The new age of the X-Men may have started off as a utopia, but things are getting worse as time goes on.
The life of a mutant in Marvel Comics is awful. Unlike the Fantastic Four, Avengers, or dozens of other super teams, the X-Men are the only team that gets treated unfairly because of something they can’t control. They’re hated for being mutants. It isn’t because every person with the X-Gene has been a villain. Being born with powers has caused people to label them as evil. It’s unfortunate, but mutants still find a way to survive.
In 2019, Jonathan Hickman introduced a new era for mutants. It was called the Dawn of X. The rebirth of X-Men comics started with Powers of X and House of X. And, in the beginning, things were better than any X-fan could have hoped for.
Moira’s idea
"“You’ve been dreaming the wrong dream, Charles… and it’s long past time that you wake up.” – Moira MacTaggert"
The mutants’ genesis is all thanks to the retcon of a classic X-Men character named Moira MacTaggert. In House of X No. 2, readers learn that Moira has been a mutant the entire time. Whenever she dies, she comes back and creates a new timeline. The gift and the curse of her power is that she remembers everything that’s happened in her previous lives. Thanks to a bunch of unfortunate, painful, and failed lifetimes, Moira thought of a new way to survive. She decided it was time for her and Charles Xavier to “break all of the rules.”
Becoming a nation
"“From this day forward, mutants will be judged by mutant law, not man’s. These are our simple demands, and they are not negotiable. In return for making our lives better, we will do the same for you.” – Charles Xavier"
It took more than just saying, “Hey, we’re a nation” for Krakoa to be acknowledged by the rest of the world. They had to get a majority vote with the United Nations (which Emma Frost influenced). Krakoa didn’t just exist. They added something to the world as well. The mutants provided medication that would eliminate a lot of illnesses and extend the lives of people over the years. Overall, this worked out for everyone even if more bigoted nations didn’t see it as such.
After officially becoming a nation, more and more mutants made their way to Krakoa. This included a lot of the X-Men’s enemies. Among them were Exodus, Apocalypse, and The Gorgon. Instead of the classic battle, there was immediate peace. Apocalypse shook hands with Xavier, Wolverine shared a beer with Gorgon, and Exodus was telling stories to Krakoan children. There was no fighting amongst each other because there was no need. The dream of coexisting was met and everyone was happy.
Of course, with a nation comes the need for a police force, intelligence gathering, and politics. All of which was created soon after. X-Factor was their police force and X-Force became their version of the C.I.A. Meanwhile, members of the Quiet Council of Krakoa took care of any other issues that arose.
Resurrection
"“Together, however… together these five mutants have made us… whole.” – Magneto"
In Marvel Comics, everyone comes back from the dead, but the X-Men may have done it more than anyone. It’s so bad that everyone used to make fun that Jean Grey would never die. There’s probably a panel of Steve Rogers making the joke. Regardless of the jokes, the fact remains that the X-Men don’t stay dead. Thanks to Mr. Sinister and The Five, there’s now a reason behind it.
Sinister’s genetic database was key to bringing mutants back to life. But it’s The Five (Hope Summers, Egg, Proteus, Elixir, and Tempest) that brings mutants back almost immediately. Each of The Five’s abilities makes it possible to defeat death. Not only that, thanks to a Cerebro helmet (made by Forge), they return with their memories before they passed.
The Marauders
"“Keep recording… if you’re a mutant and can’t get to Krakoa… then the Marauders will bring you home! ” – Kate Pryde"
The biggest part of this were the perks that came with becoming a nation. Among those things was automatic citizenship. If you’re a mutant, you are a citizen of Krakoa. Whether or not you took the opportunity was a different story. However, some nations wouldn’t allow their mutant citizens to leave. That’s where the Marauders came in. Kate Pryde and her crew made it a point to rescue any mutant who wanted to take advantage of Krakoa’s offer. Even if it meant fighting the people oppressing others.
