X-MEN under Jonathan Hickman | The Rise Of The Krakoan Empire

[Music] since bursting out of the minds of stan lee and jack kirby in 1963 the x-men have remained one of comics most powerful and endearing social metaphors initially imagined as stand-ins for the icons of the civil rights movement the heroic students of xavier's school for the gifted were characterized by their struggles to save a world that feared and hated them with each new era in the title's history this struggle nicknamed the mutant metaphor has evolved to encompass more be it ethnicity religion or sexuality however one element of the x-men's history has remained a constant since its introduction in 1981. in the pages of chris claremont's days of future past readers were given a grim look into the future of the mutant struggle where the species has been hunted to the point of extinction by the man-made death machines known as the sentinels in spite of generations of heroics the x-men's future seemed destined for tragedy while mutant kind's place in the world has shifted over the years from their global expansion in morrison's new x-men to their darkest days in bendis's decimation the existential threat of claremont's future casts a long shadow over charles xavier's dream of coexistence leaving readers with a lingering question is mutankine's future inevitable it's this question that in 2019 writer jonathan hickman confronted in house of x and powers of ten two intertwining miniseries meant to relaunch the entire line of x-men books this was much bigger than a reboot though pulling characters and themes from nearly every era of the title hickman and his collaborators are able to explore the next evolution of the x-men as a newly united mutant kind does whatever it can to battle for a better future [Music] through the dual narratives of house of x and powers of ten hickman weaves together a new vision of the x-men and their place in the marvel universe cleverly framed through the life of moira mctaggart previously one of the team's most valuable human allies moira's character is fully reconstructed in house and powers is a mutant who can reincarnate while holding on to the knowledge of her past lives while the finer details of moyra's past lives are kept secret it's revealed that she's lived at least nine separate times taking radically different approaches in each but always coming face to face with the decimation of the species moira eventually brings this knowledge to charles xavier forcing him to reevaluate his dream for mutantkind in an attempt to sway the course of history it's a bit much i agree that it cuts to everything you believe even more so still a hard truth to what's called for when dealing with radical realignments to old ways of thinking we lose no it's much worse than that we always lose while the x-men are an enduring symbol of overcoming hatred and bigotry the very nature of long-form comic storytelling demands a status quo there are always heroes villains and a constant push and pull between charles's hopeful dream and the grim reality the x-men fight against [Music] pulling elements from days of future past the age of apocalypse and other iconic x moments into moira's alternate lives hickman is able to make a commentary on the title's inherent stagnation and introduce a means of shattering that mold and of course that first major transformation comes through the character of xavier himself i know you will fight me just like your shade eric will fight me but this time i mean for all of us to be together all of us we've been dreaming the wrong dream charles and it's long past time you woke up while the larger stories of mutants dealing with human hate are present in x-men the title is also focused on the struggles between the various factions of the mutant species each with their own designs on mutantum's future well initially the distinction between the more heroic x-men and the villainous brotherhood of mutants was clear the line between them began to blur as readers were introduced to more elements of the mutant metaphor as well as more complex motivations for characters like magneto over time the mission statement of the x-men became less of a call to make a better future and more of an affirmation of the status quo this wasn't at all helped by the editorial decisions marvel made on the title which destroyed the mutant sanctuary of genocia de powered most of the species through house of m and erased the global subculture themes of grant morrison's new x-men run in an effort to preserve the title's premise and broad appeal marvel ended up stagnating its message i suppose the problem nowadays is interpretation states hickman in an interview are we talking about a stand-in for marginalized groups or the metaphor simply being a substitution of the word different or special that last bit also has a lot to do with why we've been in a nostalgic feedback loop where everyone is telling x-men stories about other x-men stories it's this stagnation that hickman examines and ultimately deconstructs with moira's actions and powers leading to an all-new present day in house operating under the belief that mutantum only thrives as one moira uses her visions to recruit magneto to charles's cause but hickman doesn't stop there reaching out to old enemies of the x-men including the living island krakowa mr sinister the hellfire club and even apocalypse house and powers assemble a roster of mutant heroes bigger than we've ever seen before one nation one species dedicated to finally shattering the dark future that lies ahead of it we wanted the message to be very clear states hickman this is a whole new era for the x-men this is what we're doing now with the entire mutant species working in tandem hickman spends considerable time in both house and powers on two parallel struggles charles campaigned to establish a mutant nation in the future wars for mutantum survival together the citizens of krakowa craft a language advancements in technology and medicine and even the beginnings of a culture to plan their future leaders from each of the old factions form a quiet council and armed with moira's knowledge plan to secure the species future by eliminating possible threats before they arrive issue 3 of house depicts the power of this new unity as the council dispatches a strike force led by cyclops to destroy a mother mold a self-aware factory that will build next generation sentinels parallel to this story powers depicts a distant future where these sentinels have led to a post-human society fully devoted to exterminating the last of the mutants initially the