X-Men #35 (legacy issue #700) has brought an end to the Krakoan age — but are readers ready to leave it behind? Even after five years spent on the mutant island, it feels like Marvel just scratched the surface of what was promised in the era’s kick-off, House of X/Powers of X (by Jonathan Hickman, Pepe Larraz, and RB Silva). Fall of X satisfyingly concluded some of those promises, in particular the multiple lives of Moira MacTaggert (read IGN’s full breakdown of that ending here ). The biggest shift of Krakoa wasn’t one particular story, though, it was the overall mood of the franchise.
The X-Men weren’t settling for hiding in the shadows anymore, they were embracing evolution and ascending to be Earth’s next great nation. Superhero comics have to remain in stasis to a degree, and this is especially frustrating for X-Men fans, who have to deal with their favorite characters forever remaining persecuted underdogs. The Krakoa era finally changed that.
Now that readers have gotten a taste of readers of what the X-Men winning looks like, will they accept them going back to being underdogs? Moreover, can the new writers tell a convincing story of why the X-Men are accepting undone progress? The next banner title of X-Men comics is appropriately titled From The Ashes. Overseen by veteran editor Tom Brevoort, 10 titles have been announced so far . Most notably, the legendary Gail Simone is writing “Uncanny X-Men,” featuring all my favorite X-Men: Rogue, Gambit, Wolve.
