How to secretly sign that you're a Marvel mutant, according to Uncanny X-Men writer Gail Simone
One of the architects of Marvel's X-Men revamp is showing one of the tricks of the trade.
Popverse's top stories of the day
- Milhouse lives! What will happen to The Simpsons after voice actor Pamela Hayden's retirement?
- Watch the official Dragon Ball DAIMA panel from NYCC 2024!
- Before Doctor Doom takes over the MCU, he's taking over Marvel Comics with 2025's One World Under Doom
After years as the dominant lifeform on Earth, Marvel's mutants are once again the underdogs - and in the line-wide revamp fo the X-Men starting this summer, they're invented a way mutants can discreetly signal to one another even in a crowded space with flatscans - that is, non-mutants.
This Marvel hand-sign, called the 'Midnight Bark,' premiered in Saturday's Blood Hunt Free Comic Book Day special, and now the sign's creator, Uncanny X-Men writer Gail Simone, is explaining how to make the sign yourself - as well as an alternate name for it, the 'Midnight M.'
"The key is looseness, it’s not supposed to be immediately noticeable to observers. So fingers, wrist, and thumbs are loose," writes Simone. "Basically, you make the Ditko web-shooting shape, BUT hand hangs down loose at the wrist. Thumb is out, fingers loose. Thumb is loose and doesn’t connect with middle fingers, unlike Spidey. Fingers make a hanging ‘M’ shape."
Simone goes onto say that it isn't just an identifying sign, but also a question.
"That’s it, that’s how you can signal other mutants. It is an ‘are you okay’ signal and ‘are you one of us’ and ‘do you need help’ sign," Simone explains. "Now you can find others like you!"
Look for the sign to re-appear in the upcoming new X-Men series, including Simone's Uncanny X-Men.
Keep up to date on Popverse's Marvel coverage, with these highlights:
- Marvel Studios has accidentally created a new Phase that predates Phases 1 - 6: the MCU Phase Zero
- Which Secret Wars comic the Russos are basing Avengers 6 off of
- Overgrown children of the atom: Marvel's X-Men can't evolve past their '90s commercial peak
- The biggest outstanding questions of the Marvel Studios' movies & TV shows
- Marvel's accidental closure on the Kang storyline
- Robert Downey Jr. is entering his villain era
- Donald Trump is the landlord for Marvel's House of Ideas
- For Marvel actors, the MCU also stands for the Marvel Commercials Universe
- The Fantastic 4: First Steps offers Marvel a visual makeover, courtesy of a classic movie designer
- Marvel Studios swapping out Doctor Doom for Kang offers the chance to jettison the Multiverse Saga
- What Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige is saying (and not saying) about the MCU X-Men franchise says a lot about the future of the Mutant Saga
Follow Popverse for upcoming event coverage and news
Find out how we conduct our review by reading our review policy
Let Popverse be your tour guide through the wilderness of pop culture
Sign in and let us help you find your new favorite thing.
Comments
Want to join the discussion? Please activate your account first.
Visit Reedpop ID if you need to resend the confirmation email.