Meet the Hellions, the X-Men's Dark Reflection

The X-Men have always been guided by Professor X's dream of a world where mutants and humans live in harmony, but that dream always cast a shadow over mutantkind. The Hellions lived in those shadows as a dark reflection of what the X-Men could be.

For the young heroes of the New Mutants and X-Force, the Hellions represented a darker, angrier alternative to their heroic mission. When the mutants of the world came together on the island Krakoa, the Hellions brought together the nation's killers, outcasts, and misfits who were too unpredictable for the island paradise.

Now, in X-MEN (2024) #10 by Jed MacKay and Netho Diaz, Cyclops has assembled a new team of Hellions to do the X-Men's dirty work. As this squad leaps into action, let's take a closer look at the history of the Hellions and break down the team's various iterations.

THE ORIGINAL HELLIONS

When Professor X assembled the New Mutants to train them as the next generation of X-Men, Emma Frost formed the Hellions to study under her and the Hellfire Club in NEW MUTANTS (1983) #16 by Chris Claremont and Sal Buscema.

Based out of Frost’s Massachusetts Academy, the first group of Hellions included Empath, Tarot, Roulette, Catseye, Jetstream, and James Proudstar, the brother of the late Thunderbird. Firestar also briefly worked with the Hellions, but the future Avenger left the group when she discovered Frost’s plans to turn her into an assassin.

After tense encounters with the students of Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters, the Hellions quickly evolved into more of a rival school than a genuine threat. Under the telepathic influence of Empath, Magneto even instructed the New Mutants to join the Hellions when he became part of the Hellfire Club.

As several mutants joined and left the group, the time-traveling serial killer Trevor Fitzroy slaughtered the Hellions as part of a mutant-killing competition in UNCANNY X-MEN (1963) 281 by John Byrne, Jim Lee, and Whilce Portacio. Selene, an immortal psychic vampire, briefly resurrected the dead Hellions as zombies to build an undead army during X-NECROSHA.

Years later, when mutantkind developed a way to resurrect deceased mutants on Krakoa, the original Hellions got a second chance at life in the mutant paradise.

EMPLATE'S HELLIONS

After Fitzroy's attack severely injured Emma Frost, the X-Men took her in. During her recovery, the White Queen revealed her more heroic side and earned the team’s trust.

Frost helped bring together a new class of young mutants, Generation X, at her Massachusetts Academy. Emplate, a vampire-like mutant who could absorb energy by feeding on the marrow of other mutants, became one of the first major foes that Generation X faced.

Just as Frost’s Hellions came together, Emplate assembled an unofficial Hellions team to target her new team of young mutants in GENERATION X (1994) #12 by Scott Lobdell, Todd DeZago, and Tom Grummett. Alongside Emplate and his genetically engineered servant D.O.A., this Hellions squad included young villains like Bulwark, Vincente, Murmur, and the vampiric Gayle Edgerton.

Initially, this short-lived group defeated Generation X, but the young heroes emerged victorious against the Hellions with the assistance of Bishop.

KING BEDLAM'S HELLIONS

After the New Mutants evolved into an aggressive paramilitary group called X-Force, a group of New Hellions emerged to fight them in X-FORCE (1991) #87 by John Francis Moore and Jim Cheung. King Bedlam formed this group of New Hellions, which included Switch and Paradigm, as well as former heroes like Magma, a New Mutants veteran, and Feral, a vicious former X-Force member.

King Bedlam’s mutant powers allow him to generate telepathic static that can interfere with his targets’ brains. After he killed his parents with his abilities, Emma Frost unsuccessfully tried to recruit him to the original Hellions. While he never joined that team, Frost actually survived Fitzroy’s attack due to her mental connection with King Bedlam.

The New Hellions also briefly recruited Jesse Bedlam, King Bedlam’s bio-electricity-wielding brother. However, the younger Bedlam helped X-Force stop the New Hellions from unleashing the Armageddon Man, an immensely powerful mutant kept in captivity for decades.

