Several fictional groups of mutants have used the name Hellions in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Hellions have always been portrayed as rivals of various teams of younger mutant heroes in the X-Men franchise, initially as actual villains and later on a team that was more of a school rival than actual enemies of the X-Men.
The first and most notable incarnation of the Hellions were students of Emma Frost and the Hellfire Club's Massachusetts Academy, and were rivals of the New Mutants. The original Hellions first appeared in New Mutants #16 (June 1984), created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Sal Buscema.[1] This version of the Hellions ended after an attack by Trevor Fitzroy and a squadron of Sentinels that killed several Hellions.
Two later groups known as the Hellions or New Hellions both fought against various X groups such as Generation X and X-Force.
In New X-Men: Academy X a new group of Hellions were introduced, this time they were a part of the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning, the Hellions was one of several factions that the students were divided into including the New Mutants, with whom they had a rivalry. After the majority of mutants lost their powers in the Decimation storyline the Hellions were combined into one squad as the number of mutants was greatly reduced.
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![]() The Hellions battle their rivals, the New Mutants, in their first appearance. Cover to The New Mutants #16 (June 1984), art by Tom Mandrake. | |
Publication information | |
Publisher | Marvel Comics |
First appearance | The New Mutants #16 (June 1984) |
Created by | Chris Claremont (writer) Sal Buscema (artist) |
In-story information | |
Base(s) | Massachusetts Academy |
Member(s) | Beef Bevatron Cannonball Catseye Cypher Empath Firestar (unofficial) Jetstream Karma Magik Magma Mirage Roulette Tarot Thunderbird White Queen (teacher) Wolfsbane |
The original group of Hellions were apprentices of the Hellfire Club and students of its White Queen Emma Frost. While attending classes at Frost's Massachusetts Academy, these young mutants secretly trained in the use of their powers in an underground complex beneath the school. They were longtime rivals of the Professor Charles Xavier's students, the New Mutants, and once held their own against the X-Men. The original Hellions were:[2]
White Queen Emma Frost had another potential Hellion in Firestar (Angelica Jones), but kept the girl from joining the team on field missions while grooming her to be Frost's personal assassin. Firestar eventually learned of Frost's plans and left the Massachusetts Academy.[3]
After suffering a severe trauma at the hands of the Beyonder,[4][5] a number of the New Mutants were transferred to the Massachusetts Academy by Magneto (then headmaster of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters), due to their apparent need for psychic therapy from Emma Frost.[6] While at the academy, the transferred New Mutants — Cannonball, Wolfsbane, Karma, Cypher, Magik, and Magma — were inducted into the Hellions.[7] They soon returned to Xavier's School after their recovery and the revelation that the White Queen had employed Empath to coerce Magneto into allowing the transfer.[8] After an alliance between the X-Men and the Hellfire Club[9] and Magneto's ascension to the Inner Circle as its White King,[10] relations between the Hellions and New Mutants improved.
Magma, realizing she held feelings for Empath, eventually returned to the Hellions and the Massachusetts Academy;[11] the two would later leave the team to travel to her home in Nova Roma.[12] James Proudstar also left the Hellions, reemerging with Cable and the remnants of the New Mutants in X-Force.[13]
Superstrong and durable Beef (Buford Wilson) and bioelectricity-projecting Bevatron (Fabian Marechal-Julbin) were later additions to the group. They were present when the Hellions unsuccessfully challenged the New Warriors over the allegiance of their former member, Firestar.[14]
The original Hellions however came to an end when Trevor Fitzroy and a squadron of Sentinels attacked a Hellfire Club function; Jetstream and Beef were killed immediately,[15] while Tarot, the rest of the Hellions and many guests erroneously believed to be unnamed Hellions were captured and drained of their life energies by Fitzroy.[16] Emma Frost's guilt over her students' deaths led to her eventual reform. These Hellions were some of the many deceased mutants resurrected via the Transmode Virus by Selene and Eli Bard during the "Necrosha" storyline running through New Mutants, X-Force and X-Men: Legacy. They survived and are once again acting as a team.
With the establishing of the new sovereign mutant nation of Krakoa, the original Hellions and Bevatron, now free of the Transmode Virus, have all taken up residence there.
The next group of Hellions was organized by the parasitic Emplate to attack Generation X, the new class of Emma Frost's students. This group appeared twice[17][18] with slightly different members.
