Marvel Comics has announced a new Immortal X-Men series - and it may well be setting up the death of Cyclops. The Jonathan Hickman era is coming to an end. Hickman had pitched a five-year story, but the concept he set up - the mutant nation of Krakoa - was too attractive to Marvel, and they've chosen to explore it further as the X-Men's new status quo. They've recently announced their latest quasi-relaunch, "Destiny of X," and they're using promotional artwork to tease the future of the mutant race.
"Destiny of X" will be accompanied by several new titles, including Kieron Gillen and Lucas Werneck's Immortal X-Men. This will explore Krakoa's Quiet Council, rulers of the living island. "It's about a group of people, some of whom are convinced they're in the West Wing, some who have designs to be in House of Cards and at least one who knows they're in Veep," Gillen observed in an official press statement. Promotional art shows the Quiet Council assembled - and locked in heated debate. Disturbingly, there's another being present at the table as well; the avatar of Death itself. The X-Men believed they had conquered death - indeed, their Resurrection Protocols almost killed Death as a cosmic entity - but it looks as though the avatar will have the last laugh.
The cover image suggests that Cyclops in particular is in danger. His visor is on the floor, his ruby quartz glasses are on the table, and - most concerning of all - Mystique is holding a pair of red-colored eyes. The clear implication is that Cyclops, leader of the X-Men and one of Krakoa's Captains, is in serious danger. "People are going to be poring over [Lucas Werneck's] first cover like it's a piece of art at the heart of a conspiracy, as if every line means something," Gillen observed. "Which is lucky, because it does." That statement suggests the hints of Cyclops' death should be taken seriously.
Death has always been something of a revolving door in comics, and the X-Men's Resurrection Protocols have formalized that. The Immortal X-Men teaser image is, therefore, especially intriguing - because any hints of a final death suggest there are limits to the Resurrection Protocols. It may mean Cyclops will be killed in the mystical realm of Otherworld - which sits outside this plane of reality, with its interdimensional nature rewriting the Resurrection Protocols. If there is one limitation, though, there may well be others that have yet to be discovered.
The death of Cyclops would certainly shake the X-Men up - and it would cause just the kind of conflict seen in the Immortal X-Men teaser image. Several members of Krakoa's Quiet Council have been strongly connected to Cyclops; Emma Frost still seems to love him (there's been speculation they're still an item, given Krakoa's more relaxed views on relationships and sexuality), while Mr. Sinister was convinced for centuries that the Summers bloodline was the future of the mutant race. The X-Men would be in chaos should these hints of Cyclops' death be fulfilled.