story presents itself as a foregone conclusion we witness each of the present-day x-men give their lives to end this threat only to see it continue generations in the future however at the end of issue 3 of powers hickman delivers an incredible twist these future events have already taken place in one of moira's past lives and through this foresight the x-men have already planned for the worst through the newly expanded cerebro the genetic records of sinister and a team of mutants known as the five xavier is able to resurrect all of krakowa's fallen from both past and present did did it work it did you succeeded and your sacrifice was not in vain it was a gift and in the giving you saved us all well death and resurrection have always been a part of the x-men books this moment in particular is saturated heavy with meaning after enduring bigotry fear and death for generations the x-men are finally in a position of power able to reclaim everything and everyone they've lost along the way while the rogue elements of krakowa's leadership namely sinister and sebastian shaw thrive on chaos the rest of the council temper them and keep the new nation on course the five and their restorative powers give mutants the ability to defend krakowa to their last breath and beyond giving them a fighting chance against the limitless resources of orcas and humankind through trade deals for their advanced technology and pharmaceuticals krakowa has placed itself atop the global food chain and deals humankind a powerful ultimatum we are the future an evolutionary inevitability the earth's true inheritance you closed your eyes last night believing the world would be yours forever that was your dream and like mine it was a lie here is a new truth while you slept the world changed [Music] hickman along with artists pepe loraz and rb silva make sure to frame crocoa as a mutant paradise the likes of which has never been seen before but house and powers are also quick to hint that this paradise comes with a cost moira's revelations have left a clear mark on the professor who's traded his warmth and idealism for a colder more utilitarian approach loraz and silva's art further augment the professor's transformation cloaking him in a look similar to another of hickman's creations the villainous maker this shift in character recolors xavier's actions throughout the book giving his most inspiring moments a sinister new energy charles new leadership has brought change to his students as well this new group of x-men have become more militaristic striking with precision in a singular focus save their species no matter the cost while the twist at the end of issue 3 implies a shift in this ongoing war elements of the omega cycle start surfacing throughout house of x hinting that the war between mutants and machines hasn't ended but instead evolved even within krakowa hickman casts doubt on the unity of the new nation showing new factions operating outside of the quiet council's authority these secrets are fleshed out even further through the book's info pages which act as an objective unbiased source of information often undercutting characters words and deeds the further the reader travels into the narrative the larger these dangers loom over the developing nation can krakowa overcome the fault of its predecessors and changed the outside world for the better for his mutant kind doomed to suffer the foregone conclusion of the omega cycle taking control of x-men after 2015's secret wars hickman saw a unique opportunity not only for the main title but the entire x line i didn't feel like just doing a new number one was enough he states i also didn't think that we should have a mixed message in the market about what an xbook is so i argued for cancelling the entire line why it would work why it was a good idea and most importantly why was what we needed to do narratively to return the x-men to their rightful prominent position in the marvel universe pikmin's new vision for marvel's mutants wasn't just an injection of spectacle it was an invitation to drill deeper into the title's potential than ever before through the newly realized nation of krakowa hickman brings a new focus to the mutant metaphor shifting the fantasy he asks what could happen if the marginalized people of the marvel universe didn't have to appeal to those in power instead forming their own commonwealth and demanding the respect they're due krakowa is a literal paradise for mutant kind after being shunned from society because of their appearance or gifts they finally built a nation where everyone has value and works together for the betterment of all of course to the rest of the world krakowa is a grim warning of things to come mutants gathering and radicalizing developing products that threaten the rest of the world's economies and using that unease hickman is able to interrogate a world that labors so hard to keep power where it is jonathan hickman's always been known for his ambitious sprawling storytelling and with house of x and powers of 10 he built on every era of the x-men title to deliver a powerful message you want to tell stories that matter states hickman but the way you write things that matter in marvel is that you're not destructive you're additive i think the x-men is about finding the family that you never knew you had one that accepts you for who you are who loves you at your best and worst and who shares your dreams for what the world can be for decades the x-men were idols to readers who felt different from the world around them with the mutant metaphor shifting focus to represent different marginalized groups over the years with these two stories and the relaunch of the entire x-men line the metaphor becomes a bold uncompromising declaration it's a new dawn for the x-men long may they rain it's a brave new world for mutant kind after decades of suffering and hardship the species has found a haven in the new nation of krakowa but as enemies both new and old emerge to threaten them how will mutankine's heroes adapt to face them and how will these challenges shape the future of krakowa and its people in 2019 acclaimed writer jonathan hickman took leadership of the x-men line breaking away from what came before and laying the groundwork for his own grand designs on the title compressing and re-contextualizing the title's history through his mini-series house of x and powers of ten hickman reforged the mutant metaphor at the heart of the x-men stories into a call to action after suffering years of bigotry and infighting the mutant species banded together into a single state and