Hellfire Gala
The Hellfire Gala was the galactic event of the year. People from all around the galaxy showed up in their best suits, gowns, and more to attend Krakoa’s event. The first year went better than anyone could have hoped because Krakoa’s people made it amazing. And it was more than just the food and drinks you could only get on the island.
For the first time, mutants voted on who the X-Men would be and it was announced to the world during the gala. The mutants joining Cyclops and Jean Grey were Sunfire, Polaris, Wolverine (Laura), Synch, and Rogue. That’s exciting, but that was only a small part of the show. The mutants then announced to the world that they terraformed Mars, renamed it Arrako, and claimed it as their own.
Mars and intergalactic recognition
Mars becoming Arakko upset everyone in the galaxy until the mutants provided something. They created a metal almost as valuable as vibranium and the strength is only seconded to adamantium, it barely conducts or retains heat, and it’s radiation proof. The biggest part is that the metal, named mysterium, can only be made by mutants. This gave Arrako and Krakoa a way to trade on an intergalactic level.
Things get bad
If Marvel Comics had a reality TV show, it would be called The Real Mutants of Krakoa because there’s so much drama on that island. As you saw from the sections above, it didn’t start off like that. Things seemed to be going well for everyone. However, if you know how X-Men comics go, you were aware that happiness wasn’t going to last forever. Here are the moments that show how bad things have gotten for the X-Men.
Magento leaves the Quiet Council
Magneto left the Quiet Council of Krakoa after feeling like he’d done all he could. He knew that he could be more useful elsewhere and he was. If he wasn’t on Arrako during A.X.E. Judgment Day, there may not have been survivors.
Without Erik or Apocalypse next to him, Xavier was left to do what he wanted without judgment from people he respected. In X-Men Red No. 7 Magneto said he believed Charles Xavier would martyr all of Krakoa without him watching. So far, Xavier hasn’t done much to prove otherwise. He is making the mistakes Magneto knew he would. Hopefully, Magneto’s return will prevent Xavier from being reckless.
Resurrection becomes public
Cyclops decided it was a good idea to tell world renowned reporter Ben Urich about the Resurrection Protocols. Once he published the news, humans around the world were furious. Why were mutants allowed to cheat death when their loved ones remained dead? During the 2022 Hellfire Gala, Clea (the Sorcerer Supreme at the time) demanded that they bring back Stephen Strange. Emma, in a condescending and polite way, said no.
Eventually, Krakoa found a way to make everyone happy by allowing some humans to go through the protocols (A.X.E. Judgment Day No. 6). Even that wasn’t going to make everyone happy. This just made mutants scarier to almost everyone on Earth.
Sabretooth and The Pit
Victor Creed (Sabretooth) was the first person to get sent to The Pit in House of X No. 6. The Pit was a place where mutants who break the sacred Krakoa Laws would be punished. Creed became like the warden. A mistake that would blow up in the Quiet Council’s face.
While there, Creed became like the King of Hell in The Pit and convinced other mutant inmates that their incarceration wasn’t justified (he may have been right). Now, everyone has escaped and told their friends about what the Council does to mutants who don’t obey them. There was no trial or time to explain. They were just sentenced and punished. How very human of them.
Beast goes too far
Hank McCoy has been reckless before. Now that he’s been let off his leash, he’s been downright evil. Charles Xavier allowed Beast to do whatever he needed to keep Krakoa safe. This leads Beast to put his friends in position to be killed (X-Force Annual 2022), mind controlled Wolverine, and attempt to kill Logan’s friend and his daughter (Wolverine: Beast Agenda). Let’s not forget that he was experimenting on people in space (X-Force No. 35).
Now, Beast is running around the world killing humans that are mutant threats. Krakoa has named him an enemy of the state, but that won’t matter. The world will still look at him as a Krakoan threat. Even if they believed the reports, he’ll still be perceived as a dangerous mutant. Beast may have been trying to help, but he’s causing more harm than good.
These won’t be the last things that could possibly ruin Krakoa and make the X-Men’s lives harder.
Stay tuned to Bam Smack Pow for more news as Fall of X approaches.
Do you think the age of Krakoa is over for mutants? Will someone come and save the day?