WIZARD WORLD LOS ANGELES: X-MEN PANEL

LOS ANGELES -- Marvel Comics staged an X-Men panel on Saturday night at Wizard World Los Angeles, announcing that X-Men: First Class will be relaunched as ongoing among other highlights.

Panelists include C.B. Cebulski, Chris Gage, Andy Schmidt, Craig Kyle, Christopher Yost, Peter David and Ed Brubaker.

Below are highlights:

* Andy Schmidt said X-Men #200 will be a double-sized issue with three covers -- by David Finch, Humberto Ramos and Chris Bachalo. The Finch cover will be quadruple-gatefold and the covers by Ramos and Bachalo will be wraparounds.

* Storm will return to Uncanny X-Men in a story that includes the Morlocks. Salvador Larroca will be drawing five issues.

* Gage said he is trying to figure out how to get Juggernaut over from Europe for World War Hulk: X-Men.

* Skottie Young is the new artist of New X-Men.

"Quest for Magik" starts with #37 and runs through #41. Niko Henrichon is doing 14 pages of painted art for the issue.

* Jeremy Haun is the new artist of New Excalibur, and Scot Eaton will be drawing some issues. Schmidt said that Albion will be featured as the villain.

* McCann said there will be major shake-ups in Exiles.

* Khoi Pham will be contributing art to X-Factor. Cebulski said Pham is an artist to look out for.

In X-Factor, the X-Cell goes after the government trying to restore mutant powers. David said there will be a number of depowered mutants.

Schmidt said the X-Factor cover shown is an homage to Uncanny X-Men #210.

* Schmidt said to pay attention to Cable & Deadpool in June.

* Wolverine: Origins will include some trips to Madripoor.

* X-Men: First Class is now an ongoing, written by Jeff Parker, with art by Roger Cruz and covers by Eric Nguyen. The series starts is in June.

X-Men: Endangered Specials is by Mike Carey, Scot Eaton with a cover by Marc Silvestri. The double-sized one-shot is called by Schmidt as Carey's best script.

"This story is nothing but heart," Schmidt said.

The Endangered Species continues as eight-page back-up stories starting in X-Men #200, and running through X-Men, Uncanny X-Men, New X-Men and X-Factor through October.

* Schmidt said it was established recently in X-Men Annual that there have been no new mutants since M-Day.

* Schmidt said Endangered Species will reveal why 198 mutants survived after Wanda said "No more mutants."

* Schmidt said Mr. Sinister is "out and about" and there is a plan for him.

* The Mystic Arcana stories all take place in the place and will not conflict with the story in New X-Men. But will Ilyanna return? "If Magik were to return, you'll have to read it to find out," Yost said.

* David said Quicksilver will be featured heavily in the X-Cell story line.

* David added that X-Factor #21 have a moment at later part of book having everybody going, "Holy crap." David said Layla Miller finds out something she didn't know.

* David said Callisto will be in the X-Cell and she will have arms.

* Asked about Layla's parents, David set it has been established that her parents were dead. "Her parents do not factor into anything with the character," he said.

* Schmidt said that Iceman fans should be happy with upcoming developments.

* Bishop will be in the X-Men: Endangered Species one-shot. "He's always been kind of an outsider with the X-Men," Schmidt said.

* Schmidt said the Books of Destiny will be "brought up" in June and July.

* Schmidt said "there's been a lot of talk" about X-Force.

* Gage said Angel will not be used in World War Hulk: X-Men, but he does appears as a more sympathetic character to the Hulk in Incredible Hulk.

* Will there be mutants in the Initiative? Cebulski pointed out that Ricochet will be in Loners.

* Storm will appear in the third issue by Jeph Loeb and Simone Bianchi of Wolverine.

* Wolverine will come into contact with the Winter Soldier during the Fallen Son: Death of Captain America -- Wolverine one-shot.

* Weird Science will be the inspiration to Loners #4 cover.

* McCann said there are no plans for Magneto that can be talked about at this time. Brubaker said Magneto could possibly appear in Uncanny.

"He'll probably won't be a good guy," Brubaker said.

* Beast is the main character of Endangered Species. "You'll be seeing a lot of characters," Schmidt. "Endangered Species visits a lot of corners in the Marvel Universe."

* Schmidt said there has been talks of a New X-Men/Young Avengers crossover, but "nothing's been cemented."

* "Not everyone will come back," Brubaker said of the end of his first 12-issue arc on Uncanny. "There might be some limbo time."

* Schmidt said no new members of X-Men are added after Endangered Species.

* Schmidt said Northstar and Aurora "are out and about and we're in the process of putting them back together."

* Schmidt said Forge will be around.

* Brubaker said there will be "some pretty cool Sentinel stuff coming up."

* Dark Beast will be returning, Schmidt said.

* Asked about Nate Grey, McCann said that Jeph Loeb is a big fan of the character.

* "The last two issues are five issues worth of non-stop violence," Brubaker said of the end of "The Fall of the Shi'ar."

* Wild Child? "Stay tuned," Schmidt said.

* Schmidt said there is actively a plan for Jean Grey not to return as Phoenix.