Wolverine & the X-Men #20

History

Issue #20 was written by Jason Aaron, who had shepherded the series since its 2011 launch following the X-Men: Schism event, with interior art by guest penciler Steven Sanders standing in for series regular Nick Bradshaw, whose cover graced the issue. The book was edited by Nick Lowe under editor-in-chief Axel Alonso, and colored by Frank D'Armata with lettering by Joe Caramagna. It landed on shelves November 14, 2012, carrying a January 2013 cover date, placing it squarely in the opening wave of Marvel NOW! titles; Aaron had publicly described issues #19 onward as a deliberate return to the school-centric storytelling the series had built before the Avengers vs. X-Men crossover consumed it. The use of a fill-in artist on a character-debut issue drew some collector notice — at least one contemporary reader review specifically singled out Sanders's style as a departure from the book's visual norm.

Trivia · 8 facts

• First full appearance of Shark-Girl (Iara Dos Santos), a mutant from Recife, Brazil, with the ability to transform into a humanoid were-shark; she joins the Jean Grey School's student body within the issue itself.
• First appearance (unnamed, in initial recruitment form) of the Hellfire Academy, the rival evil mutant school organized by Kade Kilgore's child Hellfire Club as a direct counterpart to Wolverine's Jean Grey School for Higher Learning.
• Several Hellfire Academy faculty members make their effective debut in this issue, including Lord Deathstrike, Master Pandemonium, Madame Mondo, Sauron (in his Academy role), Silver Samurai (Shin Harada), and The Philistine.
• The issue's A-plot centers on Angel (Warren Worthington III), who is simultaneously revealed to be slowly dying from his Celestial Life Seed powers and tasked with recruiting newly detected mutants — including Iara — via Cerebra.
• Mystique appears as a competing recruiter attempting to bring Shark-Girl to the Hellfire side, setting up her later role as Hellfire Academy headmistress.
• Written by Jason Aaron with art by guest penciler Steven Sanders (colors by Frank D'Armata, letters by Joe Caramagna); cover by regular series artist Nick Bradshaw.
• Released November 14, 2012 (cover-dated January 2013) as part of the Marvel NOW! initiative; it marked Aaron's stated return to the Jean Grey School-focused storytelling after the extended Avengers vs. X-Men crossover tie-ins (issues #9–18).
• The issue — along with the rest of Aaron's complete 42-issue run — was later reprinted in the Wolverine & the X-Men by Jason Aaron Omnibus (ISBN 0785190244), collecting issues #1–42 and Annual #1.

Full credits

Key issues in Wolverine & the X-Men

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#1 1st appearance — Warbird

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#5 1st appearance — Xanto Starblood

Variants (1)