X-Men Monday #344 – Jed MacKay Talks ‘DNX’

Welcome, X-Fans, to another uncanny edition of X-Men Monday at AIPT!

X-Men #1, X-Men: Hellfire Vigil, X-Men: Age of Revelation—everything has been leading to this moment: DNX! Beginning in September 2026, the X-Men, led by original student Cyclops, face off against 3K, led by another one of Professor Charles Xavier’s original students, Beast (now the Chairman)! Fortunately, the Alaska-based mutants aren’t alone, as the Fantastic Four will join them in the battle against the X-Virus.

While the five-issue event series, written by Jed MacKay and illustrated by Federico Vicentini (with covers by Kaare Andrews), is still a few months away, Jed has returned to X-Men Monday to shine some light on DNX, its tie-ins, and stars. Let’s see what he has to say.

AIPT: Welcome back to X-Men Monday, Jed! Clearly, you’ve been building toward the story at the heart of DNX since X-Men#1, but the Fantastic Four’s role in it is certainly a surprise (especially considering all the work you did to cement the X-Men’s bond with your Avengers team). Was the crossover with Marvel’s First Family always the plan, or something that came out of Tom Brevoort’s oversight of both the FF and the X-Men, perhaps?

Jed MacKay: Well, we started thinking about what would become DNX in the early stages of planning Age of Revelation once we realized that one should lead into the other, and at that point in time, the plan was to have DNX be a crisis handled jointly between the X-Men and the Avengers, as I was writing both. However, publishing plans changed in the intervening period and my time on Avengers ended, so we pivoted to involving the Fantastic Four instead (which, given the nature of DNX, worked out pretty well).

AIPT: Obviously, DNX shares some DNA with the Age of Revelation, given the X-Virus’ role in both events. X-Fan Ariel wonders if Doug Ramsey (aka Revelation, aka the original architect of the X-Virus) will play any part in DNX?

Jed: Doug will have a part to play, though it will be minor compared to Age of Revelation—AOR explored a potential future where Doug Ramsay made a terrible mistake, while DNX follows an attempt at usurping that future by 3K.

AIPT: Speaking of Age of Revelation—what can X-Fans expect in terms of tie-ins? AOR’s impact was quite widespread, even spilling beyond the X-line. Will DNX be similar, or on a smaller scale, given it’s an event series?

Jed: No, DNX is pretty tight—AOR was depicting a whole changed world, and there was a lot of space to explore there. In contrast, DNX has a very tight focus on our characters and their conflicts over a very short time. Aside from the DNX event series, the tie-ins will be the issues of X-Men and Fantastic Four that come out in those months.

AIPT: Now, X-Fans, let’s take a brief break from the conversation to eXclusively reveal the covers and solicitations for those tie-ins releasing in September!

FANTASTIC FOUR #17

Written by RYAN NORTH
Art by VINCENZO CARRATU

Cover by HUMBERTO RAMOS

DNX TIE-IN!

The Fantastic Four find themselves in a strange environment, with no memory of how they got there…or worse, of who they actually are. There is a rock monster among them. They seem to have strange powers. And each of them has sustained serious injuries, including burns…burns that it’s soon clear only the youngest one could’ve inflicted. The older man – whose limbs have a strange elasticity – has a single word written in blood on his own arm: SURVIVE. A DNX TIE-IN you won’t see coming!

On Sale 9/30

X-MEN #37

Written by JED MACKAY
Art and Cover by NETHO DIAZ

DNX TIE-IN!

PSI-WAR! While the X-Men battle 3K in a desperate bid to stave off disaster, Kid Omega engages in brain-to-brain combat with Cassandra Nova! It’s the telepathic throwdown of the century!

On Sale 9/9

X-MEN #38

Written by JED MACKAY
Art and Cover by NETHO DIAZ

DNX TIE-IN!

Terrorist, warrior, father, teacher, killer. Magneto has been all of these things. Now he unconsciously assumes a new role: genetic prophet, with a message from the future written in his very blood. But will that message spell deliverance…or doom?

On Sale 9/23

AIPT: OK, so it’s clear Magneto’s condition will be a central element of DNX’s overall story. X-Fan Ace Tactician says we’ve seen Magneto cycle through many distinct eras—from a villain and a revolutionary to a statesman on Krakoa, and now a survivor fighting a complex biological threat. As your X-Men run progresses into its next major phase, what central thesis or side of Max’s complex philosophy are you most excited to explore?

