This February, Marvel's relaunched X-Men are about to collide with the Fantastic Four. Marvel Comics is conducting a high-profile relaunch of the X-Men, helmed by legendary comic book writer Jonathan Hickman, and it's seen the mutants abandon Xavier's Dream once and for all. The entire mutant race are settling on the mutant nation of Krakoa, pursuing a far more isolationist philosophy than ever before.
The world's superheroes seem unsure what to make of this new status quo. All signs are that most heroes just dismiss it as the latest mutant weirdness, but the Fantastic Four have seemed a little more concerned. That's partly because the X-Men are already attempting to persuade one of their own to head to Krakoa - Franklin Richards, an Omega Level mutant. The X-Men operate under an Omega Protocol, which commands them to expend all efforts to bring Omegas like Franklin into the fold. Conflict between the X-Men and the Fantastic Four seems inevitable.
Marvel Comics has confirmed that the two groups will come head-to-head in an X-Men/Fantastic Four miniseries, which will launch in February. The book features a top-rate creative team, with writer Chip Zdarsky uniting with all-star art team Terry Dodson, Rachel Dodson, and colorist Laura Martin. A thrilled Zdarsky told Newsarama that "this series will have repercussions for years to come in the Marvel universe... unless, again, I'm being punked by Hickman."
Zdarsky was inspired by House of X #1, which featured a scene in which Cyclops talked to the Fantastic Four and invited Franklin to Krakoa. "I knew it needed to be expanded upon," he explained, "so when I saw the opportunity to pitch this mini, the Franklin question was the heart of it." The project has seen Zdarsky work closely with both Jonathan Hickman and Dan Slott, current Fantastic Four writer, and he's been delighted at the freedom they've given him to tell his story.
Zdarsky insists that this isn't just a traditional versus book, bringing the two superhero teams up against one another. Instead, he intends X-Men/Fantastic Four to be a deep exploration of the different philosophies that drive the X-Men and the Fantastic Four. He'll force Franklin Richards to explore his own identity in a new and fresh way, and by the end of the miniseries Marvel is teasing that Franklin will have decided where he belongs. The interesting question, of course, is just what that will mean for the wider Marvel Universe. Franklin is one of the most powerful mutants in the world, and it's safe to assume that the X-Men will go to any lengths to keep him. Meanwhile, Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman are unlikely to just accept it if their son chooses to join a group who increasingly look like mutant supremacists. It's not hard to see why Zdarsky believes this story will have long-lasting repercussions.
Source: Newsarama