Professor Charles Xavier has given up his dream of peaceful co-existence with humanity and instead created a powerful mutant nation on the living island of Krakoa, simultaneously bribing and threatening world leaders in the process. He’s working with Magneto, Mr. Sinister, and Apocalypse - which seems crazy considering their comic histories. The X-Men are fighting against the Fantastic Four in order to recruit their powerful teenage son Franklin Richards - by force if necessary. Even the World’s Greatest Heroes are starting to wonder just what side the X-Men are on.
No, this isn’t the premise for some dystopian alternate reality comic - it’s happening in the current X-Men books through Jonathan Hickman’s relaunch Dawn of X. Marvel’s highly-anticipated new X-Men saga takes the mutants to new territory, but not without some sinister overtones. Cordoned off from the rest of humanity, the X-Men seem to be marching towards cult-like authoritarianism. Fan-favorite X-Men Kitty Pryde is dead, and Nightcrawler plans a “mutant religion”. But what does Marvel gain from pushing their beloved franchise into the dark side? The answer is, quite possibly, a roadmap to their debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Marvel is facing an interesting challenge with the X-Men franchise. Having recently re-acquired the film rights after Disney purchased Fox, Marvel must now figure out how to introduce the X-Men into the MCU after over a decade of continuity-building movies. And while the comic books and the movies operate in strictly separate continuities themselves, Marvel will certainly be looking to tie them together, even tangentially, in order to boost crossover appeal for new readers. So how can Marvel push the X-Men comics like never before while simultaneously leaving them open for an introduction to the MCU that likely isn’t beyond the development stage? The answer lies in Hickman’s relaunch of the X-Men, which lets Marvel have their cake and eat it too.
The relaunch effectively takes the X-Men off the board. Through Dawn of X, the X-Men are relegated to their own corner of the Marvel universe. For all intents and purposes, the X-Men are essentially inhabiting their own separate reality at this point. Doctor Strange popping in to speak to Magik and the X-Men’s recent dust-up with the Fantastic Four give the illusion that the X-Men are still part of the main Marvel universe. But with the action largely centering on the island of Krakoa, the X-Men are considerably more detached from the going-ons of the Marvel universe - that is, until Marvel can decide how to re-introduce the X-Men into both the Marvel universe proper (as would be the case in the MCU).
This doesn’t mean everything in Jonathan Hickman’s relaunch is temporary. While some elements of Hickman’s run, such as Krakoa’s resurrection pods, are probably short-term, other parts could play a role in the long term roll-out of the X-Men franchise. After all, the island of Krakoa allows mutants to define themselves as a culture like never before, finally free of the fear and hatred of human ignorance. What shape this new mutant culture takes remains to be seen, and much of its staying power, like everything else in Hickman and company’s relaunch, will likely be determined by what works and what doesn’t. The implications have certainly gone viral on social media, with many commenting on everything from the handling of Nightcrawler’s spirituality to Wolverine, Cyclops, and Jean Grey’s new relationship status.
Jonathan Hickman’s relaunch of the X-Brand is a proving ground for new ideas as Disney and Marvel look to re-energize the franchise like never before. However, the X-Men’s bold, new direction is ultimately a means to an end, one that will probably be reshaped by the X-Men’s eventual film reboot. Whether Krakoa is left standing after the dust clears will certainly be decided both future comic book writers as well as the current comic book readership as a whole.
More: Marvel’s X-Men Relaunch: The NEW Charles Xavier Mystery is Finally Solved
