The alternate timeline of Earth X features a world unlike many of the other Marvel universes. In that reality, everybody has gained superpowers, throwing the balance of what it means to be a hero. But, the reason Earth X is thrown into chaos is surprisingly related to Inhumans and a classic Marvel story flipped upside down.
Marvels originally spawned from a series of Alex Ross sketches that featured a future where all ordinary humans gained superpowers from Wizard Magazine. Marvel explored this universe in the Earth X, Universe X, and Paradise X miniseries. In Earth X, the world changes after Black Bolt releases Terrigen Mist into the Earth’s atmosphere. Not everyone changes from human to Inhuman, as some are mutated into sickly beings.
Marvels X by Alex Ross, Jim Krueger, Well-Bee and BC’s Cory Petit is told through the perspective of David, a superhero-loving kid who wasn’t mutated or given powers like mostly everyone else. David’s life was drastically changed after the mutation hit Earth X. He lives in a bleak, post-apocalyptic world where his Earth is essentially the Marvel Universe meets The Walking Dead. He’s seen his family gain powers and disappear while his grandma slowly died following her mutation. He’s hunted as the last boy on Earth.
Marvel X builds on the idea initially presented in Earth X, as it seems an airborne virus (Terrigen Mist) has caused society to collapse on itself. Unlike the events of Infinity, where Black Bolt activated a Terrigen Bomb causing the creation of a slew of Marvel heroes including Ms. Marvel, Earth X’s version had deadlier consequences.
It’s quite the twist on Inhumanity. Instead of new transformed heroes popping up around the world, people have changed for the worse. The event throws a society into the ground. It’s a dark take on what would happen if Inhumanity went wrong - because if people slowly started mutating into Inhumans, it probably would cause some serious chaos and panic.
David wants to get to New York to find a hero that can help him. Thankfully, before a group of hungry superpowered foes tried to kill him to quench their hunger, he’s found by a truck driver who offers to get him where he needs to go. The truck driver tells a sleeping David it’s unlikely “that there are any heroes left.” Earth X’s secret connection to the Terrigen Mist directs the unfamiliar world with one of the most important events in Marvel history.
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