X-Men creators want to hold a new Hellfire Gala - and a new X-Men team election

[NOTE:Hope it’s okay to create a thread about this. Hadn’t seen this mentioned anywhere, and it seems like pretty big news.]

Earlier this year, X-Men fans got a chance to vote for two members of the recently relaunched, superhero-ized X-Men team - and some time next summer, it seems they'll get another chance, as X-Men series writer Gerry Duggan has revealed that the Hellfire Gala party and its accompanying X-vote will happen annually.

During a conversation about the aftermath of 'The Hellfire Gala' event as part of Marvel's X-Men Comic-Con At Home panel, X-Men group editor Jordan D. White and writers Gerry Duggan (Marauders, X-Men), Vita Ayala (Children of the Atom, New Mutants), Benjamin Percy (Wolverine, X-Force), and Leah Williams (The Trial of Magneto) all agreed that the Hellfire Gala - both the story and the party itself - were a success.

Moderator Ryan Penagos then asked a fan-submitted question about whether the Gala would become an annual event.

"When Emma threw that party, she said it was the first and that she didn't intend for it to be the last," answered White. "So if people are into it, I think we'd be thrilled to keep it coming."

The writers each echoed White's approval for the idea of telling another 'Hellfire Gala' story next year - "Who doesn't want an excuse to dress up and show off to all the humans, flex on them?" joked Ayala. But the news didn't stop there.

As the conversation turned to who each of the writers may have voted for in the X-vote, Duggan personally expressed his vote for Tempo and his wish to bring her to the X-Men, while also stating his excitement over adding vote-winning mutant Polaris to the team.

The panel discussed the lengths fans went to to campaign for their favorite candidates, including building websites and Twitter accounts dedicated to their favorite picks - with Williams even jokingly confessing she used multiple IP addresses to vote twice, once for Marrow and once for Tempo. This prompted Percy to likewise joke that he made numerous fake accounts to vote for Maggot - the punchline being that Maggot was not one of the characters included on the ballot.

While lamenting that his personal choice didn't make the cut, Duggan assured fans that he and they would get another chance to add their personal favorites to the X-Men during the next Hellfire Gala, which will also turn the X-vote into an annual event.

"The interesting way we're gonna do this from now on is, we'll have a yearly Hellfire Gala with a newly elected team," Duggan stated, hesitating slightly "...perhaps."

Duggan capped off the apparent announcement with a joke, adding "So if your favorite isn't on the X-Men, it's because you let that character down."

Marvel hasn't officially commented in response to Newsarama's inquiry about plans for an annual Hellfire Gala and X-Men vote. Despite Duggan's punchline, the rest of the panel, which can still be viewed, indicates the likelihood of such a plan being in place.

[URL="https://www.gamesradar.com/amp/x-men-creators-want-to-hold-a-new-hellfire-gala-and-a-new-x-men-team-election-every-year/?__twitter_impression=true"]https://www.gamesradar.com/amp/x-men-creators-want-to-hold-a-new-hellfire-gala-and-a-new-x-men-team-election-every-year/?__twitter_impression=true[/URL]

I don't think it'll be annual in universe if only because of the sliding timeline. I also think (and hope) it won't be a big overhyped event this time around, just isolated to the directly relevant books.

Do we really need it? I liked this one, but I'd rather they would do something different.

Its a terrible idea if only because it means the main x book will have no consistency with its team.

Please no. This last gala was pretty meh, we dont need this repeated every year in universe or not.

Nice! Love the idea of a yearly gala showcasing new fashion and potential costumes. As well as a rotating cast on X-men.

[QUOTE=pkingdom;5647243]Its a terrible idea if only because it means the main x book will have no consistency with its team.[/QUOTE]

Well that's just an always thing though.

Most 10 issue books have at least two events in them after all.

The sliding timescale really complicates things though, so I'd say no to another gala.

I would say yes to trying new things and events that aren't all about saving the world from a foreign unstoppable threat that takes out all the teams except those in whatever main book is leading said event though. I enjoyed this gala very much but as a one time thing.

[QUOTE=pkingdom;5647243]Its a terrible idea if only because it means the main x book will have no consistency with its team.[/QUOTE]

And even more so, unless they were to publish it as it’s own mini/one-shot, it’d mean interrupting the entire line all over again.

I don't think I can take the hype of another gala in a year. Was there some great stage changing stuff that came out of it? Absolutely. And there's tons of storylines already spinning out of it that aren't so stage changing. But even with all the huge changes, the event was still overhyped.

I"m on board with an annual change in rosters for the X-men title though. Although I think it should be a rule that 2 of the team stay on and are not up for reelection (and it doesn't always have to be the same two every year).

[QUOTE=Captain Nash;5647294]Although I think it should be a rule that 2 of the team stay on and are not up for reelection (and it doesn't always have to be the same two every year).[/QUOTE]

As co-leaders, I’m assuming Jean and Scott would be the constants, but this doesn’t have to be set in stone.

There will obviously be a few mainstays on the x-men team to provide consistency. No one has said that in-universe re-election is off the table yet.

Nah, I rather see the Avengers held their own gala and elections.

Terrible idea. We have more than enough events as it is, and another gala would immediately set itself up for the problem of escalation - how do they top the murder and resulting trial next time?

[QUOTE=Hizashi;5647397]Terrible idea. We have more than enough events as it is, and another gala would immediately set itself up for the problem of escalation - how do they top the murder and resulting trial next time?[/QUOTE]

Also, you know, terraforming a planet in minutes.

I love the latest line up and would like to see Sunfire and Sunspot get more character development.