A Fond Farewell to The Krakoa Era of X-Men
It’s difficult, even in a longform article like this, to really capture the experience of being an X-Men fan over the last five years. I’ve been a ride-or-die X-Men fan since I was three years old. I was fortunate enough to be born in 1994, which meant I was the exact right age range to enjoy X-Men at the peak of their media saturation. In short succession, I was exposed to the 90’s X-Men cartoon, the first X-Men movie and subsequent trilogy, X-Men: Evolution, the DK X-Men enyclopedias, Grant Morrison’s New X-Men, Joss Whedon’s Astonishing X-Men, Wolverine and The X-Men, and the various other movies and video games that populated the 90’s and 00’s.
Things changed around 2009, however, as the MCU rose to prominence and Disney pursued a deliberate corporate strategy to devalue the brand during their infamous war with Fox in the 2010’s. This came off the heels of 2005’s House of M, which brought a decimation of the X-Men and mutantkind in-universe, and a sidelining of Marvel’s Merry Mutants in favor of the long-dormant Avengers franchise. While runs like Mike Carey’s X-Men or Si Spurrier’s X-Men: Legacy brought moments of brilliance, the larger franchise floundered for the better part of 15 years as the franchise stagnated and recycled plots and narratives told innumerable times over.
Fans felt hopeless, restless, and unsure if there was anything that could capture the narrative momentum of Claremont of Morrison. It felt like the franchise was doomed to live in a loop of infighting, forced schisms, and stories about stories that happened decades ago.
And then Jonathan Hickman, Pepe Larraz, R.B. Silva, and Marte Gracia arrived, and while we slept, the world changed. House of X and Powers of X launched in the summer of 2019, and the X-Men would never be the same.
In my time as a comic book reader, I’ve experienced several great moments of community that capture the best of fandom. Riding the event rollercoaster that was Bendis’s New Avengers. Working together with fans to decipher the mysteries of Morrison’s Batman. Reading through the Summit War Saga in One Piece. The excitement surrounding creative potential in the New 52 and Marvel Now!. The Superior Spider-Man week-to-week discourse, with all its drama. But nothing has ever united the comics community and generated as much passion and discussion as I saw with the Krakoa era of X-Men.
As House of X and Powers of X unfolded, the larger comics community quickly understood we were living through an all-time great run. The concepts of Krakoa, Moira X, the reimagining of the Phalanx, and the promise of a united mutantkind felt like the discovery of a previously unimaginable future. After 15 years in the wilderness of mutant genocides, wars with the Avengers and Inhumans, internal schisms, and year after year of narrative suffering, the X-Men had finally reached a promised land where they could not just survive, but thrive.
And mutantkind DID thrive. The Krakoa era presided over a wealth of healing for the larger world of Marvel’s mutants. Dozens of characters that were killed off or depowered were brought back, revitalized, and given new focus and direction, such as Thunderbird and Synch. Disparate characterizations were finally synthesized in ways that felt consistent and cohesive, such as those for Professor X and Destiny. B and C-listers were given chances to shine, and many of them flourished on Krakoa, such as Madelyne Pryor or Kwannon. Even major villains like Apocalypse unveiled new depth and dimension to their character. Stories centered around how characters who had previously been defined solely by the roles larger society dictated were allowed to experiment with their identities like Captain Kate Pryde. Others revealed themselves as heroes like Greycrow, or allowed themselves to succumb to their worst selves, like Beast. The stories felt bold and pivotal, touching on themes of queer identity, posthumanity, collectivism vs individualism, the nature of free will, the ethics of nation-states, the moral costs that come with leadership, what it means to be human, and the values of both found families and birthright families. Simply put, it was superhero storytelling at its best: using the mythic scope of superheroes to comment on the pressing issues of the day.
Part of what made this era so creatively successful was the “writer’s room” approach to storytelling. The writer and artists of the era, led by “Head of X” Jonathan Hickman, placed a deliberate emphasis on cross-collaboration. Tini Howard was just as responsible for the first major crossover, X of Swords, as Hickman was. Women, Non-Binary, Queer, and Minority writers had greater prominence than ever in the X-Office, with voices such as Vita Ayala, Leah Williams, and Steve Foxe adding a wealth of ideas and narratives that had been unexplored or dropped for decades back into the center of the X-Men narrative. This approach was so successful that Jonathan Hickmen felt confident enough in his co-creatives to leave the X-Men books earlier than planned, confident that the other writers and artists could handle sticking the landing on their own. So far, that confidence has been well warranted, with stories like AXE: Judgment Day, Sins of Sinster, and Genesis War being some of the best X-Men stories ever told.
And it wasn’t just fun in the comics! In real life, everyone wanted to share their thoughts, ideas, and reactions to the Krakoa saga. There was so much to unpack and discuss! Hopping on #xspoilers every Wednesday to discuss the latest developments was a ritual that was never to be missed. Podcasts like Cerebro, Battle of The Atom, and Jay and Miles X-Plain the X-Men created passionate communities digging into the minutiae of the era and seriously interrogated the impact of characters as popular as Wolverine to as minor as Candy Southern. Websites like ComicsXF and ComicBookHerald put out tons of quality articles and videos from casual fans to college professors discussing the narrative, thematic, and sociopolitical implications of the era and their personal impact. When the Hellfire Gala came around, artists would create their own Haute Couture takes on superhero fashion, which would then litter sites such as Twitter and Instagram. It became so popular that Disney threw a real-life Hellfire Gala at their D23 convention!
Through these various forums, fans found a real sense of community. I saw more than one lifelong friendship be forged over excitement over Krakoa’s X-Men. I saw people’s opinions on questions such as trans rights be changed for the better. I saw Krakoa and its metaphors and allegories help people heal from their own personal traumas. I saw teenagers find the language to explain their internal selves for the first time, and discover key parts of their own identities. I saw older fans celebrate the return of stories as good as those they grew up with. In short, despite a vocal minority in the Youtube ragebait industrial complex, the Krakoa era of X-Men united fans of all demographics in enjoying the latest and greatest X-stories. I’ve never seen a single issue cause as much true introspection in readers as X-Men #7, which introduced us to the Crucible. Who could forget when X of Swords dropped and we were introduced to the mutants of Arrako? Who wasn’t shocked when Professor X and Magneto moved to prevent the ressurection of Destiny in Inferno, only to find out they were too late? Who didn’t love Storm being pronounced the regent of Sol during the first Hellfire Gala? Who could forget the Wolverine-Beast throwdown in Weapons of X? Or the reveal of the Four Sinisters and Enigma?
We still have a few months to go before the Krakoa Era comes to a close in X-Men #700 in June. We have a lot more story to go in Fall of The House of X and Rise of the Powers of X. And the announcement of comics legends like Gail Simone and Ryan Stegman as the creative leads on the next era of X-Men is cause for hope. If you have held off on reading through the Krakoa X-Men stories, now is the perfect time to catch up and experience one of the all-time great creative eras in superhero comics. But while we still have the time, let’s remember and enjoy what a uniquely passionate and celebratory era the past five years of X-Men have been. The Pax Krakoa really was a true renaissance for the X-Men’s corner of the Marvel Universe. Long may it be remembered.
Christián Thrailkill is a graduate of Southern Methodist University and University of North Texas, musician, and columnist. He lives in Dallas, Texas. Follow him on Threads @Wolvie616
