Warning: Contains SPOILERS for X-Men #16 (2025)

The X-Men have met their match as a new team of villainous mutants called the “3K X-Men” have taken the stage to topple Cyclops and his team for good. Seeking to build a better world where all can enjoy the splendors of being a mutant, this team is just as motivated to achieve their dream as the traditional team follows theirs. Unfortunately for Cyclops, the 3K X-Men are equally powerful.

In X-Men #16 (2025) - by Jed MacKay and Netho Diaz - Cyclops’s X-Men face off against a team of villainous mutants known as the 3K X-Men.

Led by Charles Xavier’s sister, Cassandra Nova, the group of evil X-Men, truly known as the Santa Marco Six, are enacting a sinister plot to force the X-Gene onto non-mutants, thus creating a modern mutant “utopia.” Armed with powers that rival that of Cyclops’s X-Men, these radicalized new mutants believe themselves to be the “vanguards of the genetic revolution” against man and modern mutantkind.

The 3K X-Men: The Next Evolution Of Mutantkind

Both Humans and Mutants Are Out Of Date

In a world that still vehemently hates mutantkind, it’s no surprise that even the villains, like Cassandra Nova, are finding new avenues to regain their people’s strength. However, instead of raising and nurturing the world’s true mutants, 3K’s goal is to transform humanity into the one thing they seem to fear most: mutants. Leading the fray, the 3K X-Men are each adult humans who were forcibly turned into mutants and who believe that they can save the world from another species-war in a way the original X-Men have repeatedly failed to do.

As the Alaskan X-Men and the 3K X-Men unleash a savage assault against the other, it’s clear that the newborn mutants are just as powerful as the seasoned veterans. Despite decades in the field, Cyclops’s team falters as the 3K X-Men prove their might and validity as mutants and combatants. While the likes of Cassandra Nova can’t be trusted, these wannabe heroes genuinely seem to believe in the cause they are fighting for. They don’t just want to be X-Men, they want to be the heroes of a new generation.

The 3K X-Men’s Roster Is As Impressive As The Normal Team

Both X-Men Teams Are Equally Matched

While they may be new to their powers, the 3K X-Men aren’t anything less than impressive. Leading the team in the field is Schwarzchild, a 3K mutant with the power to manipulate gravitational fields. Next is Timebomb, a standard Marvel speedster. Then, we have Juice, a mutant whose body is always in a semi-liquid state, with the power to harden his liquid offshoots into hardened amber. Next is Galatea, whose body is composed of living-stone. Then, there’s Constellation, who possesses control over cosmic energy. And finally, there is Psychovore, a 3K mutant with the power to consume others’ minds.

They understand every member’s weaknesses and combine their powers effectively in combat to overcome those basic faults.

Together, this team works as a well-oiled machine. They understand every member’s weaknesses and combine their powers effectively in combat to overcome those basic faults. Schwarzchild frequently utilizes his gravitational control to catapult Galatea at high speeds. If Galatea’s stone body can’t endure a fight, Juice’s liquid state can overcome the strongest of fighters. Psychic enemies are easily pacified by Psychovore, as Timebomb and Constellation keep control of the battlefield using their diverse spread of abilities. In short, despite their relatively low experience, the 3K X-Men seem to be just as powerful as the actual X-Men themselves.

The Santo Marco Six Have Historic Ties To Magneto's Villain Era

The Brotherhood of Evil May Have Inspired The Creation Of The 3K X-Men

There may be much to learn about this band of X-Men impersonators, but Cyclops does recognize the group as being from the Republic of Santo Marco, a country in South America with strong ties to the X-Men franchise. During the era of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, Magneto briefly overthrew Santo Marco’s government and installed himself as the country’s new ruler. Under his control, the local humans grew in fear of Magneto’s mutant-first rule, as Santo Marco was declared a mutant homeland. However, the villain was later deposed by the X-Men until a new, harsher ruler took his place.

Under the thumb of a new authoritarian president, known as Emilio Duarte, Santo Marco radically shifted to become an anti-mutant regime until Duarte was later executed for his crimes against mutantkind. The shift from one radical leader to another most certainly left marks on Santo Marco’s population, with Magneto to blame for the chaos that befell the country after his rule. There is a firm chance that the Santo Marco Six were simply victims of Magneto or Duarte, made into new mutants to be leveraged by Cassandra Nova instead.

While these X-Men may be artificial, they are still powerful rivals to the traditional team, motivated to transcend their humanity and become the heroes they believe the true X-Men fail to be.

X-Men #16 (2025) is now available from Marvel Comics.