Warning: Spoilers for X-Men #7!THE X-Men are in an uncertain position, and a revelation has just revealed a new weakness that could undermine one of their greatest triumphs of all time. However, without more context, there are still so many questions surrounding what’s really going on that it’s nearly impossible to tell whether Marvel’s Merry Mutants is overreacting or not.
In X-Men #7 by Jed MacKay, Netho Diaz, Sean Parsons, John Livesay, Marte Gracia, Fernando Sifuentes and Clayton Cowles, Magneto reveals what he believes to be the cause of his out-of-control powers: his resurrection on Krakoa, which may be linked to a new mutant disease.
Magneto refers to this as R-LDS, Resurrection Linked Degenerative Disease, and is convinced this will happen to the rest of the team. Magneto has been acting as this team’s Professor X, staying at the base and seemingly unable to use his powers. It’s just in X-Men #7′and flashback, however, that readers can see how little control he has over his power.
The X-Men’s Mutant Resurrection of Krakoa Is Now Destabilizing Mutant Powers
According to Magneto, at least
The resurrection was one of the most revolutionary aspects of the recently concluded Krakoan Era of the X-Men. Thanks to the Five’s mutant circuitry, the minds of dead mutants were restored into new bodies, losing very few memories other than what immediately preceded their death. Resurrection has some known side effects. Cecilia Reyes noted that many returning mutants had their powers enhanced by resurrection. However, with the exodus from Krakoa and the remaining Five to the White Hot Room, resurrection is no longer in question for Earthling mutants.
However, This new “disease” is almost certainly a hoax. The main threat of the series, the mysterious council 3Khave found a way to activate the X gene in adult humans, so it’s not hard to imagine that they are also experiencing disruption of existing X genes. Magneto’s statement is also indicative of his mental state. Losing control of his powers put Magneto into exactly the same kind of depressive crisis he brought Cyclops out of in the opening of this issue. Max isn’t exactly thinking clearly and was far from the most resurrected X-Men character of the Krakoa era. If the disease were real, readers would already be seeing more cases.
If the resurrection of the mutants broke the X-Men’s powers, it’s a strange choice
Krakoa’s legacy could be changed forever
It also doesn’t make much sense that Magneto is right about his illness on a narrative level. If this disease were such a huge threat to mutants, then the comics themselves would treat it as a bigger problem. Instead, it is currently a subplot of one of more than ten books. It could also be a metaphorical slap in the face to fans of the Krakoan Era, which emphasized resurrection as a second chance for mutants killed before their time. For the first time, I hope, the X-Men’s the current struggles are nothing more than a plot by a nefarious villain.
X-Men #7 is now available from Marvel Comics.