Eminem, Conan O’Brien, Megan Rapinoe

The X-Men’s upcoming Hellfire Gala is both an extravagant celebration of Krakoa’s newfound ascendance in the world, and a bold statement to humanity that the mutants come in peace but are not to be messed with. At least that was the vibe one could have easily gotten from all the fuss Marvel’s been making about the event, which is slated to kick off later this summer. A new look, however, might make you scratch your head.

The X-Men’s high fashion gala ensembles have all exuded a level of otherworldly grandiosity that’s defined this most recent era of the mutants’ history and made it seem as if the function was going to be an exceedingly exclusive affair. But Marvel recently announced a list of real-world celebrities slated to make cameos in the Hellfire Gala event which makes it sound as if the Gala’s every bit the promotional stunt within the comics’ universe as it is for Marvel as a publisher. “As Krakoa opens its gates to the world, the Gala will go down in history for its shocking twists, incredible Mutant Fashion looks, and surprise appearances from heroes and celebrities alike,” Marvel announced in a public statement. Who, you might ask? Well, that’d be Eminem, Conan O’Brien, Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, Ira Glass, and Pete Alonso. With more to come, of course.

The idea that Emma Frost would invite (or at least seed the idea) Eminem, Megan Rapinoe, Ira Glass, and other celebrity humans to a high-profile mutant gathering is… fitting with her character in the sense that she might have some ulterior motive. From an optics perspective, it’s an odd choice of potential guests all the same, even though celebrity cameos in comic books have been fairly commonplace for many decades. But just because celebrities can show up in comic books doesn’t mean they should, particularly if their appearances might distract from the important matters at hand like mutants modeling their custom couture.

For the record, here’s the Hellfire Gala reading list:

• Hellions #12 – on sale 6/2, written by Zeb Wells; art by Stephen Segovia
• Marauders #21 – on sale 6/2, written by Gerry Duggan and Chris Claremont; art by Matteo Lolli and John Bolton
• X-Force #20 – on sale 6/2, written by Benjamin Percy; art by Joshua Cassara
• X-Men #21 – on sale 6/9, written by Jonathan Hickman; art by Russell Dauterman, Nick Dragotta, Sara Pichelli, and Lucas Werneck
• Excalibur #21 – on sale 6/9, written by Tini Howard; art by Marcus To
• New Mutants #19 – on sale 6/16, written by Vita Ayala; art by Alex Lins
• Planet-Size X-Men #1 – on sale 6/16, written by Gerry Duggan; art by Pepe Larraz
• X-Corp #2 – on sale 6/16, written by Tini Howard; art by Alberto Foche
• S.W.O.R.D. #6 – on sale 6/23, written by Al Ewing; art by Valerio Schiti
• Wolverine #13 – on sale 6/23, written by Benjamin Percy; art by Scot Eaton
• Way of X #3 – on sale 6/23, written by Si Spurrier; art by Bob Quinn
• X-Factor #10 – on sale 6/30, written by Leah Williams; art by David Baldeón

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