2020 was the first full year of Jonathan Hickman era X-Men comics, following the summer 2019 House of X / Powers of X status quo reconfiguration, and the launch of the Dawn of X. We started the year early in the formation of Krakoa with Professor X, Magneto, and Apocalypse convening with world leaders in Davos, and we ended the year after the X of Swords event and the transition from the Dawn of X into the new era known as the Reign of X.
All in all, 2020 was a consistently interesting year for all things mutant, with some fantastic highs, and unquestionably moments that never lived up to the impossible highs of House / Powers. I’ve covered it all here in my Krakin’ Krakoa series, where I review every X-Men comic the day of release, and cover bigger topics, questions and themes with weekend videos. For those who missed out, are looking to get into X-Men in 2021, or just want a recap of what happened, this video will cover off on what I remember as the most important moments in the X-Men comics of 2020, with some thoughts on their relevance for anticipated or predicted stories in 2021.
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11) Mutants Into The Vault
Kicking things off with the saga of the X-Men vs the Children of the Vault, since this storyline is upcoming in X-Men #18, scheduled for release February 2021.
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What’s the Story So Far:
In X-Men #1, Jonathan Hickman and Leinil Francis Yu teased the return of the Mike Carey written creation, the technologically evolved Children of the Vault, who believe themselves the rightful inheritors of Earth, and then in 2020’s X-Men #5, the hunt for the Children and their Vault led to an X-Men infiltration scheme involving Laura Kinney (Wolverine), Synch, and Darwin. As I’ve highlighted a bunch, during this plan, Professor X calls the Children of the Vault “the greatest threat to mutantkind.”
Now, since this infiltration which we saw as readers in very early 2020, we haven’t heard hide nor hair of these three mutants, or the Vault. To add to the intrigue, we know that time passes differently in the vault, and that spending an hour inside the Vault, might mean days, months, even years in the outside world. So when Laura, Synch, and Darwyn return to the X-Men – assuming all of them do return – they’ll have been gone for a fairly unpredictable amount of years most likely.
Where’s It Going:
Again, we know from solicits we’ll get a return story in X-Men #18, and Laura and Synch are teased on the what’s to come “Reign of X” teaser promo for the year.
10) Scarlet Witch seeks forgiveness
What’s the Story So Far:
Since House of X #1, Hickman and company have established a clear priority of Wanda Maximoff, aka the Scarlet Witch, as a new bogeyman & one of the forsworn enemies of Krakoa, with her actions during Marvel’s House of M and Decimation, and her subsequent 2015 retcon removing her mutant status, leading to her new X-Men era label as “The Great Pretender.”
In 2020, there were two, fairly short but both essential, additions to Scarlet Witch’s place in the mutant narrative. The first came during the first and fourth issues of the Empyre: X-Men miniseries, both written by Jonathan Hickman, where Wanda sets out to atone for her crimes against mutantkind, depowering nearly a million mutants with three words “No More Mutants.” Wanda attempts to use her mystical prowess, and the aid of Doctor Strange, to resurrect the mutants in the leading mutant catastrophe this millennium, the Genosha genocide caused by Cassandra Nova and the Trask sentinels. Despite Strange’s warnings against this approach, Wanda maintains her course, only to see her spell go awry, resurrecting the deceased Genoshan mutants as corrupted zombies, which she and Stephen promptly have to undo (but not before the mutants, the invading Empyre Cotati, and those resurrected zombies) all clash in a very fun miniseries.
Most recently, in SWORD #1, Al Ewing and team also introduced the thread that Krakoa’s vilification of Wanda has cosmic alliance implications, since Wanda is now the official mother-in-law of Teddy Altman, aka Hulkling, aka the King of Space and leader of the newly solidified Kree/Skrull empire. This quick sequence was fascinating (like all of SWORD #1), both because it solidifies Wanda as a political inconvenience for the mutant space program, and because the information was delivered to long-time-father, first-time-PEAK visitors, Magneto.
Where’s It Going:
Unquestionably, mutantkind’s relationship to Wanda Maximoff and her role in Decimation will be discussed in the pages of SWORD (Al Ewing confirmed as much in his most recent AIPT interview). This could be as simple as a reluctant formal pause to the chilly hostilities, or even something more interesting, like fully integrating Wanda as a SWORD liason (while her powerset does actually seem like something that could benefit the program, welcoming the Great Pretender feels pretty unlikely).
