Marvel’s forthcoming Marvels Snapshot one-shots are an interesting project. Curated and co-written by original Marvels writer Kurt Busiek, the one-shots will feature creators hand-picked by Busiek telling stories set during some of Marvel’s most iconic tales, portraying the events from the perspective of a non-powered bystander. March’s Snapshot one-shots focus on Namor and the original Human Torch, and today the publisher announced two new one-shots for April starring Captain America and the X-Men.

Captain America: Marvel Snapshot will be written by Mark Russell and Busiek, with art by Ramón Pérez. The one-shot will tell a story set in the wake of the classic “Madbomb” storyline, written and illustrated by Jack Kirby, which ran from Captain America #193-200. The story, about a young man who’s recruited by the terrorist organization A.I.M. after his neighborhood is destroyed, sounds fascinating, and right up Russell’s alley.

Meanwhile, X-Men: Marvel Snapshot will tell the story of the rise of superheroes in the Marvel Universe from the perspective of a young Scott Summers. That one-shot will be written by Jay Edidin, and illustrated by Tom Reilly. Using a known character like pre-Cyclops Scott as an ‘outsider’ into the Marvel U is a brilliant move, and Edidin is the perfect choice to write this tale: a Cyclops super-fan, Edidin co-hosts the hit X-Men-focused podcast Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men.

In a statement, Edidin spoke about the personal nature of getting to tell this particular story with his favorite character:

“This is a story that’s pretty personal to me—because I’m me, and it’s a Cyclops story; but even more because it’s about the ways that superheroes and the stories around them can become lifelines. If I’m going to be really sappy about it (which I absolutely am), I get to give one of my favorite heroes the same kind of touchstone he’s been to me over the years,” says Edidin. “I’d say it’s a dream come true, but given that I’m the kind of uptight overachiever who overidentifies with Scott Summers in the first place, maybe also a bit of an anxiety dream come true. That said, it’s been a blast to get to sit down and play in a sandbox I’ve spent years cataloguing and analyzing and explaining.”

The one-shots are the Marvel debuts for both Russell and Edidin (though Edidin has contributed to the Thor: Metal Gods audio series for SerialBox). Both issues will feature covers by Marvels artist Alex Ross, which you can check out along with the full solicitation text for each one-shot below. Captain America: Marvels Snapshot #1 and X-Men: Marvels Snapshot #1 both go on sale in April.

CAPTAIN AMERICA: MARVELS SNAPSHOT #1
Written by MARK RUSSELL & KURT BUSIEK
Art by RAMÓN PÉREZ
Cover by ALEX ROSS

Acclaimed writer Mark Russell (Second Coming, Wonder Twins) and artist Ramón Pérez(ALL-NEW HAWKEYE) take us to Kirbytown for a literally explosive story of the madness–inducing Madbomb and its aftermath, as the MARVELS SNAPSHOT tour through Marvel history continues. A gifted South Bronx teenager sees his neighborhood destroyed in the initial Madbomb attack, and his future up in smoke with it. What does he do when A.I.M. recruiters come calling? Does he stand by a system that’s failed him, or find a future outside the law? Featuring Captain America, the Falcon, Iron Man and more!

X–MEN: MARVELS SNAPSHOT #1
Written by JAY EDIDIN & KURT BUSIEK
Art by TOM REILLY
Cover by ALEX ROSS

The Marvels Snapshot tour through Marvel history continues, showcasing Marvel’s greatest characters through the eyes of ordinary people! Or does it? In this case, the “ordinary person” is teenaged Scott Summers, witnessing the dawn of the Marvel Age from a Nebraska orphanage and wondering what his place in it might be. What was it like to experience the debut of the FF, the Hulk, Iron Man and more? To wish you could be a part of it all? Writer Jay Edidin (Thor: Metal Gods, Jay & Miles X–Plain the X–Men) makes his Marvel comics debut, teamed with Tom Reilly (Immortal Hulk), to tell a story of upheaval and decision that would shape the X–Men (and the Marvel Universe) forever after.