Uncanny X-Men #22

Writer: Gail Simone; Artist, Cover-Artist: David Marquez; Colorist: Matthew Wilson; Letterer: VC's Clayton Cowles; $ 4,99; Marvel Comics; VÖ: 14.01.2026 (Woche 3)

If you write a review of a movie, record, book or comic, normally you describe the product in detail ("Just look at the shiny colours!"), you may do a summary if it's a primarily narrative work ("As in part 3 & 5, it's mostly about the inventive obliterating of these three cute but clumsy kindergarten pandas"), you comment on its artistic and / or economic merits ("This will outsell anything Taylor Swift has ever done before!") and inform your readership in an entertaining way if the product is worth their hard-earned bucks ("Another month's salary down the drain...").

But sometimes my journalistic duty is of a higher order. A seemingly unworthy, trivial knick-knack may be a catalyst, a cultural butterfly effect that incites a hurricane in the media world.

But I have to start some years back. In 2020, during the Covid pandemic, three young girls founded a tribute band, not to celebrate a musical artist, but a mutant with super powers, an X-Man. They composed songs praising Nightcrawler, a somewhat dark hero with a slightly hellbent appearance. The new band was called "The Wagnerettes" and consisted of Kim Wagner, Kat Wagner and KC Wagner. For the uninformed reader: these are pseudonyms, the band members (of which very little is known) just chose to be as close as possible to their proclaimed heartthrob Kurt Wagner.

Homemade songs with titles like "Touch of Sulphur", "Devout Devil" or "Smells like Kurt Wagner" gathered quite a following on social media while the creators behind it never showed their faces. Shortly after "You give bamf a bad name", a 2023 cover version recorded in collaboration with bardcore star Hildegard von Blingin', some fans of the Wagnerettes created a video clip with limited animation, where stars from the Marvel universe stood in for the unknown Wagner women: Dazzler, Shark Girl, Spider-Gwen and Herman Glob (the latter with a funky dance style reminding many of Boney M) performed the iconic "Give bamf a chance" (no melodic or thematic connection to a certain John Lennon tune!). With decidedly less-than-perfect visuals this hidden gem generated 190.000 likes in less than four days.

© Marvel 2026.

That was in October 2023. After this the Wagnerettes created no new content for more than two years, and most of us plain forgot about them.

Back to that comic book. When Kurt Wagner (you might recognize him by his blue skin, a tell-tale sign of all great comic characters) was involved into a thinly veiled metaphor concerning the soundword used when he transports himself quite spectacularly from one location to another, the Wagnerettes obviously recalled a rock song recorded in 1977 by Cheap Trick, "I want you to want me". Albeit the original lyrics don't seem particularly suitable for a clever rewrite, the version by the Wagnerettes (Yes, what the nice girl whispers into Kurt's ear...) went viral with a bam!

Or maybe it was a bamf...

Comic writer Gail Simone is well known for having a knack how to incite / provoke / polarize large masses of people. In The Uncanny X-Men #22 she gives a whole new meaning to bamfing. And she is not afraid to get her point across. I won't panel-quote the whole four pages of the experience the red-haired young lady has in Nightcrawler's arms, but she doesn't complain, that much is certain.

© Marvel 2026.

© Marvel 2026

Prompted by the unparalleld success, the Wagnerettes are now working ardourously on their first long player, with a clear focus on cover versions. The working title is "Bamfing in the Moonlight", and we are well informed and proud to uncover a baker's dozen of titles the Wagner girls are currently adapting (final selection may vary!)

EXCLUSIVE CONTENT!!!

• I wanna bamf with somebody
• Bamf the night away
• Bamfed by the wheels of industry
• Bamfing down the house
• Bamf around the clock
• This is not a bamf song
• How deep is your bamf?
• Bamf is a four-letter word
• Bamfing me softly
• When a man bamfs a woman
• Happiness is a warm bamf
• Ballroom Bamf
• Save the last bamf for me

Addendum: Our writers felt inspired to provide some extra titles for all those bamfthusiasts around. How about "Blue Bamfday", "Bamf me Amadeus", "We can bamf it out", "Bamf me a river", "Paint it bamf", "Bamfs in white satin", "Don't stop the bamf", "The Good, the Bamf and the Ugly", "Bamf the pain away", "Teenage Bamfbag", "Bamfemous Rumours", "Smalltown Bamf", "Addicted to Bamf", "Bamfers' Delight", "If you bamf somebody, set them free" and "Do you remember the first time?" - Feel free to create your own versions!