Warning! Spoilers ahead for X-Men #27!
Marvel just introduced a deadly new group of villains to take on the X-Men. Their team name might be familiar, but these brand-new characters put a novel spin on it. X-fans, meet the Danger Room, a group of diabolical killers who just teamed up to solve their mysterious benefactor’s mutant problem once and for all.
X-Men #27 is written by Jed McKay, with art by Netho Diaz. The issue reveals how the character known as Maxine Danger, working on behalf of the Beyond Corporation, puts together her new Danger Room team.
X-Men #27, the members of the Danger Room
Let’s take a closer look at what we just learned about Danger Room’s members, and what makes them such an urgent threat.
Marvel’s Officially Introduces Its Deadliest Mutant-Hunting Team Ever; Danger Room, Explained
X-Men #27, Written By Jed McKay; Art By Netho Diaz; Available Now From Marvel Comics
X-Men #27 cover, Kid Omega and other mutants running in fear
X-Men #27 is Part 2 of the five-part “Danger Room” arc. As a single issue Marvel comic goes, it is almost all set-up. But it’s not filler. No, X-Men #27 savors its opportunity to introduce its new roster of villains: ex-S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Charlene Jackson, manipulative maniac Colton Colton, and the “Skrull” killers Grigos and Marquez.
The issue cuts back and forth in time, showing how Maxine Danger recruited her team from high-security prisons across the country in the past, while they start their full-scale assault on the X-Men in the present. So far, it’s fair to say these new characters are among Marvel’s most intriguing new villains in years. So, let’s get to know them better.
S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Gone Bad Charlene Jackson Is Danger Room’s First Recruit
Officially Introduced In X-Men #27, “Danger Room” Part 2 Of 5
X-Men #27, Maxine Danger recruits Agent Jackson to her Danger Room
X-Men #27 starts with Maxine Danger recruiting Charlene Jackson, an imprisoned former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. Danger explains how Jackson used her “tactical support” position to maximize casualties on missions. First, only for enemy combatants, but eventually for S.H.I.E.L.D. agents as well. When Danger asks if she was “satisfied” with her actions, Jackson says no.
That is, she wants to cause more death and suffering. Charlene Jackson is depicted as a stone-cold, unflinching menace in X-Men #27. And the scary thing is, this disgraced and diabolical killer might actually be the sanest member of Danger Room, when you get a look at her completely unhinged teammates.
X-Men #27 also formally reintroduces Maxine Danger, the Beyond Corporation executive putting together Danger Room. Unlike her squad, Danger isn’t fully new to the Marvel Universe herself. She previously debuted in 2021 as a Spider-Man antagonist, but now X-Men is taking her off the shelf and making her a massive threat.
Danger Room’s Second Recruit Is Colton Colton, A Manipulative Mastermind & Cold-Blooded Killer
The Beyond Corporation Is Putting Together Marvel’s Smartest Villain Team
Maxine Danger’s second recruit is Colton Colton, who X-Men #27 uses the shorthand term “trailer park Machiavelli” to describe. A flashback reveals how Colton manipulated his neighbors into killing each other in a mass outbreak of violence. A sequence of panels shows him drinking a beer and watching as the trailer park burns around him.
When Danger asks why, Colton chillingly answers: “Just to see if I could….And as it turns out, I could.” Like Charlene Jackson. Colton is a remorseless killer, and a master manipulator. And it is these new villains’ intelligence that makes them truly terrifying. Maxine Danger isn’t just recruiting Danger Room members for their capacity for violence.
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No, because the X-Men have never been beaten by strength alone before. They need to be mentally and strategically outmatched as well. X-Men #27 establishes Colton Colton and Charlene Jackson as formidable adversaries for mutantkind’s smartest heroes, like Beast, and best tacticians, like Cyclops. But if they’re the brains, who are Danger Room’s brawn?
The Danger Room’s Roster Is Rounded Out By A Pair Of “Skrulls” With A Grudge Against Humanity
Now Their Hatred Is Being Redirected At Mutantkind
The final two pieces of X-Men’s new Danger Room puzzle are a disturbing dynamic duo: Grigos and Marquez. What makes them so scary? They’re Skrulls…or, at least, they think they are. Maxine Danger herself expresses skepticism at their alien origins, but she is impressed enough by their two-person war against Earth to recruit them.
