Contains Spoilers for X-Men (2024) #4!One of the grossest villains inX-Menhasmade a major return to Marvel continuity, leaving some fans in need of a reminder of just who exactly the “Sugar Man” is, and where he came from. Sugar Man might 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 slimy mutant has 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 big mystery ofX-Menis the sudden empowering of newadultmutants. Sugar Man assumes that someone has figured out how to force this change, and as an evil geneticist, he wants to know how.
The Alternate Continuity Origin Of Horrifying X-Men Villain “Sugar Man,” Explained
First Appearance:Generation Next#2 – Written By Scott Lobdell; Art By Chris Bachalo; Released In 1995
Sugar Man is one of the most skin-crawling villains of the originalAge of Apocalypsetimeline;he infamously ran human ‘work camps’ for Apocalypse’s regime which gave him everything he needed to perform inhumane genetic experiments. His freakish bulbous appearance may be part of his natural mutation, but it could also be something he’s done to himself in his experiments. Sugar Man’s powers include the ability to shrink himself, survive just about 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 escapees of the originalAge of Apocalypsereality at the event’s end.
Introduced as the main villain of theAge of ApocalypseminiseriesGeneration Next, Sugar Man and his forces decimate the titular team before he stows away after being seemingly killed by Colossus. Sugar Man was one of the few escapees of the originalAge of Apocalypsereality at the event’s end, 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 Genosha twenty years ago, providing the inventions needed to enslave mutants and turn them into docile ‘mutates’.
Sugar Man’s Post-Age Of Apocalypse Exploits Left Fans Eager For Him To Become A Major Threat Again
Select Appearances:Excalibur (Vol. 3)#10 – Written By Chris Claremont; Art By Aaron Lopresti;New Mutants (Vol. 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-Teams 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 remembered the event. He eventually teamed up with fellow evilAge of Apocalypsesurvivors Dark Beast and Nemesis, traveling back into the AoA timeline’s past to try to make a superweapon to use against Earth-616, before being stopped yet again by X-Man inX-Man 96’#1 and‘97#1.
X-Men: Age of Apocalypse’s Biggest Villain Isn’t Who Fans Think
Even though the darkest era in X-Men history is called the Age of Apocalypse, En Sabah Nur himself isn’t actually the main antagonist of the series.
Since the 2000s,Sugar Man has only had sporadic appearances.He seemingly died inExcalibur (Vol. 3)#10 shortly after Genosha (by then a mutant nation ruled by Magneto) was destroyed but was fine again a few years later.He kidnapped Nate Greyin 2011’sNew Mutants (Vol.) 3#25-28, before showing up with no explanation in his original timeline in the 2012Age of Apocalypseseries where he supposedly was reformed, though this was certainly not the case. He’s 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 Plan 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 that he shows up when there’ssomething going on involving either X-Man, the AoA, or mutant genetics. He seems to stick to Nate like a bad penny, and when mutants were threatenedby the Scarlet Witch’s decimation, and later by the disease M-Pox, he showed up both times as cameos.His latest appearance inX-Men#4 follows that pattern perfectly: Someone’s messing with mutant genetics, and he wants a piece of the action.
The character’s return in the most recent volume ofX-Mensuggests that Marvel’sX-Office has a plan for the gross villain.
For all his appearances, there are still many readers don’t know about Sugar Man. He’s 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 between theAge of Apocalypseoriginal appearance and later stories. Since he traveled back in time post-Age of Apocalypse, he could also have dealt with his mainstream counterpart himself.
Sugar Man has never had thesuccess as a villainthat his original appearance inGeneration Nextsuggested. The mainstream Marvel Universe is full of evil geneticists targeting the X-Men, and Sugar Man has never stood out of the pack. All of that said, the character’s return in the most recent volume ofX-Mensuggests that Marvel’sX-Office has a plan for the gross villain, who could be about to embark on hisdeadliest run through theX-Menfranchiseyet.
X-Men#4is available 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.
