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• Why both Louise Simonson and Chris Claremont "weren't sure" Marvel's New Mutants was a good idea

If Louise Simonson says something is a good idea, it most likely is. The co-creator of iconic characters Cable & Apocalypse, editor of both Vampirella and the X-Men, writer of characters including X-Factor and Superman and all-around comics guru has had, well, more than a couple bright ideas in her day, shall we say. However, there was one idea she worked on during her time on the X-Men that she was nervous about, as Simonson spoke about with fans at Baltimore Comic Con 2024. That idea was the New Mutants.

Let's back up for a moment. The reason Simonson was talking about the subject was that she was on BCC's Mighty Mutant Panel, celebrating 60+ years of the X-Men franchise at Marvel. During the panel, which was also attended by current X-editor Tom Brevoort, Simonson got into the idea of success in comic books and how, ironically, it can be a kind of curse.

"One of the problems with success," she said, "is that a little success isn't good enough. Everybody wants more success." One of those people during her time at Marvel, she clarified, was then-editor-in-chief Jim Shooter. "[Shooter] saw that the books were successful, and he knew that the X-Men was selling really well, and so he thought that we should put another book into the continuity. So [Chris Claremont, legendary X-Men writer] and I came up with the New Mutants."

Asked if there was concern over launching a new X-Men book, Simonson answered, "yes," and went on to explain why.

"Our concern wasn't overexposure," she explains, "but that we wouldn't be able to maintain the quality of stories. We thought that our stories were actually really good, that they were coming together nicely, and it was just fun. And it put a little bit of strain on our time and creativity to add another whole book to the pile. So that was our worry."

Some four decades later, we know that the New Mutants book would be incredibly successful, lasting 100 issues before being rebranded into X-Force, and being periodically revived in the years following.

"Turns out," quipped fellow panelist Brevoort, "that people will follow more than one X-Men book."

Well, we know that's true Tom - just as we know that listening to Louise Simonson is a pretty good bet, even when she herself is not so sure about it.

Join Popverse in our own little X-Mansion as we cover just about everything you need to know about the X-Men. Learn how Marvel's mighty mutants are classified by power, or why the Krakoan Age of comics is coming to an end. And once you're done with those, keep up with the characters' big screen outings via Popverse's X-men movie watch order.