X-Men Unlimited #3

History

The second volume of X-Men Unlimited launched in April 2004 as part of Marvel's X-Men Reload publishing initiative, designed to freshen the X-line across multiple titles. Each issue paired two self-contained short stories, each spotlighting a single character or relationship, with different creative teams handling each strip. Issue #3 shipped June 3, 2004 with a cover date of August 2004, and featured a cover by Pat Lee. The Gambit story was written by Jai Nitz with pencils by Georges Jeanty and inks by Don Hillsman II; the 'Brothers' story was written by former Marvel editor Mike Raicht with pencils by Staz Johnson and inks by Chris Livesay.

Trivia · 8 facts

• Published June 3, 2004 (cover date August 2004) by Marvel Comics, as part of the second volume of X-Men Unlimited launched during the X-Men Reload initiative.
• The issue contains two self-contained stories: 'I'm Just A Poor Boy,' featuring Gambit (Remy LeBeau) in a street-level New Orleans adventure, written by Jai Nitz with art by Georges Jeanty; and 'Brothers,' featuring Cannonball (Sam Guthrie) and Josh Guthrie (Icarus), written by Mike Raicht with art by Staz Johnson.
• The 'Brothers' story is listed in the Marvel Database as giving Icarus (Joshua 'Jay' Guthrie) his first lead-character role in a comic, exploring his complicated feelings about following his older brother Sam into the world of mutant heroism.
• Josh Guthrie originally appeared in print as early as ROM Annual #3 (November 1984), created by Bill Mantlo and William Johnson; his codename Icarus and mutant powerset debuted in New X-Men vol. 2 #2 (August 2004) — making this issue a very early companion spotlight rather than a first appearance.
• Jay Guthrie's powers as depicted in the era include red feathered wings enabling flight, a healing factor derived from enzymes produced by those wings, and a voice capable of producing sounds across a superhuman frequency range.
• 'Brothers' writer Mike Raicht came to the story as a former Marvel editor, bringing editorial familiarity with the characters and the newly launched Academy X corner of the X-books.
• The story's emotional core — Jay's resentment and ambivalence toward Sam for leaving the family — directly foreshadows the self-destructive arc Jay would follow in New X-Men: Academy X, where his grief and suicidal ideation became defining character traits.
• The cover was by Pat Lee, who also provided covers for other early issues of the 2004 X-Men Unlimited volume.

Cast · 4 characters

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