finally declared themselves as sovereign power in the marvel universe house and powers didn't just return the x-men to form it reintroduced them as a dominant political cultural and economic force but this was just the beginning after the release of house and powers hickman gathered fellow writers jerry duggan teenie howard edbersson benjamin percy and brian hill to release an entirely new lineup of books for the title these books collectively known as the dawn of x would take house and power's intertwining approach and expand it across the entire line having every title feed into the master narrative of mutantum's rise to power and the trials by fire that will forge the nation of krakowa the dawn of x books are the promise of that new world come to life state senior editor jordan white they're the start of a new era that will change how we think of the x-men and the kinds of stories we tell with them it all begins here curated by a handful of creators building on hickman's vision the dawn of acts manages to feel both astonishingly varied yet uncannily consistent pulling from every corner of the marvel universe and beyond hickman and his collaborators are able to weave a masterful story charting the foundation of gracoa and the many trials that will forever shape the nation and its heroes the foundation of the krakowin state brought massive change to the world of the x-men while much of the heroes past struggles were couched in the mutant metaphor and their otherness from humankind krakowa has given the species both a safe haven and a chance to forge new identities for themselves within the developing society hickman lays much of the groundwork for this theme in the main x-men title contrasting the development of xavier's oldest students alongside the nations with the x-men effectively disbanded many of its former members fill integral roles within the state long time members including jean grey emma frost and storm joined charles and magneto on the quiet council overseeing the larger matters of building and maintaining the civilization nightcrawler spurred on by krakow's larger cultural developments deepens his role through his faith effectively founding a national religion and veteran soldiers like wolverine lean into covert ops structuring krakow's military and training fellow mutants in their abilities with krakow's reach extending beyond the bounds of the island a number of mutants discover new roles in the larger marvel universe kate pride who's initially denied access to the krakowen gateways takes on a new identity as the red queen securing the nation's interests on the seas alongside the crew of the marauder other former x-men like rogue gambit and jubilee form a new excalibur team with betsy braddock intervening in england and the mystical realm of otherworld on krakowa's behalf each title in the dawn of x follows a different team as they covet new identities for themselves but through the main x-men book hickman focuses this theme through scott summers and his family building on his role as a senior x-man hickman reintroduced cyclops in house and powers as xavier's most loyal soldier making the judgment call to send his fellow heroes on a suicide mission to secure the future but through his dedication to his family and friends after their major victory pickman explores an entirely new side of this version of cyclops showing him as a man who will sacrifice anything and everything to keep the sanctuary he's fought for for years we've endured small wins we called incremental change progress when what we really needed was a giant leap forward well this is it [Music] with krakowa newly established as a power in the marvel universe mutants aren't the only ones seeking to reinvent themselves the x-men's defeat of orcas has pushed mutantam's enemies into more fanatical forms with each faction attacking a different element of the nation attempting to cut off the mutant's global reach the radicalized bioengineers of horticulture attack krakowa's supply of gateway seeds on the mainland anti-mutant groups like docs spread propaganda and target mutants directly leaking their personal info to violent bigots and within the broken remnants of orcis dr alia gregor continues her work on nimrod the omega sentinel fated to destroy mutant kind in the future however one of krakowa's deadliest foes comes through the anti-mutant extremist group known as zeno preying on mutants they've captured zeno builds their own brand of post-human soldiers specially designed to strike at krakowa in zeno's first all-out assault on the nation the united species has handed its first major defeat and has dealt an immeasurable loss while xavier's death is only temporary in krakowa the event marks a major turning point in the nation's development shaken by the loss of their founding father the rest of the quiet council resolved to take the fight to their enemies and slowly begin militarizing the island's residence depowered mutants are given a violent trial by combat through apocalypse's ritual of the crucible which forces them to fight to the death to prove their worthiness of the x gene the council also targets zeno directly reforming x-force to destroy anti-mutant operations with extreme prejudice krakow's arming even casts a shadow on charles's return furthering hickman's transformation of the character into a hardened but still optimistic leader someone once told me that i've spent my whole life dreaming the wrong dream and i'll admit the last month has been something of an education but there's a small part of me that will never stop believing in that dream but it only took you one month before you tried to kill me and you were going to try it again today weren't you if you want to be angry if you want to lash out because we are claiming what is rightfully ours then so be it just know it's the last time it ends like this mutants heightened power gives it an even bigger spot on the global stage but cracks begin to show within the developing state angered at his diminished presence in krakowa's hellfire trading company sebastian shaw begins double dealing to krakow's enemies and mounts a coup against kate and the marauders another rogue element on the council is sinister who seems to have renewed his sadistic experiments on the mutant gene further hinting at mutantum's bleak future in house and powers yet the deadliest potential threat to krakowa comes from mystique whose uneasy alliance with the council is tested as they refuse to resurrect her wife destiny as hickman explores more of the character's past he also plants a setup for something much more