Of note is the fact that Emplate never called his group the "Hellions". This name was only attached in Marvel Comics' advertising.[citation needed]
A group of self-proclaimed "New Hellions" emerged to fight X-Force, whose members included some from the team's past:[22]
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![]() Emma Frost with the new Hellions. Cover to New X-Men: Hellions #1, art by Clayton Henry. | |
Publication information | |
Publisher | Marvel Comics |
First appearance | New X-Men: Academy X #2 |
Created by | Christina Weir Nunzio DeFilippis |
In-story information | |
Base(s) | Xavier Institute for Higher Learning |
Member(s) | Emma Frost (advisor) Dust Hellion Icarus Mercury Rockslide Specter Tag Wither |
After the reopening of the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning various training squads are formed. One such group of students, under the tutelage of headmistress Emma Frost, is dubbed "the Hellions".[23] They have an intense rivalry with another such group, the New Mutants, echoing the relationship between the two original groups of the same names. Membership consists of:
After M-Day, the cataclysmic event that decimated the world's mutant population, only 27 of the 182 students enrolled at the Xavier Institute retain their powers, and the remaining students are folded into a single training squad, the New X-Men. For the Hellions, only Tag and Specter were depowered.
After the events of Avengers vs. X-Men, the new Black King of the Hellfire Club, Kade Kilgore, creates the Hellfire Academy, a school for training mutants to be villains. Kilgore recruits for his school some former students of the X-Men and creates a new team of Hellions.[25]
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![]() Cover to Hellions #1 by Stephen Segovia. | |
Publication information | |
Publisher | Marvel Comics |
Schedule | Monthly |
No. of issues | 18 |
Main character(s) | Empath Havok Mister Sinister Nanny Orphan-Maker Psylocke Greycrow Wild Child |
Creative team | |
Created by | Zeb Wells (writer) Stephen Segovia (artist) |
Written by | Zeb Wells |
Artist(s) | Stephen Segovia Carmen Carnero Main covers Stephen Segovia & Rain Beredo |
Letterer(s) | Cory Petit |
Colorist(s) | David Curiel |
Editor(s) | Editor Jordan D. White Assistant Editor Annalise Bissa Head of X Jonathan Hickman |
A Hellions title was launched March 2020 as part of Dawn of X.[26] Written by Zeb Wells, and drawn by Stephen Segovia, the initial cast comprised Empath, Havok, Mister Sinister, Nanny, Orphan-Maker, Psylocke, Scalphunter, and Wild Child.[27]
Issues | Cast |
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#1-18 |
Issue | Publication date | Writer | Artist | Colorist | Comic Book Roundup rating[28] | Estimated sales to North American retailers (first month) | Notes |
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#1 | March 25, 2020 | Zeb Wells | Stephen Segovia | David Curiel | 8.3 by 21 professional critics | 55,772[29] | None |
#2 | July 22, 2020 | 8.2 by 14 professional critics | Data not available | ||||
#3 | August 26, 2020 | 8.1 by 10 professional critics | |||||
#4 | September 16, 2020 | 8.4 by 9 professional critics | 33,000–39,000[30] | ||||
#5 | October 14, 2020 | Carmen Carnero | 8.2 by 10 professional critics | 41,500–46,000[31] | X of Swords tie-in | ||
#6 | November 18, 2020 | 7.7 by 9 professional critics | Data not yet available | ||||
#7 | December 2, 2020 | Stephen Segovia | 7.6 by 8 professional critics | None | |||
#8 | January 6, 2021 | 8.3 by 6 professional critics | |||||
#9 | February 3, 2021 | 8.1 by 9 professional critics | |||||
#10 | March 3, 2021 | 8.2 by 9 professional critics | |||||
#11 | May 5, 2021 | 8.3 by 6 professional critics |
Title | Material collected | Publication date | ISBN |
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Hellions by Zeb Wells – Volume 1 | Hellions #1–4 | December 1, 2020[32] | ISBN 978-1302925581 |
Hellions by Zeb Wells – Volume 2 | Hellions #7–11 | August 17, 2021[33] | ISBN 978-1302925598 |
Hellions by Zeb Wells – Volume 3 | Hellions #12–18 | February 1, 2022 | ISBN 978-1302930189 |
Title | Material collected | Publication date | ISBN |
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Hellions by Zeb Wells | Hellions #1–18 | August, 2022 | ISBN 978-1302933722 |
The original Hellions appear briefly in an alternate universe depicted in the Age of Apocalypse storyline as former agents of Apocalypse. After his death, they become renegades and are hunted down and captured by the X-Men on the United States government's behalf. [34]
In an alternate universe depicted in the House of M storyline, the Hellions exist as S.H.I.E.L.D.'s "Hellion Squad", led by Danielle Moonstar and consisting of Hellion, Magik, Quill, Surge, Synch, and Wind Dancer. [35]