The X-Men’s Most Dangerous New Villains Are Taking on the Avengers

Warning: contains spoilers for Avengers: Curse of the Man-Thing #1

Previously acting as a serious threat for Marvel’s Uncanny X-Men and their mutant brethren, the villainous Hordeculture organization have now widened their terrain to include Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, the Avengers.

The Avengers may have their work cut out for them when they facet the Hordeculture in writer Steve Orlando (Wonder Woman, Batman Beyond) and artist Francesco Mobili (Morbius, Old Man Hawkeye)’s Avengers: Curse of the Man-Thing #1.  The Hordeculture are a relatively recent creation from Marvel. The group are radical environmentalists dedicated to correcting Earth’s ecological shortcomings, which began with the X-Men’s mutant island Krakoa. With plant-based antihero Man-Thing serving as a focal part of this upcoming storyline, it’s reasonable to deduce that the Hordeculture will have a hand in his inexorable rampage.

Introduced in the third issue of current X-Men creative team writer Jonathan Hickman and artist Leinil Francis Yu’s genre-defining reboot of the team, the Hordeculture did not waste any time in making their presence known as worthy antagonists within the modern X-Men mythology. Initially invading the mutant occupied Savage Land, the Hordeculture began their process of returning the Earth to its “former glory” by absconding with the flowers of former antagonist and “Black King” of the Hellfire Club, Sebastian Shaw. The X-Men are initially caught off guard by their mysterious intruders and ultimately overtaken up until the marauders decide to take a leave of absence, following their villainous monologue.

While none of the Hordeculture are mutants or possess any latent superpowers, the goals and aspirations of the group are enough to drive them in a nefarious direction. Led by Augusta Bromes, the aged Bromes and her three companions Lily Lemus, Edith Scutch, and Opal Vetiver have spent years of their lives dedicated to studying plant life. Spurned by negligent corporations, the ladies sought a way out of the corporate shell by taking over the planet through plant life, which included controlling the world’s food supply. The Hordecultutre’s goals of plant supremacy would bring the wicked collective into direct conflict with Krakoa’s current residents, the X-Men. In combating the mutants, the Hordeculture is armed with an assortment of experimental gases which proved capable of dispatching and even rendering certain mutants such as Emma Frost and Sebastian Shaw powerless.

Due to their water yoga and aerobics training, each member of the Hordeculture is in relatively fit psychical condition for their older age. That training may come into handy once again when the group inevitably comes face to face with martial artists like Captain America and Black Panther in the upcoming Avengers: Curse of the Man-Thing #1.

As most hero and villain rivalries tend to occur, the Hordeculture share a surprisingly personal connection with the X-Men. Since their comic debut in 1963, the X-Men have been fighting for some form of unification between the Earth’s mutants and humans. This would all change when Jonathan Hickman positioned to have the X-Men and the rest of Earth’s mutant population sect off from humanity on their island nation of Krakoa. The Hordeculture represents a third party, desiring plants to be the dominant force on the planet as opposed to humans or mutants, through genetic manipulation.

Now that the Hordeculture have jumped ship from the X-Men over to The Avengers, it will be interesting to not only see an inevitable battle of wits but the dichotomy between the Hordeculture and Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Avengers Curse of the Man-Thing #1 will be hitting comic shelves and digital outlets on March 31st, 2021.

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