Warning: Contains spoilers for NYX #1Minutes after being named to the new X-Men team, the mutant Prodigy was one of the many mutants killed during an attack at the Hellfire Gala in 2023. Now, mutants have been forced on the run again after the destruction of their island nation Krakoa, and Prodigy finds himself among a young group of mutants who have found a new home in New York City.
NYX, written by Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing with art by sco Mortarino, is the spiritual successor series to both the early 2000s New Mutants and New X-Men series. The new NYX series follows mutants Laura Kinney, Kamala Khan, Anole, Sophie Cuckoo, and Prodigy into young adulthood, as they try to balance their lives as mutants and as people in a world that hates and fears them once again.
In an interview with AIPT, NYX #1 writers Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing reveal their motivations for Prodigy's arc in the new series.
And Prodigy, a character who we are longtime fans of, obviously was a huge part of Academy X and a huge part of the future of the X-Men to the degree that he had been named a member of the X-Men right before they were all murdered. And we thought it was a really important moment to say, OK, Prodigy went through his whole journey, he’s become the Cyclops that he always wanted to be, and it didn’t work. What’s next? How do you step back away from that and back into some kind of life? What do you become in the absence of your dream?
These are very deep and difficult questions to answer, and they are exactly the questions that are necessary when writing a character like Prodigy.
Prodigy's Tenure As An X-Man Only Resulted In Tragedy
David Alleyne aka Prodigy first appeared in 2003's New Mutants #4 by Nunzio DeFilippis, Christina Weir, and Keron Grant. Prodigy refuses leadership of the X-Men at every opportunity, until he learns the importance of the role, and of what he can learn from it. In New X-Men #2 by Nunzio DeFilippis, Christina Weir, and Randy Green, Dani Moonstar explicitly tells the team that Prodigy is her pick to lead the next iteration of the New Mutants team, and offers him the position as team leader of her Training Squad. Initially, he refuses, stating his desire to actually study and learn at Xavier's school rather than becoming a superhero and risking his life. Eventually, he concedes and takes on the mantle as co-leader with Wind Dancer.
This tenure as a New Mutant is short-lived, as during the Decimation event, also known as M-Day, caused by Scarlet Witch in the House of M event, Prodigy loses his mutant powers, but not his place at Xavier's school. David survives the Purifiers' attack on the X-Mansion, the Messiah War, and Avengers Vs. X-Men, all without powers. The Five later revive Prodigy on Krakoa with his powers restored, only for him to finally become an official member of the X-Men right before Orchis' attack on Krakoa during the third Hellfire Gala.
More than 42 mutants died during the Purifiers' attack on the X-Mansion, including Prodigy's Training Squad co- Wallflower, Icarus, and Tag.
Cyclops' Teachings Have Turned Prodigy Into Professor Xavier
In NYX #1, it is revealed that Prodigy has given up on superheroics and become a professor of Mutant Studies, which is the perfect role for him to play in The Krakoan. Like Xavier before him, his opposition is a mutant from his past, as Julian Keller, known as the Hellion, was also there on the Training Squad when Prodigy first came to Xavier's school. Sophie Cuckoo has also been established to be highly critical of the new Professor's philosophies regarding human-mutant relations.
David’s mutation sets him apart from the rest of humanity in the eyes of the Marvel Universe’s various anti-mutant hate groups, even if it isn’t a visible mutation. Prodigy is both using his powers in an entirely productive way, and through teaching a mutant-centric course, he has become the X-Man he intended to be and a role model that he would’ve looked up to when he ed Xavier’s school.
NYX #1 is available now from Marvel Comics.
Source: AIPT