9) The World of Storm
What’s the Story So Far:
In the pages of the Jonathan Hickman written Giant-Size X-Men, we learned that Storm was infected by the Children of the Vault during the aforementioned X-Men #5, was given 30 days to live, and enlisted the aid of Fantomex, Cypher, Monet, and an AIM henchie to enter The World facility – a weapon plus program creation – and rid herself of this virus. The process was successful, meaning two things: 1) Storm resists resurrection, which could be meaningful if any ill effects or tampering are revealed and 2) some new, seemingly sentient intelligence was created in the process (perhaps only known to Doug Ramsey).
Shortly thereafter, Storm was included as one of the Stormbearers of Krakoa during X of Swords, putting her in the position of obtaining Wakanda’s hallowed Skybreaker sword. During Marauders #13, Storm breaks many of her longstanding ties to Wakanda, where she was once queen, by stealing the sword, battling the Wakandan guard and Shuri, and generally making known she is far and away mutant first. The relationship between Krakoa and Wakanda continues to be very interesting, as Wakanda is one of a handful of nations that do not accept Krakoan medicines, but they are the only nation that refuses the drugs on the basis that “they do not need them.” Storm’s former marriage to T’Challa and connections to Wakanda were one of the primary connections suggesting an alliance between the nations, but the actions of X of Swords put that in doubt.
Where’s It Going:
The “what” of Storm’s 2020 is comparatively minor, but it matters more because of the character’s clear major relevance in 2021. First, we heard from X-Men editor Jordan D. White that Storm had a MAJOR story coming, and that the story would be so huge there would be no question about if that was it when it happened.
Next, Storm is front and center on the Reign of X teaser, holding what was until SWORD #1 a mysterious looking shiny artifact. It would now appear that Storm is holding a piece of the Mysterium introduced in SWORD, suggesting to me the potential for a reality warping / altering / multiverse traveling role for Storm throughout 2021. Couple that with the X of Swords teaser that Storm is setting her sights to the stars, and I’m all in on the likelihood of an ongoing Storm series showcasing her new role traversing the cosmos for mutantkind.
8) Future Doom Wars & Franklin Richards
What’s the Story So Far:
The saga of Franklin Richards got the most attention, so we’ll start there. In House of X #1, Franklin is listed as the only omega level mutant allied with humankind, and Cyclops makes a point of inviting the son of Sue and Reed Richards to Krakoa when Franklin’s ready. In the Chip Zdarsky and the Dodsons four issue X-Men/Fantastic Four miniseries, a whole load of poor communication and hostilities ultimately leads to Franklin spending time learning and visiting on Krakoa, while still living at home with his Fantastic Family. And most critically, in Fantastic Four #25, the Dan Slott written comic declares (for now) that Franklin is in fact not a mutant at all, and that he only convinced himself and the world around him he was a mutant to try to seem more special. I’ve already said my piece on ALL the many problems that entails, so I won’t do so again here.
The piece nobody is really talking about is that at the conclusion of X-Men/Fantastic Four, Doctor Doom (aka the greatest Marvel villain) basically promises a future war with mutantkind, after revealing in the mini that he has an island for experiments on Latverian mutants, as well as his own Doom Sentinels.
Better yet, at the conclusion of SWORD #1, there’s a surprising quote from Victor, revealing he’s keeping a close eye on the mutant space program, and still very much involved in their future plans.
Where’s It Going:
I actually think these two threads could come together again in the X-verse, especially if my theory is right that Doctor Doom is sending a hologram of Professor X to Franklin to convince him he’s not a mutant in Fantastic Four #25. Not to go full Charlie apologist, but the language is so careless and hurtful, it would work a lot better – for me – if it was one of Doom’s schemes to get Franklin and his powers on his side.
As for the Doom wars, remember he is seeking to prove superiority to mutantkind… and in many ways was humiliated by Professor X and company.
7) Mister Sinister’s Schemes
What’s the Story So Far:
I’ll admit, this is partially an excuse to rave about the excellence of Hellions, my favorite comic in the X-Men line through 2020. Or even just Sinister’s funniest moments, which could fill out an entire list of their own. Nonetheless, Mister Sinister has unquestionably been one of the top 5 most interesting characters in the Hickman era of X-Men, and all of his scheming this year inevitably means a lot for where the world of mutants is heading in the future.
