Aside from creating Deadpool and founding the X-Force over at Marvel, Rob Liefeld co-created Image Comics and is generally one of the most notorious creators in comics. He’s known for the big, brash, and hyper-stylized. And now, almost 30 years after Deadpool first graced the pages of New Mutants, he’s introducing a new X-Men character.

According to an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Liefeld’s new creation will debut in the upcoming Marvel comic miniseries Major X. The twice-monthly run (with art from Whilce Portacio, Liefeld, and Brent Peeples) will cover six issues from April to June and focus on the arrival of a new mutant from somewhere called the X-istence. Liefeld explains that the new plane of existence is “a mutant Shangri-La, a safe haven that has been a realm where mutantkind has lived in peace and harmony.”

(Credit: Marvel Comics/Rob Liefeld)

“They escaped there following a tragedy that befell mutantkind, and built this community,” Liefeld said. “There are some familiar faces that he has forged this other society with. But then a terrible event happens within the X-istence that causes Major X to cross over and land in the Marvel Universe that we know.”

It wouldn’t be Marvel without some multiverse nonsense going down, but wait, it’s X-Men, so there should also be time travel. Don’t worry, Liefeld has fans covered: “But he doesn’t land in the spot he was hoping, so in the first issue he is in 1991. We progressively get him where he needs to go. By the conclusion of the story, we catch up to modern-day Marvel.”

And the throwback feel doesn’t stop inside the story — it’s part of the book’s creation. “It’s 1991 again,” Liefeld said. “I’m jamming with Whilce, we’re making X-Men comics...There’s a pride of ownership when you go this is my team, we’re gonna introduce Major X and these new concepts. Marvel gave me six issues to tell the story, and I’ve seen three so far. It’s explosive, it’s jam-packed.”

Just like the first cover above, which Major X shares with Wolverine, Storm, Deadpool, and Cable. The ultra-jacked mystery hero wields two pistols with a sword and another gun on his back and is covered in X’s, like the one over his face-covering helmet. “I love motorcycle helmets,” Liefeld said. “I love helmets and masks that obscure identity and create mystery. The X-Men franchise I understood as a kid was built on mystery. As pretty as the artwork was, the Chris Claremont/John Byrne team created fantastic mysteries.”

And since the rest of the book is taking from the past, comic fans shouldn’t be surprised if there’s a twist or two behind that mask. As Liefeld teases, “I know my soap operas: Double identities and mystery, mystery, mystery.”

The first issue of Major X begins unraveling its mysterious plot in April.