Is Mystique going to cause an inferno that will destroy the X-Men and Krakoa?
In X-Men No. 6, we learned why Mystique agreed to help Magneto and Charles Xavier as much as she has. Her assistance came with the agreement that they would bring her wife, Destiny, back from the dead – an agreement that hasn’t been met.
Before she died, Destiny told Mystique that if she wasn’t brought back to burn Krakoa to the ground. X-Men No. 20 has added to this saga: Mystique was charged with one more mission. She had to destroy the Orchis space station before Nimrod could be brought online. After that, Destiny would be resurrected. Unfortunately, Mystique failed her mission.
When Mystique was brought back to life, she asked, “What about Irene?” Xavier simply looked at her and responded: “What about her?” Before the issue ends, however, we’re brought back to what Destiny told Mystique if she isn’t resurrected. “And if they cannot… if they will not… then burn that place to the ground.”
X-Men: Inferno
The last page of the issue reveals that “Inferno” is coming this fall in Marvel Comics. An ominous title for an upcoming X-Men crossover, especially coming after Destiny’s orders to Mystique. This writer has known that a reckoning from Mystique is coming. For once, however, this isn’t her fault.
Her wife is dead and could be brought back. The only reason they aren’t is because precogs aren’t allowed on Krakoa – a rule that only Xavier, Moira, and Magneto are privy to. However, it looks like Xavier’s son Legion knows about it as well (see Way of X No. 1 for more on that). What happens with Mystique next could very well end all of Krakoa or put her in the pit.
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However, while Mystique seems like the logical choice for the person who starts the apparent inferno, it may not be her that does it. As we discussed earlier, Mystique was supposed to destroy Orchis and stop Nimrod from coming online. But later, Dr. Devo is seen speaking with Omega on the Orchis satellite. During the conversation, Dr. Devo realizes that the X-Men are afraid of them. And why wouldn’t they be? We’ve seen what regular Sentinels can do. Imagine what their advanced ones can do. With Nimrod now online, it could be the one that causes Inferno.
In the Powers of X series, we see the Nimrod sentinel evolving through time and killing mutants. In one future, the only mutants left are Wolverine and Moira. This shows that Nimrod has a connection to the destruction of mutants and possibly Krakoa.
Mystique may be the obvious choice, but Nimrod will always be a threat to mutants. Who knows… maybe they’re both involved in different ways. After all, a war on two fronts is the kind of luck that mutants have. We’ll have to wait until the Fall to see who the X-Men’s next antagonist will be.
What do you think? Will it be Mystique, Orchid, or another enemy that’s behind Inferno? Let us know in the comments below.