Warning: Contains spoilers for Exceptional X-Men #1!The X-Men Founded a nation, created a mutant culture, and lost it all in one of the most devastating chapters of mutantkind’s history. With Krakoa’s downfall, they were thrown back into a world that never wanted them, and yet another X-gene means they are shunned, feared or outright hated. For some former X-Men, like Kitty Pryde, it became impossible not to notice the vicious cycle in which they were stuck.
in Exceptional X-Men #1 by Eve L. Ewing and Carmen Carnero, Kitty Pryde does her best to “blend in” to human society and continue as a normal citizen. While she’s lucky enough to fly under the radar, many of her fellow mutants aren’t so lucky – and she has front row seats to see How far they have fallen since Krakow.
The X-Men have always been caught in a vicious cycle. They fight for survival and acceptance and then lose any ground they have gained. The destruction of Krakoa made this pattern more visible than ever, and Kitty is not the only one to question why anything matters in the face of such hopelessness.
The X-Men are locked in a cycle of suffering
The end of the Krakoan age
The first Krakoan Age is undoubtedly the height of the X-Men’s success up to that point. Not only did they have their own sovereign territory, but they were able to create their own society built by and for mutants. Gone are the days of taking what scraps humanity offered them and hoping for tolerance at best. yet Krakoa’s creation made mutants more “other” As they have ever been. They set themselves apart in a way that left humanity believing mutants thought themselves superior, and that belief did not leave a bit to any place for the X-gene in the “normal” world.
To be a mutant in the Marvel Universe is to spend a lifetime (or several) locked in endless Sisyphean tasks.
While Mutantkind experienced somewhat similar events with the Genoshan Massacre, the effects were not as far-reaching. The X-Men aren’t just back to square one; They are at square zero. Kitty’s feelings are understandable. She spent most of her life working to make things better for Mutantkind only to see that dream go up in smoke. The resulting hopelessness is not only understandable, it’s inevitable. No one seems to know exactly what to do next, even as Cyclops and Rogue work to establish new teams and find a way forward. For mutants to survive the same decline Kitty feels, they need something to unite them again.
Marvel’s mutants need a meaningful win
Not just a common enemy
To be a mutant in the Marvel Universe is to spend a lifetime (or several) locked in endless Sisyphean tasks. For every win, there is a loss, and often the losses are heavier. If mutants fall back into units only to put out fires and face something or someone who wants to eliminate their species, nothing about the endless rotation will change. The battles are eternal while respite is woefully temporary. To combat the cycle of misery that has broken the franchise and brought down mutants like Kitty Pryde, Marvel must ensure that the X-Men Future victories really matter again.
Exceptional X-Men #1 is available now from Marvel Comics.
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EXTRAORDINARY X-MEN #1 (2024) |
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