WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Avengers #42 by Jason Aaron, Luca Maresca, David Curiel & VC's Cory Petit, on sale now.
Alliances have quietly been one of the key problems the X-Men have had to overcome during the Krakoa era, with multiple allies of the mutants growing weary of the group's current direction. But one brewing pair of friends might be the key to helping overcome one of the X-Men's more explosive long-standing conflicts.
In Avengers #42, Broo and Moon Girl just teased a possible team-up between the two geniuses -- which could help unlock a tricky diplomatic issue for the X-Men.
In the "Enter the Phoenix" storyline, the Phoenix Force has been trying to select a new host and seems to be trying to make a decision between numerous figures from across the Marvel Universe. One of the potential nominees was Moon Girl and her partner Devil Dinosaur. A young Inhuman genius who befriended the crimson T.Rex after he was shunted into the modern-day, Moon Girl was unprepared for the trials of the Phoenix, resulting in her early disqualification after she and Devil Dinosaur lost in battle to Shanna the She-Devil and her sabertooth sidekick, Zabu. However, that didn't mean Moon Girl was done contributing to the conflict. Instead, she quickly reached out to the Avengers and offered her assistance, with her brief time in the Phoenix's White Hot Room helping give the geniuses in the Avengers a better understanding of what's happening.
Moon Girl isn't alone as she works, either. From the Brain Room within Avengers Mountain, Moon Girl works with Broo to isolate and lock onto the Phoenix's particular radiation signature. Their mission is to find a way so they can use a Celestial Teleporter to try and trap the Phoenix Force within the Avengers Mountain itself as a last resort. Moon Girl is incredibly impressed with the technology present in the room, all created by Broo. The young X-Man ally has been taken under Tony Stark's wing, quickly proving to be a great asset to the Avengers. Moon Girl and Broo quickly get along, chatting about their creations and their work. Moon Girl even excitedly suggests that she get Stark's phone number so her mother can arrange playdates for the pair of them.
On top of uniting two of Marvel's brightest young minds together, this potential friendship also could carry serious positive ramifications for the relations between the mutants and the Inhumans. The two populations spent much of the last decade opposed, with their internal drama over the effects of the spreading Terrigan Mists spilling out into full-blown conflict in Inhumans vs. X-Men. But if the Inhumans and the X-Men were able to establish relations again, they could become great allies to one another in a world that too often fears and hates both of them. Broo might be the key, as he wasn't active during the conflict between the X-Men and the Inhumans, and his status as the current leader of the Brood already makes him a lynchpin in the X-Men's diplomatic relations.
Broo's status as an X-Men ally is well-documented, with the young genius being a student of the X-Men and still assisting the X-Men whenever he's called upon. Moon Girl and Broo are both also beloved by their respective communities and could help foster more friendship going forward. This could allow the Inhumans and the X-Men to further unify themselves, even potentially setting up the two nations of super-powered figures to become allies again.
With the X-Men having endangered many of their relations with superhero teams since the formation of Krakoa, turning one former enemy into a possible ally would be a great step forward -- and would likely even impress Iron Man, which could soothe out some of the drama that's been quietly growing between the Avengers and the X-Men. Broo might be able to help push the X-Men towards a better standing in the Marvel Universe, and all it took was befriending the right Inhuman.