X-Men: The Mystery Of The Third Summers Will Finally Be Revealed

Longtime X-Men readers will recall the moment when Mr. Sinister casually mentioned to Cyclops that he didn’t want him or his brothers to succumb to the Legacy Virus. The shock was, up until that point, it was known and believed Scott only had one brother–Havok. The idea of there being a third Summers brothers was a revelation that kept readers on the edge of their seats for years to follow.

X-Men writer Fabian Nicieza had intended the character Adam-X, aka X-Treme, to be that third brother. Nicieza left around 1995 and the mystery was never officially solved. About ten years later, Ed Brubaker introduced Gabriel Summers, aka Vulcan, as Scott and Alex’s brother in Deadly Genesis #1. This left readers a little confused even though Gabriel’s origin seemed to fit continuity.

So who was/is the third Summers brother? What does this mean about all the hints dropped about Adam-X’s origin?

While we have seen Vulcan in current issues of X-Men comics, we haven’t seen much of Adam-X. The fact that Vulcan is officially Scott and Alex’s brother doesn’t necessarily rule out the possibility that Adam-X is not a Summers brother as well. Sinister mentioned Cyclops’ “brothers.” He didn’t give a specific number.

Marvel just announced that Fabian Nicieza will be kicking off a new series, featuring different creators, called X-Men Legends. We will finally get some clarification on Adam-X’s connection to Scott, Alex, and the Summers bloodline.

Nicieza made the following statement:

“It’s incredibly exciting to finally tell the story of the infamous ‘third’ Summers brother. Twenty-five years in the making, to see the truth about Adam-X revealed – and drawn so magnificently by Brett Booth – is one of the most surreal experiences of my career! Getting the opportunity to tell this tale while kicking off the new X-Men Legends series is x-tremely x-citing!”

Other issues of X-Men Legends will feature creators such as Chris Claremont, Louise Simonson, Larry Hama, Peter David, and more. Each month the stories will “dive into the rich history of the X-Men to tie up loose ends, resolve long-standing plot danglers, and reveal shocking truths that will change the past and future of the X-Men.”

Sounds good to me, especially since we’ll be getting more Brett Booth art. It’ll be great to finally see Adam-X get his time in the spotlight.

The first issue of X-Men Legends by Faban Nicieza and Brett Booth goes on sale February 2021. More announcements about future issues will be revealed soon.