than a betrayal hinting that krakowa's delicate union may soon tear itself apart while charles and his allies have finally won the sovereignty they fought so hard for the struggles to maintain their power show growing divisions between krakow's state and its citizens with each murky choice blurring the line between them and their enemies the nation is due for a reckoning one that will test the strength of its champions and its unity as a people [Music] since house and powers hickman has steadily built the theme of mutant kind confronting its dark future contrasting the hopeful idealism of krakow's present against its dystopian final war with the post-human supremacy this theme of the nation's shadow self is built upon further through the introduction of morocco which hickman steadily builds up over the first few issues of x-men initially depicted as peaceful people the mutants of morocco are quickly revealed as hardened and vengeful shaped by millennia of combat in a harsher more brutal world framed as a darker stronger reflection of the mutant species araco becomes the ultimate existential threat as the two nations are embroiled in the multiversal ten of swords tournament as sword bearers from each side are chosen and prepare for war the quiet council uses every underhanded method they can to ensure their survival only to come up short against the superior might of a rocco push to the brink xavier and the council make the choice to seal off the gateway to otherworld mitigating the risk but cutting off their champion's escape however when their son cable is trapped behind enemy lines cyclops and jean grey finally renounce the council's pragmatism and make the desperate choice to reassemble the x-men i know that risking everything we've built for a few lives doesn't work for all of you i understand you don't have the luxury of thinking that way i really do but hearing you say it out loud i find it unacceptable you formed the quiet council to be the government of well cocoa x-men are its heroes and we will save those whom saving whatever the cost this devotion to family and unwillingness to compromise in the face of a crisis underpins ten of swords and the entire dawn of x the hero's reliance on one another gives them the strength in numbers to finally turn the tide of the last battle with each title's teams joining gene and scott in their final stand this philosophy even transforms apocalypse who breaks away from his dedication to the survival of the fittest and surrenders himself to morocco for his people's freedom emerging from other world broken but victorious mutant kind is once again free to forge a new chapter in its history [Music] directly following hickman's sprawling ambitious miniseries the dawn of x is a grand experiment in collaboration both inside and outside of its story across the lineup each book's team finds their own distinct voice whether through the intergenerational struggles of x-men the coming-of-age slash pirate adventure of marauders the boundless spectacle of excalibur and new mutants or x-force and fallen angels murkier tales of revenge and redemption while the line gives its teams the freedom to tell their stories their way the mutant metaphor lies at the heart of every book weaving together something massive and operatic in scale it's not editorially driven muse's hickman it's more organically driven it's really kind of fascinating because it all comes out of a process in a kind of team environment that i've never experienced in marvel and what we found is that some people are jogging some people are sprinting none of it feels like failure right we're kind of still just playing around together hickman and his team take mutankine to astonishing new heights setting the stage for an age of expansion dubbed the reign of x but even as these developments take the species out into the cosmos the heart of the story remains with krakowa and mutankine's ever-evolving war for survival as the species journey takes them into the fringes of the unknown the creators of the dawn of x issue one last hopeful message krakowa's future rests with the x-men [Applause] mutant kind has taken a giant leap forward and the nation of krakowa is more powerful than ever before but his divisions grow both inside and out how will the species continue to evolve and who will shape the next chapter in the x-men's history under head writer jonathan hickman x-men and its sister titles became the story of mutant kind realizing its full potential transcending violence scarcity and death itself by uniting into a single sovereign nation and after conquering their shadow selves in the mystic ten of swords tournament the species is more driven than ever to expand what they've built structuring krakowa into an empire with a galactic reach to forge this new chapter the x-line would add creators like al ewing vita ayala sci spurrier and more to an already impressive roster further elevating hickman's vision into a galaxy spanning cosmic opera it's the next phase of this new era in the story of mutankind uses senior editor jordan white donovex was the start of something big for the mutants they stopped playing the game the way the humans said they had to play now in reign of x i think they go even farther and decide that they can be the ones to choose what game they play they have big plans and the resources to carry them out they're ready to lead the way to the future through the x-line's many interlocking narratives this newly expanded group of creators take the mutant metaphor at the heart of the title into a bold new frontier exploring a species now fully untethered from the systems that held them down for so long mutant kind has taken a giant leap forward and this is what comes next picking up in the wake of krakowa's victory and ten of swords the reign of x opens with a series of staggering displays of the nation's new power and presence in the marvel universe the x-men have always been somewhat removed from the rest of marvel's heroes with the ongoing struggles of mutankind backgrounded against the publishers bigger ongoing stories unless they're being pitted against other groups that is while a global view of the species has been explored as far back as grant morrison's new x-men the creators behind the reign of x saw the interconnectivity of the marvel universe as an opportunity to elevate mutant kind unlike what had been seen before this push was given plenty of lead-in with mutants impacting titles and crossovers like captain marvel champions and the king in black event but mutankine's real leap forward would arrive through their