Contains spoilers for X-Men (2024) #4!One of the greatest villains in X-Men did made a major return to Marvel continuity, leaving some fans in need of a reminder of just what the “Sugar Man” isand where he came from. Sugar Man may mostly be a relic of a very specific time in X-Men history, but his latest appearance has the potential to be more than a cameo.
X-Men #4 – written by Jed MacKay, with art by Netho Diaz – brings Sugar Man back into the fold, reminding readers of what made him so scary and gross originally.
The slime mutant teamed up with another villain, Trevor Fitzroy, to form a new version of the mutant killing group The Upstarts, now reimagined as social media stars. The great mystery of X-Men Is the sudden empowering of new Mature Mutants. Sugar Man thinks that someone has figured out how to force the change, and as a bad geneticist, he wants to know how.
The alternate continuity origin of horrifying X-Men villain “Sugar Man,” explained
First appearance: generation beyond #2 – Written by Scott Lobdell; Art by Chris Bachalo; Released in 1995
Sugar Man is one of the most skin-crawling villains of the original Age of Apocalypse timeline; He infamously ran human ‘work camps’ for the Regime of Apocalypse, which gave him everything he needed to carry out inhumane genetic experiments. His joyous bulbous appearance could be part of his natural mutation, but it could also be something he did to himself in his experiments. Sugar Man’s powers include the ability to shrink, survive almost any injury, as well as his unnaturally long, strong and flexible tongue, which he can use as a weapon.
After being seemingly killed by Colossus…Sugar Man was one of the few escapes from the original Age of Apocalypse Fact at the end of the event.
Introduced as the main villain of the Age of Apocalypse Miniseries generation beyondSugar Man and his forces decimate the titular team before he stomps off after being seemingly killed by Colossus. Sugar Man was one of the few escapees from the original Age of Apocalypse Reality at the end of the event, shunted backwards in time by the power of the M’Kraan crystal. Retcons then revealed that Sugar Man became one of the behind-the-scenes powers of the mutant-oppressing nation of Genosha twenty years ago, providing the inventions needed to enslave mutants and turn them into mutant ‘mutates’.
Sugar Man’s Apocalypse has left fans eager for him to become a major threat again
Select Appearances: Excalibur (Volume 3) #10 – Written by Chris Claremont; Art by Aaron Lopresti; New Mutants (Volume 3) #25-28 – Written by Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning, art by Leandro Fernández
Sugar Man then spent the next several years of comics tangling with various X-themes and characters, especially those from or directly involved with the AoA. This includes fellow AoA refugee X-Man, and Bishop, one of the few characters who remembers the event. Eventually he teamed up with fellow villains Age of Apocalypse Survivors Dark Beast and Nemesis, traveling back in time from the AoA timeline to try to create a superweapon to use against Earth-616, before being stopped again by X-Man in X-Man 96′ #1 and ’97 #1.
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Since the 2000s, Sugar Man has only sporadic appearances. He apparently died in Excalibur (Volume 3) #10 Soon after Genosha (then a mutant nation ruled by Magneto) was destroyed but was good again a few years later. He kidnapped Nate Gray in 2011 New Mutants (volume) 3 #25-28, before showing up without explanation in his original timeline in 2012 Age of Apocalypse Series where he was supposedly reformed, although this is certainly not the case. He has since “died” twice, killed once by Magneto and once by X-Man, but has gotten better each time.
The use of Sugar Man in X-Men’s New Era suggests a design for the character
X-Men #4 – Written by Jed MacKay; Art by Netho Diaz; Ink by Sean Parsons; Color by Marte Gracia; Lettering by Clayton Cowles
Sugar Man’s appearances generally follow the pattern he shows when there is something involving X-Man, the AoA, or mutant genetics. He seems to stick to Nate like a bad penny, and when mutants are threatened by the Scarlet Witch’s decimation, and later by the disease M-Pox, he appears both times as cameos. His last appearance in X-Men #4 follows this pattern perfectly: Someone’s messing with mutant genetics, and he wants a piece of the action.
The character’s return in the last volume of X-Men suggests that Marvel’s x-Office has a plan for the dirty villain.
For all his appearances, there are still many readers who do not know about Sugar Man. He is never given his real name, nor an exact origin, and his Earth-616 counterpart has never been seen, if they exist at all. It’s entirely possible that Sugar Man could theoretically be a warped version of​​​​a classic character, but no one springs to mind since most of the X-Men are accounted for among the Age of Apocalypse Original appearance and later stories. Since he traveled back in timeAge of ApocalypseHe could also have dealt with his mainstream counterpart alone.
Sugar Man never had the success as a villain in his original appearance generation beyond suggested. The mainstream Marvel Universe is full of evil geneticists targeting the X-Men, and Sugar Man has never stood out from the pack. All of that said, the character’s return in the last volume of X-Men suggests that Marvel’s x-Office has a plan for the grim villain, who may be about to begin his deadliest run through the X-Men Franchise still.
X-Men #4 is available now from Marvel Comics.