Warning! Spoilers for X-Men: Age of Revelation ahead!
The X-Men franchise just brought back Chrome, a relatively obscure character who has been passed over for resurrection for decades, giving him a pivotal position in the upcoming Age of Revelation crossover. Chrome has also received an updated design to go along with his new title, as one of Revelation’s dangerous “Seraphim.”
In an interview with AIPT, author Jed McKay confirmed the return of deep-cut X-Men character Chrome, who played a brief but memorable role in the early 1990s as an Acolyte of Magneto, before being killed off.
It has taken decades, but Chrome is finally back with a new look and a new role in Marvel lore.
X-Men Just Brought Back Chrome, A Mutant Antagonist Who Has Been Dead For Over Three Decades
X-Men: Age Of Revelation #0 Introduces “The Seraphim”
In the grand scheme of things, Chrome is a minor footnote in X-Men history. Introduced in Chris Claremont and Jim Lee’s X-Men #1, from 1991, Chrome was dispatched just a few issues later. The character subsequently appeared in the X-Men: The Animated Series two-parter “Sanctuary,” which adapted Claremont and Lee’s story.
Beyond that, Chrome never mounted a comeback in X-lore, even during the height of mutant resurrections in the franchise’s Krakoan Era.That is, until now. Astute readers clocked the fact that one of the “Seraphim” in X-Men: Age of Revelation #0 is listed as “Chrome,” which author Jed McKay confirmed is the early ’90s character.
McKay elaborated on the process that led to plucky Chrome from obscurity and bringing him back in a totally new way. The author stated:
I was looking for mutants that had some history that people could point to, without occupying more popular ones that other people might want to use. So there was a lot of window shopping through older X-antagonist groups — Acolytes, Mutant Liberation Front, etc, for characters that would have just the right profile to drop into the ranks of the Seraphim.
That is, McKay admitted to intentionally seeking out deep-cut characters, particularly adversaries of the mutant heroes, from X-Men lore to bring into the story, which made Chrome an absolutely perfect fit.
Chrome’s Comeback Is The Latest Proof That No One Is Truly Forgotten By The X-Men Franchise
Whether Chrome Has Staying Power This Time Is TBD
The Seraphim are an exciting new unit being added to X-Men canon in Age of Revelation, and the fact that they represent a second chance for characters like Chrome, who never fully got to unleash their full potential, is one of the most exciting aspects of the crossover yet, especially for longtime fans of the franchise.
Chrome’s upgraded status comes along with an updated look, though fans have only caught glimpses of him so far. It remains TBD whether he will step into the spotlight once Age of Revelation gets fully underway, or if he will be relegated to minor character status once more, as he was in the 1990s X-Men series.
Further, now fans are eager to find out if Chrome will survive Age of Revelation, and whether his comeback could extend beyond the confines of this dark, dystopian Marvel future. In any case, X-Men just proved once more that no character, no matter how scant their appearances, is ever truly forgotten by the franchise.
X-Men: Age of Revelation #0 is available now from Marvel Comics.
- Movie(s)
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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
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X-Men (2000)
- TV Show(s)
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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)
- Video Game(s)
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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)
- Character(s)
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Professor X, Cyclops, Iceman, Beast, Angel, Phoenix, Wolverine, Gambit, Rogue, Storm, Jubilee, Morph, Nightcrawler, Havok, Banshee, Colossus, Magneto, Psylocke, Juggernaut, Cable, X-23
- Comic Release Date
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213035,212968