Jonathan Hickman’s X-Men relaunch is centered upon one of the most absurd mutants of all time: Goldballs. Most comic book readers tend to be drawn to the more powerful superheroes, and with the X-Men, that means the recently-defined Omega level mutants. At the other end of the other scale, though, are the characters whose powersets really aren’t impressive. Like, at all.

Jubilee gets a lot of flak for producing fireworks (even if that ignores the “Phalanx Covenant” arc suggesting she breaks matter down on a molecular level). Goldballs is another superhero who’s generally mocked. Created by Brian Bendis, Goldballs has the power to generate round, golden projectiles that he can use as a concussive weapon. It’s hardly the most impressive ability, accompanied with a characteristic “POINK” sound that’s impossible to take seriously. In spite of that, he’s really quite a fun character, and has even become a friend of Miles Morales’ Spider-Man. So nobody would have expected him to be the key to House of X.

In a hilarious twist, Jonathan Hickman’s X-Men relaunch hinges on Goldballs. The X-Men have learned how to mass-produce clones, essentially allowing them to conquer death. The method is complicated, with five powerful mutants working together in order to create, and accelerate the growth of, these clone bodies. And it all begins with Goldballs, because it turns out his golden balls are actually eggs. With a little twist of Proteus energy, they become viable, and the X-Men can then grow clone bodies inside the eggs.

It’s a fun twist, and a reminder that no X-Man’s powerset should be written off. The X-Men are all about training mutants to control their powers, and in the process, it’s no surprise that whole new applications are discovered. In this case, it’s fascinating to speculate just how Xavier worked out that Goldballs’ gilded spheres are eggs, and the comic implies it then took the Professor quite some time to work out how to grow a mutant body inside one of the balls.

And so Fabi0 Medina, a mutant who possessed what even Magneto describes as a “seemingly benign and pointless power,” became the key to the entire House of X event. It’s reasonable to assume that Xavier’s entire Krakoa plan plan became viable because of the expansion of Goldballs’ powerset; after all, the Professor is aiming to create a new mutant society by resurrecting all the dead killed on Genosha. That’s only possible thanks to Goldballs.

  • HOUSE OF X #5 Written by: Jonathan Hickman Art by: Pepe Larraz, Marte Gracia Xavier’s dream turns deadly for some of his students as they fight back against the humans’ plan to eliminate them. Superstar writer Jonathan Hickman (FANTASTIC FOUR, AVENGERS, SECRET WARS) continues his reshaping of the X-Universe alongside Young Gun artist Pepe Larraz (EXTERMINATION, AVENGERS). The Future of the X-Men begins here!

House of X #5 is available now from your local comic book shop, or direct from Marvel Comics.

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