Warning: Contains spoilers forUncanny X-Men (2024) #3!As the new group ofX-Menhopefuls shared their origin stories and gave a glimpse at their lives before first appearing, I was perhaps most shocked and intrigued by one mutant’s disturbing backstory. Calico debuted alongside three other mysterious young mutants seeking the help of Rogue, Gambit, and Wolverine. Dodging a mysterious threat called the Endling, the mutants reveal harrowing pasts they’ve also left behind, with Calico’s being truly sinister.
Becca Constance Simon-Pinette AKA Calico was established as a rich “horse girl” type with an anti-mutant upbringing whenshe debuted with the other new mutants. InUncanny X-Men (2024)#3 – written by Gail Simone with art by David Marquez –freshly revealed details paint an unsettling picture of Calico’s sheltered home life and the haunting way she managed to escape it.
Calico clearly makes it known that she is of what sounds like some kind of prestigious family, the Loudon County Simon-Pinettes. However, her mother had almost completely isolated her from the world, except for some books and her beloved horses.
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Uncanny X-Men (2024)#3 – Written By Gail Simone; Art By David Marquez; Color By Matt Wilson; Lettering By Clayton Cowles
All four of the new mutants’ origins are quite rough; for me, it put a spotlight on just how difficult it is to be a mutant, especially one whose unexplainable or uncontrollable abilities manifest at a young age. Thesethemes aren’t new to X-Men comics, butSimone and Marquez’sUncanny X-Men #3succinctly runs through four distinct origins that stress the difficulties of growing up a mutant. It reminded me that whether they’re dealing with anti-mutant sentiments within their families, or hateful extremist villains, or just reckoning with themselves, it’s rarely easybeing a mutant in the Marvel Universe.
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Her fellow mutants Jitter, Deathdream, andRansom’s unique powers mostly affectedtheir childhoods, butCalico seems like she would have had a hard time growing up regardless. It seems to me, at this point, that the bizarre and abusive way Becca was raised was a result of her family recognizing her abilities and trying to halt her mutant awakening. It definitely seems like the type of restrictive and domineering home she wouldn’t have been safe in, even as a human. Mutant experience is usually used as an allegory for real life conflict, and Calico’s upbringing involves a more grounded and troubling human horror.
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One thing I found fascinating about how Becca is presented inUncanny X-Menso far is that she could be seen as having a perfect and affluent life from afar, her childhood as well as her current attitude toward it are quite distressing. Her isolation from other people and restrictions on things like movies or music are already troubling.The other half of Calico’s origin that details her trauma and the house fire that led to her escape makes it a true nightmare, and places her story among some of the mostharrowing origins for mainstream superhero characters.
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Overall, I found the way Calico’s mistreatment is twisted into a sign of her mother’s love to be heartbreaking and horrifying in equal measure. In her story, Calico clarifies that the horses were her only true companions in her childhood, and specifically her horse Ember. . With her horse as her only friend and really the only being she could trust in her home growing up,Calico’s current power set being connected to Ember could be a direct reaction to her trauma.
Calico Could Be Marvel’s New Mutant-Hunting Monster In Disguise – But I Don’t Think So
How Calico Fits IntoUncanny X-Men’sOverarching Mystery
Along with mostX-fans, I have been excited by the mystery brewing inUncanny X-Men; as Rogue’s new mutant rcruits settle in with her team, it has been revealed that one of these “Outsiders” is secretly the “Endling,” a vicious mutant-hunting threat seeking to make mutantkind paythe diabolical cost of their Krakoa resurrections. With Calico’s disturbing backstory and seemingly nonchalant exterior in the face of it, she could easily be a suspect as this mysterious villain, butI have a feeling she is not the danger hiding among Rogue’s mutant class.
Calico’s origin is heightened to the level ofX-Mencomics in a way that I find absolutely unsettling and heart-wrenching, but it’s perfect for the series.
While the nature of Calico’s past may make her seem like the most likely to flip to villainy, Marvel’s mutants have always represented outsiders and oppressed people that experience strife and trauma. Though she grew up with a family that taught her anti-mutant hate and isolated her from society, Becca is still a mutant herself and had to struggle with that and their corporal punishment. Calico’s origin is heightened to the level ofX-Mencomics in a way that I find absolutely unsettling and heart-wrenching, but it’s perfect for the series as a possibly relatable allegory for true human horrors.
Uncanny X-Men (2024) #3is out now from Marvel Comics.
X-Men
The X-Men franchise, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, centers on mutants with extraordinary abilities. Led by the powerful telepath Professor Charles Xavier, they battle discrimination and villainous mutants threatening humanity. The series explores themes of diversity and acceptance through a blend of action, drama, and complex characters, spanning comics, animated series, and blockbuster films.