next line-wide crossover the hellfire gala gathering characters from across the marvel universe as well as a number of real-world celebrities the event is ultimately a showcase for krakowa's power culminating in another major step for the species the foundation of the first mutant world what takes the universe millennia to create mutant gnome accomplishes in mere hours welcome my friends to planet morocco while the event leaves krakowa on shaky political ground the nation's power only grows further into the ongoing story with sword acting as their space program the mutants begin influencing economics and politics on a galactic scale reshaping the soul system around the newly formed planet oracco similarly krakowa's limitless resources have given them an advantage on earth and while the mutants still use vigilante justice through groups like x-force and the marauders they now have the means to dismantle their oppressors at the institutional level while krakowa is still an intensely polarizing force in the marvel universe these developments have caused a near global shift in how the world sees mutant kind making their debut at the hellfire gala the newest iteration of the x-men are treated as both heroes and celebrities with special focus given to how they interact with their new global community even groups like the morlocks who were once vilified by the public for their more visible mutations are given the means to show the constructive helpful nature of their abilities giving them the acceptance they've been denied for decades however the best example of mutant kind's new image comes through vita ayala bernard chang and paco medina's children of the atom which follows a group of human teens who use technology to emulate their mutant heroes while the book's themes can get critical of its heroes sometimes taking the angle of cultural appropriation ayala chang and medina ultimately build the book around the mutant's cause becoming a movement inspiring younger generations to act out against oppression what makes the new cast special to me is that they are reflective of a lot of people i know who look up to what the x-men stand for and have taken it upon themselves to further those ideals states ayala these kids grew up seeing x-men as the ultimate heroes super cool revolutionaries these kids are exactly the kids who in real life have posters of storm and wolverine in their rooms who grew up seeing them as heroes and want to live up to that these new cultural political and scientific expansions have ushered in an age of prosperity with krakowin developments eliminating the human problems of scarcity disease and death yet even as the nation expands into the cosmos the mistakes and compromises of its founders seek to undermine it all [Music] since its foundation krakowa has acted as the ultimate sanctuary for mutants absolving them of past crimes and uniting the species under the promise of a future that's finally in their own hands much of donovak's was spent exploring this new paradise following mutants from across the x line as they grew into newer roles within krakowa however the creators would also use krakow's influence to interrogate real world society with the nation's ethical compromises coming to the forefront in reign of x while the new x-men are seen as a more traditional super team titles like percy and khazara's x-force and wells and segovia's hellions have shifted into something more imperialist toppling foreign regimes and even exploiting mutant prisoners to further the nation's interests reading x-men comics for years and years there were the super powerful characters but their goal was to protect the humans who feared and hated them muse's writer zeb wells and what a noble goal but as soon as you take that away and say okay well now they have a different goal then easy answers disappear and as a human reader you lose that safety net of knowing these characters have your best interests at heart as soon as jonathan did it i knew i needed to get in there and play there is a pervasive sense of paranoia that underpins much of reign of acts as the many secrets lies and broken promises sown in the previous chapter begin to build the line's interstitial data pages have evolved to match this new tone replacing fairly expository sections with journal entries and personal reports information is often subverted and recontextualized over ongoing stories building a larger picture of distrust and division that eats away at the once hopeful image of krakowa these divisions finally come to a head in the aftermath of the hellfire gala with the nation's leaders turning on each other after the death of a polarizing figure in the mutant world erika i'm very sorry for your loss but we cannot resurrect the scarlet witch you can you just simply refuse you were all choosing to suddenly honor the same arbitrary human limitations we've long since abandoned for ourselves i carved myself out of torture to stand tall upon the ruins of my subjugation i made a choice initially framed as a triumph mutankine's desire to transcend their humanity takes on a more sinister light as its founding heroes begin to fall from grace references to prometheus and plain gods surface throughout the line and characters in every title are forced to grapple with the consequences of their actions and the darker realities they've become a part of the council's plans to stop nimrod end up failing completely morally upright characters are corrupted by unknown agendas sinister's operations continue to build towards the creation of his weaponized chimera and closer to home a dark presence begins to gather in the shared subconscious of its people in place of older factional struggles krakowa has a more intrinsic problem its imperfect foundation is poisoning the hearts and minds of its people and if something doesn't change it might just tear the nation apart [Music] from the very beginning a key pillar of the krakowin era has been examining the mutant sense of morality as they move beyond human society brought to life in the stark good versus evil battles of the silver age the x-men and their mutant metaphor has taken on a number of meanings over the years however with the species established as a sovereign nation and a galactic superpower hickman and his fellow creators hold the metaphor up as a mirror to modern day society it runs in parallel to how a new state has to set itself up in the real world muse's writer size barrier which is you start from a position of we are new we are perfect nothing is wrong with us then over time it becomes quite clear that actually it's