The most recent development for Mister Nathaniel came during X of Swords, when Sinister and his Hellions captured the mutant DNA of Tarn the Uncaring and his Locus Vile during their trek to Arakko/Amenth/I can’t keep it straight without researching it every single time. We’ve seen Sinister’s mutant clone operations are alive and well in his secret Krakoan labs, and he’s offered the likes of Jamie Braddock a backup clone on file, but this DNA haul gives Sinister the opportunity to play with mutant DNA from new realms, which of course may possess new properties, and perhaps even move Sinister closer to his inevitable Chimera experiments of merging mutant DNA that we learned about in Powers of X.
Where’s It Going:
One of the biggest surprises of the Reign of X teaser promo was Tarn the Uncaring’s lurking face in the corner. Given the state of Arakko and its mutant inhabitants after X of Swords (we’ll talk about this in a minute!), I think we can pretty fully expect a confrontation between Tarn and Sinister in 2021. Or, given Tarn’s mirror-image to Sinister, it might be even more likely they form a mad scientist cabal (Beast is gonna be so mad if they don’t invite him) and perfect mutant chimeras together.
6) Crucible
What’s the Story So Far:
In X-Men #7 we’re introduced to Krakoa’s plan for restoring depowered mutants, the arena of the Crucible, a symbolic Roman Coliseum style battle, initially a sword fight with Apocalypse, to prove your desire to live as a mutant. Crucible is important as a development of mutant culture, a statement on what it means to be mutant, and a clear mandate on questions around “cheap, quick” resurrection, especially in cases of suicide-for-the-purposes-of-resurrection. Likewise, Crucible answers those questions about the mutant plan for the mutants impacted by Scarlet Witch’s Decimation.
Where’s It Going:
After the highly memorable Crucible in X-Men #7, the post X of Swords landscape means Apocalypse can’t run these proceedings any more, although the ritual itself could go on unchanged.
While there are a handful of mutants that could certainly take Apocalypse’s place (assuming it was always going to be him anyway), my pick is new island friend Isca the Unbeaten, Apocalypse’s sister-in-law.
We’re also going to see a lot more with the problems Cyclops and Kurt discuss regarding requested *changes* via resurrection
5) SWORD – The Mutant Space Program
What’s the Story So Far:
X of Swords led to a repowered Peak, the longtime headquarters of SWORD, completely devoid of human operators thanks to a Vescora alien invasion. Combined with the recent departure of Abigail Brand from the Alpha Flight Earth defense program, and you have a perfect recipe for a new mutant space program, as mutantkind looks to expand to the cosmic Marvel galaxy.
The first issue of the series by Al Ewing, Valerio Schiti, Marte Gracia and Ariana Maher is one of my absolute favorites since House/Powers, and does an incredible amount of building to layout what a mutant future looks like integrated into the grander Marvel Space Age. The issue is highly recommended (or at least my full video review!), but if nothing else the main takeaways for me are:
1)Mutants establishing diplomatic relationships with major Alien civilizations such as the new Kree/Skrull empire
2)Mutant exploration into multiversal travel, seeking out some of the largest cosmic artifacts in the Marvel Universe!
Where’s It Going:
Anywhere and everywhere, honestly! My primary SWORD theories are:
1)Mysterium is connected to the Project Pegasus and Squadron Supreme character Dr. Kyle Lightner, who has alternate dimension hopping powers, which means harnessing his powers in refined Mysterium crystals will offer X-Men the same opportunities. Meaning we’re going Multiverse hunting, and likely expanding mutant numbers that way!
2)Mutants will form massive alliances across the Galaxy, with the likes of Shi’ar, Brood, Vescora, and who knows who else, preparing for an inevitable conflict with the powered beings of Earth, the Kree/Skrull, and others on their side.
4) Kate’s Kiss
What’s the Story So Far:
To put it reductively, Kate Pryde kissed a girl and she liked it! The longtime subtextually queer character had her first on-page kiss with a girl, making her bisexuality canon. I’ve talked extensively on Krakin’ Krakoa why this matters, but simply put it’s a tremendously positive step for queer representation in X-Men comics, and a move that means so much to a wide variety of readers who’ve bene underrepresented for decades.