King Bedlam lost control of Armageddon Man, with the captive mutant creating natural disasters all around them. While X-Force managed to subdue the destructive mutant, the New Hellions went their separate ways.

THE HELLIONS SQUAD

After Generation X split up, Emma Frost joined the primary X-Men team and became a central figure at the Xavier Institute, which had over 100 new students.

Frost and the other instructors divided the massive student body into smaller groups, with the White Queen forming the Hellions Squad in NEW MUTANTS (2003) #2 by Nunzio DeFilippis, Christina Weir, and Keron Grant. Led by the telekinetic Hellion, this group also included several young X-Men like Dust, Mercury, Rockslide, Specter, Tag, Wither, and briefly, Icarus.

Much like the original Hellions, the Hellions Squad had a fierce rivalry with the group of students known as the New Mutants, who were under the instruction of Danielle Moonstar. After winning a field day competition at the school, the squad took on the villainous Kingmaker in NEW X-MEN: HELLIONS (2005) #1.

In HOUSE OF M (2005), the Scarlet Witch depowered most of the world’s mutants, including many at Xavier’s Institute. The remaining members of the Hellions and New Mutants squads consequently merged to form the New X-Men.

HELLFIRE ACADEMY'S HELLIONS

When Wolverine welcomed a new class of mutants to the newly renamed Jean Grey School for Higher Learning, a group of wealthy young villains formed a new Hellfire Club.

As part of one of their plots against the X-Men, this team formed their own school, the Hellfire Academy in WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN (2011) #20. This Hellfire Club wanted to create a new generation of mutant villains to boost sales of their Sentinels and manipulated several of Wolverine’s students into joining their school.

The Academy's star students, the All-New Hellions, included a mix of new mutants like Mudbug, Snot, and Infestation, as well as former Jean Grey School students like Glob Herman, Broo, and Oya. However, this team split up as the Hellfire Academy folded, and Wolverine’s former students returned to his school.

MISTER SINISTER'S HELLIONS

When the mutants of the world came together on Krakoa, Mister Sinister and the island's leadership created a new Hellions team comprised of several mutants they considered dangerous and unpredictable. Under the command of the Krakoan general Psylocke (Kwannon), this team assembled a mix of former X-Men and villains like Empath, Havok, Greycrow, Wild Child, Orphan-Maker, and Nanny.

The newly formed Hellions acted as Mister Sinister's personal strike force. On their first mission, they destroyed one of the mad scientist’s secret cloning labs to prevent its secrets from leaking. Sinister also sent the team on missions to quietly capture new bases for him and to steal the genetic data of the mutants of Arakko, a long-lost mutant civilization.

Once Sinister's secrets were discovered and destroyed, the Hellions stayed together long enough to rescue the childlike Orphan-Maker, who ran away from Krakoa. Despite the explosive nature of the Hellions' personalities, Psylocke and Greycrow developed feelings for one another and began a relationship during their time on the team. Havok also distinguished himself enough to earn a spot on Krakoa’s next X-Men team.

THE HELLIONS PROTOCOL

After the fall of Krakoa left mutants scattered around the world, Cyclops formed a new X-Men team in an abandoned Sentinel factory in Alaska. One of several precautionary measures he took to protect mutants from the Office of National Emergency involved creating a new team of Hellions. Activated by the Hellions Protocol, this black ops team secretly followed Cyclops' orders.

With a mix of former X-Force members and mutant villains, this Hellions team included King Bedlam, Jesse Bedlam, Boom-Boom, Fantomex, and the teleporting Locus.

As O*N*E agents tried to apprehend the X-Men, the Hellions attacked several O*N*E facilities, including one housing Sentinels. Although Cyclops forbade the Hellions from killing humans, these Hellions unleashed their destructive power across the country, laying waste to O*N*E’s facilities to give Cyclops the upper hand in government negotiations.

Catch the new Hellions in action in X-MEN #10 by Jed MacKay and Netho Diaz, available now!

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