not perfect and probably they knew it wasn't perfect from the beginning while krakowa is championed as a paradise for all mutants its leaders actions tell a much murkier story this is a flawed paradise run by people with their own agendas in turn we see krakowa's foundational law is corrupted throughout each story their sacred land is often weaponized or commodified groups like x-force are given carte blanche to cross moral lines for national interests and even the new generations of mutants are held in the sway of dark destructive forces but while much of the krakowin era is dedicated to exploring these societal flaws reynavx sees the mutants finally confront them with the younger generations rejecting the council's approach in favor of something more global empathic than humanitarian even as old vestiges of the krakowin experiment begin to crumble the nation's philosophers visionaries and heroes step in and fill the void once the would-be founder of the state's church nightcrawler finds a new role alongside another outsider in krakowa legion spurred on by the psychic threat of onslaught the two end up bringing the nation's people together collectively renouncing their past trauma and resolving to be something better this whole devil we have fought him before he knows us he knows our fear he is the darkness inside us and i think i think it is time to be honest we cannot be a people without first being people imperfect and impure we must accept our share of this shadow let this be our holy sacrament let us grind him to gristle so that he knows so that's veno so that all the world knows we rule us these themes of renewal and rebirth permeate many of the later stories in the reign of x with characters moving between titles and roles to showcase their arcs in the larger line-wide story for some like cable this return to form is literal but through percy and cassara's x-force ayala and rice's new mutants and duggan and laraz's relaunched x-men it becomes symbolic of something much larger the nation founded by xavier magneto and the rest of the quiet council was one built on moral compromise a compromise that continues to eat away at the fragile unity that they've built but as heroes continue to rise beyond the nation's founding vision krakowa begins to change with them becoming a nation defined less by its might and more by its growing sense of community yet while its predecessor ended on a triumphant note the reign of x's finale is a sobering one mutant kind has never been stronger but as its founders plot against one another and its enemies continue to grow it also feels closer to ruin than ever before building on the unprecedented success of its predecessor reign of x is an ambitious but complicated entry in hickman's vision for the x-men while the dawn of x was a chapter defined heavily by close collaboration between creators the x-office faced a number of challenges bringing their next story to life due to the covet 19 pandemic creators who used to share offices had to begin collaborating virtually resulting in heavy modifications to each book as well as the line's ongoing story however the isolation of lockdown would only strengthen the team's collaboration with creators throwing their energy into streamlining their original plans while keeping the timeline intact for upcoming events while the line would still follow the broader points of his vision pickman would eventually announce his departure as head of x leaving the line in the hands of a group he's grown to rely on for the last few years there's no version of this where i'm putting plans in my back pocket to save for another day stay tigger everything i have already done everything i'm currently working on and everything i had plans to do belonged to the team that was the point of having a room and a cohesive group of creators working together i'm very fond of them and they've done a great job and if i'm being completely honest i'm kind of jealous of some of the stuff they're getting ready to do over the next few years the plans are amazing through this astonishing group of collaborators the x line is more ambitious and varied than it's been in years giving titles for every kind of reader while continuing to weave together an ongoing massive story with jonathan hickman readying his last chapter for the line the future of krakowa and mutankind remains shrouded in mystery but there's one thing that remains certain no matter what happens the x-men always endure after decades of struggle the mutant race has achieved utopia and built an empire that spans the galaxy together they've transcended scarcity disease and death itself but what's the true cost of this paradise and what becomes of it when the many secrets compromises and hidden agendas that built it are finally brought into the light brought to life by valerio skidi stefano caselli rb silva david curiel and tom muller 2022's inferno is so much more than a crossover it's the ending to a saga that writer jonathan hickman began in the pages of house of x and powers of 10 transforming the x-men their world and the mutant metaphor behind it all while the krakowin arrow would encompass every title and creative team on the x line of comics it would all be in service of hickman's vision for the title uniting mutants both good and evil in a desperate mission to stave off extinction and build a sanctuary for the species i think what happened after grant and frank did their thing is that you got that version of the x-men and then there's been this nostalgic version of the x-men playing the old hits kind of stuff muse is the writer and those two things have been fighting with each other probably since that run you don't want to do archaeology or nostalgia tropes my job is to do new stuff with it and launch us into a newer age of x-men as each new corner of the sanctuary is explored hickman and his collaborators craft a larger picture across the line putting the nation of krakowa on a path that would end in its ultimate reckoning while a number of factors influence the event's production including top-down editorial decisions from marvel comics and input from the other creatives on the line inferno is the definitive end of hickman's vision for the x-men as countless threats spark back into being threatening to burn down everything the mutants have built after years of storytelling inferno delivers what would become hickman's lasting legacy for the x-men one last trial by fire for the mutant race to understand the impact of inferno one has to examine hickman's arrival on x-men and the decades of history that shaped the title