Warning: Contains spoilers forExceptional X-Men #1!TheX-Menfounded 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 cast back into a world that has never wanted them, and having an X-Gene once again means being ostracized, feared, or downright hated. For some former X-Men, like Kitty Pryde, it’s become impossible not to notice the hopeless cycle they’re stuck in.
InExceptional X-Men#1 by Eve L. Ewing and Carmen Carnero,Kitty Pryde is doing her bestto “blend in” to human society and carry on as a normal citizen. While she’s fortunate enough to fly under the radar, many of her fellow mutants aren’t so lucky - and she has front row seats to seehow far they’ve fallen since Krakoa.
The X-Men have always been caught in a vicious cycle.They fight for survival and acceptance and then lose any ground they’ve gained.Krakoa’s destruction made that pattern more visible than ever, and Kitty isn’t the only one questioning why anything matters in the face of such hopelessness.
The End of the Krakoan Age
TheFirst Krakoan Agewas undoubtedly the height of the X-Men’s success up to this 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 were the days of taking whatever scraps humanity offered them and hoping for tolerance at best. YetKrakoa’s very creation made mutants more “other"than they’ve ever been. They set themselves apart in a way that left humanity believing mutants thought themselves superior, and that belief has left little to no 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, its effects were not as far-reaching.The X-Men aren’t just back to square one; they’re at square zero.Kitty’s feelings are understandable. She’s spent most of her life working to make things better for mutantkind only to see the dream go up in smoke. The resulting hopelessness isn’t just understandable, it’s inevitable. No one seems to know exactly what to do next, even asCyclops and Roguework to establish new teams and find a way forward. For mutants to survive the same slump Kitty feels, they need something to unite them again.
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 uniting just 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 suffering that has broken the franchise and weighs mutants like Kitty Pryde down, Marvel must ensure that theX-Men’sfuture victories actually matter again.
EXCEPTIONAL X-MEN #1 (2024)
X-Men
The X-Men franchise, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, centers on mutants with extraordinary abilities. Led by the powerful telepath Professor Charles Xavier, they battle discrimination and villainous mutants threatening humanity. The series explores themes of diversity and acceptance through a blend of action, drama, and complex characters, spanning comics, animated series, and blockbuster films.
