Warning: Contains spoilers for X-Men #6! The X-Men are in a state of harsh metamorphosis in the current continuity of Marvel Comics, as the team – and indeed the entire mutant race – have just lost their island paradise of Krakoa, and have been thrown back into a cruel world that now hates them more than Ever. And in the last X-Men Comically, one member of the team sums up just how tragically broken the heroes have become with just three damning words.
In a preview for X-Men #6 by Jed MacKay and Netho Diaz, Kid Omega and Temper stand on the balcony of their Alaskan compound, looking down on a group of anti-mutant protesters below them. The X-Men have to move their organization to the outskirts of an Alaskan town and take over an abandoned Sentinel production plant after the fall of Krakoa, and not everyone is happy about it.
A number of the city’s residents decided that they were unhappy with the X-Men living there, and wanted to let them know. They set up a picket line in front of the factory in an effort to try to drive them out, or at least provoke them. However, as Temper and Kid TV looked down at them, Temper asked Quentin if he was going to mess with the protesters with his telepathic powers, and Kid TV just said, “What’s the point?“.
“What’s the point?”: Kid Omega summed up how broken the X-Men really are
The X-Men and All Mutantkind are at their lowest in Marvel Comics right now
While Kid Omega was literally just talking about his lack of interest in messing with the protestors (something a mischievous scamp like him would love to do in the past), his words ring true for the X-Men’s current state. Everything the X-Men built on Krakoa is torn down. An entire nation that the mutants could call their own, that offered them true equality with humans in regard to global influence for the first time, gone in a flash.
Now, all the X-Men can do is what they did before Krakoa: protect people while fighting for mutant rights. But before that, the X-Men had the one thing they don’t have now: hope. There was hope that people would accept them, that mutants could live in peace and even thrive in the world – and that hope was confirmed with Krakoa. But now, Krakoa is gone, and with it, the mutants’ hope for a better future. So, why do they continue to fight? Well, some don’t know, and they leave only one question: “What’s the point?“.
The X-Men have only 1 real mission in the “From the Ashes” era: become hope again
Originally, the X-Men were the most optimistic superheroes in Marvel Comics. Time and again, they would risk their lives to save the entire world from global threats, fighting the likes of aliens, androids and even other mutants. But throughout time, the mutants were hated by what seemed like an overwhelming majority of humans. However, the X-Men still have hope in what they are fighting for, but the payoff of their hope – Krakoa – is destroyed. And now, the team won’t be able to really rebuild until they find a way to become hopeful again.
Related
While the X-Men need to regain their optimism — which is seemingly the overarching goal in the “From the Ashes” era — they certainly don’t have that right now. The X-Men have their missions, and they have each other, but they are still far too broken after losing Krakoa to be hopeful, which is tragically summed up by just three damning words, “What’s the point?“.
X-Men #6 by Marvel Comics is available October 23, 2024.