since the team's debut in 1963 every creator has put their own definitive spin on the mutant metaphor from wien and claremont's allusions to the civil rights movement to grant morrison's global subculture to brian michael bendis's metaphor for survivors of a genocide while bendis decimation in particular would set the tone of the title for years complications arose through marvel's continued pushes to keep the title relevant first came schism which split mutant kind in a civil war between wolverine and the increasingly radicalized cyclops this was hastily backtracked through all new x-men which replaced the embittered veteran team with their younger time-displaced counterparts which was also backtracked later the title struggles were complicated even further through a dispute between fox and marvel's parent company disney for the character's film rights which led to a short-lived attempt to fill the x-men's place in marvel with the inhumans this ultimately fell through but the line's lack of focus persisted while each creator left their own mark on the book the title felt somewhat rudderless since decimation and was in need of a major overhaul this would come through writer jonathan hickman and an ambitious new direction he'd been building through his miniseries house of x and powers of ten whereas previous runs focused solely on one faction of the species hickman saw the opportunity for something bigger a united sovereign nation finally free to create an identity holy of their own see what we can build a mutant home for mutant people created and designed for the establishment of a mutant society the beginnings of mutant ascendants this paradigm shift was realized through the return of moira mctaggart repurposed by hickman into a mutant with the ability to reincarnate with the knowledge of her past lives spurred on by the realization that mutankind always loses its war for survival hickman used moira to catalyze an all-new status quo for the x-men having her unite professor x magneto and a handful of prominent mutants including sinister and apocalypse into a governing body for mutant kind in short the x-men stopped being superheroes and became nation builders this new status quo would be expanded upon through the following line-wide initiatives dawn of x and reign of which explored the further development of the nation and the many former factions that now lived within it i usually get some idea of what the whole concept is including the ending all at once the shape of it is just baked into the initial idea of the project states the writer once this project came out bigger than we expected with all those series published very quickly the story began to take shape it continued to evolve i think it's thanks to that spirit of what it was that it is a success many of these stories would highlight the empowerment of the mutant race as krakowa grew from isolated island nation to an intergalactic empire with ties to every corner of the marvel universe the species powers became their greatest resource giving the nation a means to solve scarcity disease and even death however a closer look at hickman's run on x-men as well as the bigger picture of the line as a whole yields another ongoing theme the steep price of keeping this utopia prakoa is pledged as a sanctuary for all mutants but beneath the promise of unity the species old factional struggles begin to re-emerge this is best seen through a long-running plot thread in hickman's x-men moira and her fear of mutants mystique and destiny touched upon in house and powers one of moira's past lives saw her as a scientist obsessed with curing the mutant gene which led to a deadly confrontation with the pair while moira seemingly embraces their cause to save mutant kind her fear of the pair is present throughout the makeup of krakowa shown through a ban on resurrecting precogs and countless underhanded maneuvers to maintain her control of the council using the line's story hickman and his collaborators steadily stoked the conflict that would become inferno leaving krakowa and its leaders a simple brutal choice realize their promises and evolve as a nation or let the failures of its past burn it to the ground coming at the peak of the reign of x inferno is the culmination of everything that's come before specifically the quiet council founded at the end of house and powers the ominous presence of nimrod mystique's quest to resurrect her wife destiny and the central mystery of moira x in sharp contrast to his previous stories which dealt with the shared triumphs of the mutant nation hickman frames his story around krakowa's most powerful individuals following their separate plots before setting them on a violent collision course with each other naturally inferno's story begins with moira who after witnessing the increasing power of orkus and nimrod sets a plan in motion to secure the future of mutankind starting with a power grab for the council and the complete erasure of destiny while these themes of necessary evil have been present in the line since the beginning they've mostly been uncontested with the moral compromises of mutant kind set against the larger monolithic evil of groups like orcas and zeno but by shifting focus directly onto moira and the council's wrongdoings hickman is finally able to interrogate their line of thinking directly complicated even further through another major reveal destiny resurrected by mystique and secret begins a plan to expose the council this tense spy thriller approach has given life through artists valerio skidi stefano caselli and rb silva who alternate over the books four issues to show the varied distinct perspectives on the island the sense of paranoia is augmented even further through the book's non-linear presentation as well as intel reports shown in tom muller's data page designs the nation might appear unified but hickman and his collaborators have planted the seeds of doubt in krakowa's leadership since the beginning with every revelation replacing the council's image of hope with one of desperation and evil it won't take her long to see me it'll take her even less time to see through the two of you they'll be blind for a season but once they see it'll be them or us so it's a simple equation gentlemen solve for x moira sometimes you sound entirely too pragmatic about actions that might lead to you having blood on your hands i have ten lives and a thousand years of actual blood on my hands charles this is how i always sound as moira and her alliance try to rest control pikmin ties in even more threads across the line steadily building them