WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Children of the Atom #1 by Vita Ayala, Bernard Chang, Marcelo Maiolo & VC's Travis Lanham, on sale now
The X-Men have had spinoff teams, namely ones filled with younger mutants, ever since the franchise began expanding in the 1980s. These included the New Mutants and Generation X, both of which contained now-classic mutants who still appear in the franchise to this day. With a few notable exceptions like the New Mutants' Magik and Generation X's Jubilee, these teams were populated by original characters without any real ties to the main team, but things are different for Marvel's newest young X-team.
In the long-delayed Children of the Atom #1, readers are introduced to a new team of mutants, one very similar to the Young Avengers. That group had young heroes who heavily resembled mainstream adult members of the Avengers, with their costumes and sometimes questionable names bearing uncanny resemblances. The "Young X-Men" all offer new takes on classic X-Men characters and archetypes, albeit all in the shadow of the political upheaval of Krakoa. Now, we're taking a closer look at who all is on the new squad.
Cyclops-Lass
Beatrice "Buddy" Bartholomew is Cyclops-Lass, the field leader of the group. As her name would suggest, she has the same powers as Cyclops, though she seems to only need the visor to aim her eye beams and can operate without it. She's obsessed with the X-Men and mutant rights, archiving historical material about the team. The first issue reveals that her mother is dead, leaving her with a father who's loving but distant toward his daughter.
Gimmick
Gimmick's real name is Carmen, and she's Buddy's best friend. Her powers allow her to charge and explode inanimate objects like Gambit does, and her costume is based on his, as well. She's a bit more down to Earth than Buddy, and is typically the voice of reason when it comes to her friend's flights of fancy. She also creates the costumes for the team, which were initially simply made to be worn for Halloween.
Marvel Guy
The team's resident psychic is Benny, a.k.a. Marvel Guy. His name, powers and green/yellow costume make him a stand-in for Marvel Girl, which was the codename Jean Grey used in the early days of the team and today He not only has mental abilities such as mind control, but also telekinetic powers. He's apparently in love with teammate Gabe and is jealous of the bond that Gabe and Carmen have.
Cherub
The aforementioned Gabe is Cherub, a stand-in for Angel/Archangel. He plays basketball on the same team as Benny, where he has a subtle rivalry with teammate Cole. Unlike Angel, Cherub's wings seem to be almost elemental or energy-based in nature instead of the traditional feathers. He's shown as being able to envelope himself in these wings and protect himself from harm.
Daycrawler
Jay takes on the moniker Daycrawler, possessing the same teleporting powers (and sound effect) of Nightcrawler. He's the youngest member of the group and doesn't seem to go to the same school as the others. So far, he merely seems to be the team's resident playful trickster. In costumed form, he seems to have only three toes and fingers on each foot and hand like his namesake, but this may simply be his Nightcrawler homaging costume.
The Children of the Atom are supposedly holding a huge secret, some of which likely has to do with why they have yet to join their mutant brethren in Krakroa. Interestingly enough, how the teens' powers manifested is never touched on. It's also not explained in the issue why their powers are the exact same as those of major X-Men, but the secret behind this uncanny peculiarity will likely be revealed in the coming issues.