Horror stories aren’t typically associated with the X-Men, but that isn’t stopping them from including some of the most prolific horror writers working in the genre today. The X-Men fight for a world that hates and fears them, so in a sense, that has parts of horror baked into their themes. Things take a scary turn for the X-Men when a slasher horror movie comes out featuring a mutant protagonist. Mutants already have a tough time without a movie putting an even bigger spotlight on them. But what they probably weren’t expecting was for some of the biggest names in horror fiction to chime in. WARNING: Spoilers for Uncanny X-Men #17 below.
Uncanny X-Men #17 is by Gail Simone, Luciano Vecchio, Rachelle Rosenberg, and VC’s Clayton Cowles. That mutant-starring horror movie we mentioned earlier is titled Murder Me, Mutina, and it’s quickly become a box office hit. We see the casts of Uncanny X-Men, X-Men, and Exceptional X-Men all talking about the flick and the dire consequences that come with its popularity. It’s not until we hear from a news report that the full scope of Murder Me, Mutina begins to take shape. A reporter speaks to several recognizable characters from across the Marvel Universe, and her sound bites also include four horror writers that you’re more than familiar with.
C. Robert Cargill, Nancy A. Collins, Emily Andras, and Joe Hill Chime In on X-Men Horror Movie
Along with talking to supernatural experts Blade, Elsa Bloodstone, Daimon Hellstrom, and Magik, Uncanny X-Men #17 also gets opinions from C. Robert Cargill, Nancy A. Collins, Emily Andras, and Joe Hill. These are four authors who are no strangers to horror, having penned and worked on some of the biggest novels and movies you’ll find in the genre.
C. Robert Cargill is a screenwriter and novelist behind Doctor Strange, The Black Phone, Sinister, and Sinister 2. “A mutant is a lot more likely to be a victim of violence than the perpetrator,” Cargill says about Murder Me, Mutina. “Seems like punching down, really.”
“It’s typical — Hollywood stigmatizing the powerless,” novelist Nancy Collins says. “Well, unless they have powers. Which a lot do. Never mind.” She’s the writer behind the Sonja Blue vampire novels, and has written comic books for Vampirella, Swamp Thing, Jason vs. Leatherface, Predator, and Dhampire.
Emily Andras is a writer and director behind the Wynonna Earp TV series and showrunner of Lost Girl. “Look, I’m worried about the response too,” Andras says. “But horror should be transgressive. It’s supposed to take risks.”
Last but not least is Joe Hill, the best-selling novelist behind Heart-Shaped Box, Horns, NOS4A2, The Fireman, King Sorrow, and the Locke & Key comic. Hill says, “Horror has always targeted the most defenseless in society. Maybe it’s time they fought back.”
You would think that C. Robert Cargill, Nancy A. Collins, Emily Andras, and Joe Hill gave the okay for their likenesses to be used in Uncanny X-Men #17. Gail Simone is a prolific writer with a vast Rolodex, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility that she reached out to our four horror writers to gauge their interest in being included in the story.
The X-Men’s newest recruits, the Outliers, wind up seeing Murder Me, Mutina, with Jitter and Calico confronting the movie’s star in her dressing room afterwards. Surprisingly, she tries to murder the young X-Men, but the adults arrive in time to save their students. We also learn the star, Leticia, is also a mutant who can read minds. Leticia vows this isn’t the last time the X-Men will hear from her, but it’s most likely the last time we hear from our four horror writers.
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