into a frightening climax learning the truth about moira emma frost takes steps of her own to secure krakow's future leading to moira's capture at the hands of mystique and destiny this in turn forces charles and eric to mount a frantic rescue only to meet face to face with nimrod and omega who deliver a revelation of their own like moira's past lives omega traveled back from a future dominated by mutants intent on building a future ruled by the machines finally through moira herself inferno delivers one last truth that decimates the legacy of gracoa since the beginning moira's mission wasn't built on hope or faith but doubt in the mutant race that they could only succeed by giving up what they are in the end moira's cricoa isn't the species salvation but another gilded cage losing is losing dying is dying you can't say i didn't try another way i did and i failed over and over for a thousand years so humans machines are losing an inevitability your secret desire is what you want us to pick aside i want to save us no you want to cure us since he began hickman has made one question a central pillar in his saga for the x-men what happens when great men commit to great works this question drove much of the development behind the x line with creators exploring krakowa's effects on the individual and the collective but through inferno hickman delivers a definitive yet complicated answer any nation even one built on progress and sanctuary is at the mercy of its leaders and its people the flawed vision of krakowa's leadership is what incites the events of inferno with moira's doubt slowly warping the promise of the nation into a system that excludes its own and invites its own self-destruction but even after exploring the failures of krakow's leadership inferno delivers another path to salvation through its people who remain idealistic and faithful to the sanctuary they've helped to build moira's actions only continue the cycle of violence seen in house and powers but it's a timely intervention by cipher that breaks that cycle and a new leadership under emma frost that sees the council finally accept the burden of its accountability in place of the euphoric victory of house and powers inferno leaves the x-men on a hopeful yet ambiguous note the great men behind krakowa have fallen but the nation's great works have only just begun like his previous work on the fantastic four and the secret wars crossover jonathan hickman arrived on x-men with a grand vision while the specifics may vary from source to source the writer would share some details on an appearance at san diego comic-con in 2019 when i pitched the x-men story i wanted to do i pitched a very big very broad three-act three-event narrative the first of which was house of x muse is the writer and while this loosely worked as a three-year plan i told marvel upfront that i honestly had no idea how long the first part would last because there was a lot of interesting ideas and so we left this rather open-ended these plans became the underpinning of the new status quo introduced in house and powers but even moving past that initial story the plans for the line quickly began to evolve through the dawn of x and reign of x hickman brought on an all-new stable of creatives to revitalize the line each bringing their own perspective on the mutant metaphor and krakow's place in it the bonds between creators only continued to grow through the isolation of the kobit 19 pandemic but as the group's dynamic changed so too did their plans for krakowa as the team moved into the line's second act pivot hickman came to the decision that the line had moved beyond his original plans and that he'd be leaving his tenure early it has been a long time that i known he was leaving all of us have recounted senior editor jordan white and it was always going to be his finale since i knew he was leaving this is not the end game of his many many years long story but this is where he said this is the story i'm going to tell and then i'm going to step away he and i work so closely with every single writer working on the line i know he's really proud of them and the work that they're doing and that's why he's comfortable stepping away hickman would stay on to oversee the line through inferno but a number of changes were made in the lead-up to the event the writer's x-men and new mutants books were relaunched under ex-office members cherry duggan and vita ayala and the upcoming destiny of x initiative made several revisions to inferno's plot possibly including the status of krakowa this drew criticism from readers who wanted to see the full scope of hickman's story but the writer reiterated the strength of the office's collaboration to hickman his ideas haven't been completely abandoned they've merely evolved the big question and resulting conflicts i was getting at aren't disappearing from the line hickman states those things are baked in they're inevitable in a lot of ways while inferno ended up far from the titanic send-off hickman had planned for x-men it's still a testament to everything the writer and his collaborators have built using the title's decades of history to forge an ambitious new chapter and add countless perspectives to the mutant metaphor the mutant race still has its challenges ahead but its great reckoning is finally over for the first time in its history the species is free to claim their destiny whatever it may be hey everyone thanks for checking out my special on what i call the hickman saga of x-men i've been following this new era since hawksbox and while i think i'm going to keep covering future installments it was really cool going back and putting all of my essays on the line under hickman together really getting a big picture view before the x office took his setup and ran with it i'd like to give a special thanks to all the fellow creators who've lent their voices to the performances as well as each and every writer artist anchor editor letterer colorist and graphic designer in the x office for shaping these incredible stories i can't wait to see where it all goes next if you like this video feel free to like comment share and subscribe every little bit helps the channel out a lot i'd also like to give a special thanks to dom dey felice and my patrons who are helping me to grow this channel and continue doing what i love and hopefully what you love too till next time stay safe stay healthy and stay uncanny [Music] you

Channel: For Every Kind of Geek

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Id: -3ybsiDdeTU

Length: 62min 53sec (3773 seconds)

Published: Wed Nov 16 2022