"Children of the Atom"
by Sandkings

It has been many years since I started reading comics. No, don't worry, I am not about to spill into a narrative about how I walked to school up hill both ways through the snow. I mean that, like most people who begin reading comics, I was a child. There was something that drew me to Marvel Comics. The fact that many of the writers and the stories focused in on characters that I could believe in. They were older than I was at the time, but due to "Marvel Time"; I have surpassed most of them age wise by now. Something that always interested me was the whole idea of the "Next Generation" of X-Men. When Xavier opened his doors to the New Mutants, I really found a team I could connect with because I started reading that comic when I was the same age as most of the characters. Now, New Mutants is a long time past and the new generation of students (Generation X) has come in. But, what characters are out there that really shows the younger average reader? Sure, Marvel has the MC2 line and comics like Gen. X, Slingers, and even the New Warriors that really focus on older adolescents. But what characters in the X Universe have that child like innocence that many of Marvel's younger readers have?

I really started to examine the X cast (past and present) looking at the actual children of the atom. They are few and far between, but their characters are very interesting and deserve the respect that many of the older members have. The problem is, that many of these characters have to take the back seat because they are not on the actual teams. Over the years, some of the children have grown. Kitty Pryde has become a young adult now. Jubilation Lee is in high school. The New Mutants are X-Force. Cyclops' son has become the man named Cable. Illyana Rasputin has grown, de-aged and died. Even Cypher, the youngest of the New Mutants has taken a bullet and passed on. What we are left with is characters that are not quite Generation X age yet. They are few and far between, but they are important, so I wanted to take a look at a few of their characters here to show the rich history of these younger characters that are often forgotten in the background.

So where to we begin? Well, in recent years, one can look at Generation X, by Jay Faerber, to see where three (or four) of the greatest children can be found. Who am I talking about? None other than Artie Maddicks, Leech, and Penance. Here are three characters that are often seen in the background that have rich histories and should not be forgotten. Take Arthur Maddicks as a prime example. Orphaned after his father was killed in X-Factor, "Artie" has been bumped around the X Universe over the years. He first appeared in second issue of X-Factor. Since then, he has been a ward of X-Factor, a member of the X-Terminators, Daydreamers, and most recently, Generation X. When he first popped up he was about eleven years old. His powers made him mute, but he can project what he is thinking due to his Psi powers. He and his best friend, Leech, have grown up in recent years, but are still a bit to young to be official members of Generation X. Leech is also a great character. First seen in Uncanny X-Men 179, Leech has seen his adopted mother killed by the Marauders. He too, became a ward of X-Factor where he met Artie. He later went on to join X-Terminators, Daydreamers, and Generation X. His powers to cancel out other mutant powers makes him a formidable opponent. This could be seen in the Future story line in Wolverine where Leech and Jubilee were friends. Another important character in Generation X is Penance. Here we have two young girls sharing one body. While the St. Croix twins are not seen that often, we know that down the road, we will get to see a decent story line about how they have to share one body.

Franklin Richards also spent some time with Generation X. After the Onslaught story line, Nathaniel Richards brought his grandson to the academy. First seen in the sixth Fantastic Four annual, Franklin Benjamin Richards has become one of the best young characters in the Marvel Universe. We have seen Franklin in the future with the Days of Future Past where he becomes a very important figure to Rachel Summers. We have seen him as a teenager in Fantastic Force. But his best characterization is when he is a six-year-old boy. Since he is back with his mother and father now, Franklin is getting some of the attention his character so richly deserves, but it is obvious that he has strong ties to the X-Men, both in the present as well as in the future.

Finally, we come to four characters that are grossly underused in my opinion. Due to their ties to the Fantastic Four, Generation X, and The New Mutant members of X-Force. I speak of Power Pack of course. Alex, Julie, Katie and Jack Power were given their powers by an alien race of horses, but unlike most characters with non-mutant powers, they have the ability to change powers with each other. Power Pack was mainly seen in their own comic in the 80's, but had ties with the New Mutants, Wolverine in the mutant massacre, X-Factor, Fantastic Four, Cloak and Dagger, New Warriors, and Artie and Leech in Gen. X. Franklin "Tattletale" Richards also served as a member of Power Pack for a time. Here, we had a Marvel comic dedicated almost solely to children. Through Power Pack, we had many younger members of the MU come into the spotlight. After the P.P. cancellation, we saw Alex Power, the oldest brother, join the New Warriors for a time. It does not appear that he will be seen in the new series as a regular member, so perhaps we may see Power Pack come to the X pages in the future.

While many of these characters are only secondary, they are no less important to many readers as the characters like Wolverine or Storm. Unfortunately, most of them are not old enough to be on a team yet, but one day we shall see this next generation of characters come into the spotlight. With many new younger comics popping up, there will be a chance to see some of these characters get the attention they need and deserve.