Where’s It Going:
Ideally, it’s just going to become a casually meaningful part of Kate’s identity, referenced through her story where it fits, and not an incident that happens one time for publicity and is forgotten.
3) Broo, King of the Brood
What’s the Story So Far:
Uh, Broo, wee genius Brood mutant, snappy dresser, and all around great guy, ate a Brood King Egg and now he’s King of the Brood. There’s plenty that builds to this moment – the New Mutants stealing the King Egg during the Hickman written issues of the title, the Brood invasion of Krakoa in X-Men #8 – but nothing tops the fact that longtime X-Men ally Broo is now one of the most powerful leaders in the galaxy.
Where’s It Going:
This ties heavily into my theories discussed for SWORD, and the upcoming GalaXy of X-Men. Broo as King of the Brood potentially inverts the familiar Brood vs. X-Men narrative, and instead makes the Brood an alien civilization in an alliance with mutantkind. Again, everything in this era of X-Men is about breaking all the rules, and establishing mutant survival and dominance well into the future. An army of Brood is a huge step in that direction.
One thing I do like to call out here, though, is that we haven’t actually seen any evidence of this alliance. It’s virtually all an assumptive prediction at this point, and we can’t rule out that Broo leading the Brood will not work out exactly according to Krakoa’s favor.
2) X of Swords
What’s the Story So Far:
X of Swords was the first post-house/powers X-event, a 22 part mega crossover across every single title in the X-Men comics line. At its core, X of Swords is a follow up to the history of Okarra, Krakoa, and Arakko as presented in House of X #5, as well as an expansion of Apocalypse’s role in that history, and what it means for one of Krakoa’s oldest and most powerful mutants.
I’m not going to summarize the whole event because it’s huge, and I covered every issue on here, but the major outcomes after the Arakko vs. Krakoa tournament are:
1)Apocalypse is reunited with his family in the dimension of Amenth
2)Arakko should be reunited with Krakoa, and not only are the two halves of land getting back together, but all the mutants living in each region should be joining up as well
3)The resurrections of Rockslide and Gorgon are totally effed because they died in Otherworld
4)Krakoa’s Quiet Council is shaken up, and the twelve seat governing body now has two open chairs
5)Oh and there’s now an apparently all mutant, Betsy Braddock based Captain Britain Corps
Where’s It Going:
Honestly, most of the post X of Swords outcome is still to be resolved, despite a month+ of comics released after the final issue. First and foremost, I’m extremely interested in seeing how Krakoa and Arakko merge together, and what the plans are for all these new mutants welcomed into the nation (or will they be?). There are a lot of really great new mutants added to X-Men mythos in this event – Isca the Unbeaten, Solem, Bei the Blood Moon – and I’m excited to see their roles in the mutant nation of Earth as well.
1) Mystique / Destiny / Nimrod
What’s the Story So Far:
X-Men #6 follows up on Mystique’s role during House of X #4, the mutant’s mission to destroy the Orchis Mother Mold facility they determined would be responsible for bringing a Nimrod online, and setting mutantkind on a course towards extinction. The issue reveals that while infiltrating, Mystique had a secret mission to set up a stealth Krakoan gateway on the facility, which is currently in use as Mystique pretends to work for Orchis and pick up information about their plans. Her most recent report is a huge deal, telling Magneto and Professor X that Orchis still appears to be close to activating a Nimrod.
Essentially, Mystique is being toyed with, as Professor X and Magneto are holding the resurrection of her wife, Destiny, over her head as leverage to get her to comply with their continued every wish. This is of course to follow Moira’s “no precogs” rule, and will, of course, come back to bite them all.
Where’s It Going:
Before her death, Destiny told Mystique that if Krakoa wouldn’t bring her back (she didn’t know the specifics to call it Krakoa in the prophecy), Mystique should burn it all down. I honestly don’t know what Charlie and Magneto think is going to happen as they continue pushing Mystique further and further over the edge, but clearly she’s going to strike out sooner than later as revenge/retribution for withholding the one thing she wants in this supposed mutant paradise.
Makes me wonder if Moira’s “no precogs” allowed on Krakoa rule is a self-fulfulling prophecy, as through fearing precognitive abilities on Krakoa and denying Destiny her resurrection, Moira ensures that Destiny’s previous predictions push Mystique to “Burn it all down.”