Marvel’sX-Menhave dealt with their share of supporters and detractors over the years, with most of the conversation surrounding the team coming from the public’s constantly shifting opinions of mutantkind and what roles, if any, mutants should play in the world. Luckily for the X-Men,one well-known real-life writer,Joe Hill, has come to their defense in comic form.
Son of the legendary horror writer Stephen King, Joseph Hillström King, or simply Joe Hill, has been writing novels and short stories for decades now, with his work in the comic space coming in the form of DC Comics’ horror-themedHill House Comics(itself part of DC Black Label imprint) as well as IDW’s popularLocke & Keyseries.
Now, inUncanny X-Men #17, Joe Hill goes from writing comics to actually being in one, with Joe’s appearance in thislatest X-Men issueletting fans know exactly what he thinks the team’s next step needs to be as mutant paranoia continues to rise in the Marvel Universe: fight back.
Horror Writer Joe Hill Comes to the X-Men’s Defense in Brilliant New Comic Cameo
Uncanny X-Men #17 - 2025 (Gail Simone and Luciano Vecchio)
Following Wolverine, Gambit, Rogue, Jubilee, and Nightcrawler, along with four young mutants — Jitter, Ransom, Deathdream, and Calico —thisUncanny X-Menissue sees the mutant community caught in the media storm of a new movie titledMurder Me, Mutina!— a slasher film that sees the titular character killing humans who have wronged her.
Starting with an interview that features several Marvel characters, like Blade, Elsa Bloodstone, Daimon Hellstrom, and Magik, as they’re asked their thoughts on the film, this issue brings in some real-life people next — screenwriter Christopher Robert Cargill, novelist Nancy Collins, writer/director Emily Andras, and Joe Hill — who also give their opinions of the controversy surrounding the movie.
Having various reasons for liking or disliking how this film portrays mutants,Joe Hill explains how, “Horror has always targeted the most defenseless in society. Maybe it’s time they fought back,”making this best-selling novelist a defender of what the X-Men stand for — equality and peace for all — while also telling them to get into some good trouble as needed.
Joe Hill Believes the X-Men Should Start Acting Against Those Who Hate Them
Joe Echoes the Statements of Those Who Support the X-Men
Noting how “mutantkind needs a P.R. firm,”this issue highlights the dangerous rhetoric that’s been flaring up against mutants post-Krakoa, with Hollywood’s latest misguided attempt at trying to make a quick buck on thegrowing mutant discordnot helping matters, leading Joe to comment on how at this point, mutants may need to take matters into their own hands.
Joe Hill’s novels includeHeart-Shaped Box,Horns,NOS4A2, andThe Fireman.
ThoughJoe Hill hasn’t crafted an X-Men comichimself just yet — in fact, Joe’s only written a single Marvel comic thus far in his career, 2023’s digital-onlySpider-Man: Unlimited Infinity Comic #19— fans should never say never for a creator who is just as comfortable writing comics as he is writing the novels he’s best known for.
And if this cameo is any indication, Joe and the X-Men may have some unfinished business to attend to in the comic space, with the idea of a horror-tingedX-Menseries penned byJoe Hillbeing a wildly macabre yet highly inspired concept that Marvel Comics needs to develop, and soon.
