WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Giant-Size X-Men: Nightcrawler #1 by Jonathan Hickman, Alan Davis, Carlos Lopez and VC's Clayton Cowles and X-Men #9 by Hickman, Leinil Francis Yu, Sunny Gho, Cowles and Tom Muller, on sale now.
The X-Men might be famous for protecting a world that hates and fears them, but they still spend a lot of time in other corners of the Marvel Universe. From facing the full fury of the Phoenix Force's flames to going toe-to-toe with the Shi'ar Imperial Guard, the X-Men have encountered some of Marvel's most famous cosmic forces. Even on the mutant island-nation Krakoa, the X-Men have the threat of the Phalanx looming over their heads, and they just fended off a massive invasion from the Brood.
Next to those era-defining intergalactic foes, the Sidri aren't exactly the most memorable cosmic force in the outer reaches of the Marvel Universe. Despite that, Giant-Size X-Men: Nightcrawler #1 just showed how these beetle-like bounty hunters just took over the X-Mansion that served as the X-Men's main headquarters for decades
After the X-Men find the portal from Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters to Krakoa seemingly malfunctioning, Nightcrawler leads a team that includes Magik, Eye-Boy, Cypher and Lockheed to see what's blocking it. When the Xavier Institute was once a vibrant place full of students and superheroes alike, it's now practically in ruins, with foliage creeping into its formerly pristine hallways.
As Nightcrawler and his team soon discover, the X-Mansion has been taken over by thousands of very territorial, highly adaptive young Sidri, complete with their signature energy blasts.
The Sidri were created by Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum in 1982's Uncanny X-Men #154, where they were called Sidirian Hunters. Hired by the mostly evil Shi'ar leader Deathbird, these ruthless bounty hunters were sent to hunt down Corsair, Cyclops' father, who was spending time with the X-Men on Earth.
While Cyclops, Storm and Corsair were eventually able to take down the Sidri that were hunting them, Shadowcat and Colossus found and destroyed a large nest of them in one of the X-Mansion's sub-basements in 1983's Uncanny X-Men #168, by Claremont and Paul Smith.
After Cypher and Warlock establish a link with the Sidri hive-mind, he learns that the aliens had a large nest at the Mansion, and several thousand Sidri hatch after the X-Men left for Krakoa. These X-Men also realize that the Sidri captured their former teammate Lady Mastermind when she tried to use the Mansion's gate to Krakoa. In exchange for not blocking the Krakoan gate at the X-Mansion, Cypher agrees to let the Sidri roam freely around the Mansion and the rest of its grounds.
And as X-Men #9 quietly revealed, the Kree even tried to turn the Sidri into a slave army at some point in the distant past. However, that same data page revealed that the efforts to control the Sidri failed due to their "mind structure."
Elsewhere in that issue, the X-Men also gained control over the ravenous, parasitic Brood aliens, and the X-Men already have incredibly strong diplomatic ties with the Shi'ar Empire. While Giant-Size X-Men: Nightcrawler doesn't exactly end with the X-Men formalizing diplomatic relations with the Sidri, their encounter gives the X-Men another likely ally on the cosmic side of the Marvel Universe.
With the looming specter of the united Kree/Skrull Empire set to strike Earth in the upcoming Empyre crossover, the X-Men may need to call on all of their friends in astronomically high places very soon. Even if they're still hated and feared on Earth, the X-Men might just be the most beloved heroes in the rest of the Marvel Universe.