The idea of two Skrulls stuck in human form carrying out terrorist attacks is intense enough. But it is even wilder if you believe Danger’s theory, that Grigos and Marquez are a pair of psychopaths with a shared delusion. That makes them Danger Room’s most fascinating new villains, and likely the most dangerous.
In their own way, Grigos and Marquez are as smart as Jackson and Colton, but they’re undeniably the muscle of Danger Room. They’re also the members that will seemingly need to be kept on the tightest leash. But only by a slim margin. And by uniting them all, Maxine Danger has a recipe for major chaos and mayhem on her hands.
Marvel’s Most Dangerous Humans Are Coming After Earth’s Mightiest Mutant Heroes
How Will Danger Room Stack Up In A Head-To-Head Confrontation?
As Maxine Danger points out in X-Men #27, none of Danger Room’s members have superpowers. Even the supposed Skrulls are operating as baseline humans. “Not a superpower between you and we’ve laid the X-Men low,” Danger boasts. Of course, with three issues to go in the “Danger Room” arc, she’s absolutely celebrating too soon.
And really, the series has only scratched the surface of what Danger Room’s members can do, and what their conflict with mutantkind’s greatest heroes looks like. They’ve successfully led the X-Men into a trap, but how will Danger Room fare in a face-to-face confrontation? That’s the question heading into X-Men #28.
The X-Men And Danger Room Are On A Collision Course; Will Everyone Survive?
Are Danger Room Short-Term Or Long-Term Marvel Villains?
X-Men #27, Cyclops saying the X-Men are going to walk out of the trap they just sprung
“Danger Room Part 2” ends with the X-Men defiant and ready for battle. “I walked into the trap with my toughest, meanest X-Men,” Cyclops says at the end of X-Men #27, “and we’re going to walk back out.” We know the odds favor the X-Men in the end, but what toll is the fight vs. Danger Room going to take?
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Fan-favorite mutant Glob Herman is already on death’s door in X-Men #27. Should readers brace themselves for more casualties? And on the flip side, even if Danger Room is beaten, will the team survive to come after the X-Men another day? Anyone who read their debut will certainly hope the answer to that latter question is “yes.”
The X-Men franchise needs fresh new villains, and Danger Room are a collection of exciting characters that could have long-term viability as a unit, or individually. Or, they might have a gloriously brief run in Marvel canon as X-Men foes. You’ll have to keep up with the “Danger Room” arc, or check back with us, to find out.
X-Men #27 is available now from Marvel Comics.
What do you think, X-Men fans? Which Danger Room villain is the scariest?
Movie(s)
X-Men (2000), X2, X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), X-Men: First Class (2011), The Wolverine (2013), X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), Deadpool (2016), X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), Logan (2017), Deadpool 2 (2018), Dark Phoenix (2019), The New Mutants, Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)
First Film
X-Men (2000)
TV Show(s)
X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men, X-Men (1992), X-Men: Evolution (2000), Wolverine and the X-Men (2008), Marvel Anime: Wolverine, Marvel Anime: X-Men, Legion (2017), The Gifted (2017), X-Men ’97 (2024)
Character(s)
Professor X, Cyclops, Iceman, Beast, Angel, Phoenix, Wolverine, Gambit, Rogue, Storm, Jubilee, Morph, Nightcrawler, Havok, Banshee, Colossus, Magneto, Psylocke, Juggernaut, Cable, X-23
Video Game(s)
X-Men: Children of the Atom (1994), Marvel Super Heroes (1995), X-Men vs. Street Fighter (1996), Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter (1997), Marvel vs. Capcom (1998), X-Men: Mutant Academy (2000), Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes (2000), X-Men: Mutant Academy 2 (2001), X-Men: Next Dimension (2002), Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (2011), Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (2011), X-Men Legends (2005), X-Men Legends 2: Rise of Apocalypse (2005), X2: Wolverine’s Revenge (2003), X-Men (1993), X-Men 2: Clone Wars (1995), X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse (1994)
Comic Release Date
213035,212968
The X-Men franchise, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, centers on mutants with extraordinary abilities. Led by the powerful telepath Professor Charles Xavier, they battle discrimination and villainous mutants threatening humanity. The series explores themes of diversity and acceptance through a blend of action, drama, and complex characters, spanning comics, animated series, and blockbuster films.