Jed: I think the work Al Ewing did with Magneto is extremely interesting, and we’ve touched on it a bit—that Magneto has transcended the limitations of his initial philosophy of gene war and instead looks at disassembling structures of oppression, regardless of who the oppressed are. Of course, before he can get back to any such pursuits, he has a great deal of difficulty ahead of him first.

AIPT: X-Fan Hermes says, “MacKay, my GOAT!” First, Hermes has been enjoying your work in X-Men and is very excited for this event. What can you share about the dynamics between the X-Men and the Fantastic Four? For example, between Psylocke and the Invisible Woman, who are two mother figures.

Jed: We’ll see some serious discourse between Beast and Reed—Beast needs help that Reed doesn’t want to give for reasons that will become clear. Writing the verbal maneuvering between the two has been a lot of fun, as has working with Sue, Ben, and Johnny, who I’ve written very little of in my career thus far.

AIPT: X-Fan and Battle of the Atom co-host Adam Reck is curious about the Chairman’s current white form. Is it the result of continued self-experimentation (à la Hank’s transition to his furry form), an additional mutation (à la Bendis Beast), consuming Kick/Sublime (à la Morrison New X-Men), a result of harnessing his sorcerer powers (à la Hallum and Bunn’s All-New Beast), or something wildly different?

Jed: The Chairman’s current form is a continued expression of his goals and how he aims to achieve them. When he first appeared with 3K, he inhabited a synthetic body, as he didn’t want to be encumbered with the various chemical and hormonal distractions that accompany a biological body. However, after spending time in future-Hank’s body during the Age of Revelation, the Chairman came to see that line of thought as a mistake and cloned himself into a new body in order to fully embrace the mutant condition.

AIPT: X-Fan BenLiuRedditFan says Ben Liu wasn’t in the Age of Revelation event, and that made them sad. Then, BenLiuRedditFan saw the cool connecting covers for the DNX event, and Ben Liu wasn’t in it. Will BenLiuRedditFan see Ben Liu do cool things during DNX? Shocking no one, BenLiuRedditFan really likes this character. (And worth noting X-Fan ProphetIdyll also hopes Ben gets a push similar to Animalia!)

Jed: Ben will be getting some spotlight starting in X-Men #31, and will carry that into DNX. He’s been pretty low-profile for a while, but DNX will be a big turning point for Ben.

AIPT: X-Fans Duck with a hat and Isaiah Meehan are both wondering when we might see the new Hellions again. They haven’t been seen since X-Men #10—might they show up again during the DNX event?

Jed: They will not, but they’re always in my back pocket. I like this group of Hellions a lot (I have a shocking amount of affection for the Bedlam brothers), I just haven’t found the right spot to bring in a whole extra team of mutants lately.

AIPT: Of course, many X-Fans asked if several specific X-characters will appear in DNX. As I’m sure you don’t want to spoil anything this early, could you just share whether X-Fans should look forward to additional mutants (beyond your established X-Men cast) joining the battle with 3K?

Jed: There is a surprise guest that people have been asking about coming up in an issue of X-Men during DNX, but I’ll leave it at that.

AIPT: Finally, you’ve said this event will “transform the X-Men dramatically.” So first, X-Fan Cycat asks how this event will challenge Cyclops in ways we haven’t seen recently, especially mentally or emotionally. And second, X-Fan Muhammad is wondering what you can tease about the X-Men in the wake of DNX.

Jed: DNX is seeing Cyclops and the Chairman going head to head, pitting their differing philosophies for the future of mutantkind against one another, and that’s going to take a heavy toll on each of them. And as for the larger team, we’re going to be seeing some big changes in the team moving forward post-DNX.

AIPT: Exciting times ahead. But on that note, Jed, thanks for stopping by X-Men Monday!

Like I said at the top, X-Fans, DNX #1 doesn’t release until September 2, 2026. But we can eXclusively reveal an early look at a few of Federico Vicentini’s pages, courtesy of our friends at Marvel.

But wait, we have one more eXclusive treat for you this week: Kaare Andrews’ cover and the solicitation to DNX #2!

DNX #2 (OF 5)

Written by JED MACKAY
Art by FEDERICO VICENTINI

Cover by KAARE ANDREWS

The X-Men and 3K do battle high above Philadelphia. aided by members of the Fantastic Four. while at the Baxter Building, the greatest minds of each team join forces in a bid to save the life of the master of magnetism, Magneto. But while the X-Men bring war to their enemies for the last time, the Chairman has a last resort…

On Sale 9/16

Until next time, X-Fans, stay eXceptional!