Warning: contains spoilers for Immortal X-Men #5!
The war between the X-Men and the Eternals has officially begun in Marvel Comics, and it starts off with a bang in the center of the mind. The two groups haven’t seen eye to eye in quite some time, but recent events have forced the leaders of each group to blows (in a sense). Immortal X-Men #5 exclusively chronicles the first battle of the war – and it is ultimately the Eternals who fire the first shot.
In current X-Men continuity, Mr. Sinister has cloned Moira MacTaggart and seeks to use her unique mutant power for his own personal gain. When a Moira clone dies, she obliterates her entire timeline, reverting it to the moment of her birth – or cloning, and Sinister thus obtains information from potentially decades in the future, all stored within the clone’s mind. Unfortunately, it appears someone has grown wise to his plan, and Sinister disappears during the events of Immortal X-Men #4.
In Immortal X-Men #5, written by Keiron Gillen with art by Michele Bandini, the remaining members of Krakoa’s Quiet Council debate about the nature of Sinister’s vanishing act; he is immature enough to stage the entire affair as a prank, but Professor X believes his disappearance is an abduction courtesy of the Eternals. Exodus, one of the few X-Men to know the Eternals, realizes – as he reminisces about his past encounter with Sersi – that the Eternals are attacking the X-Men at this very moment. “We’re under psychic attack from the Eternals. The Uni-Mind is upon the Quiet Council…they are trying to paralyze us. They try to lose us in our memories.”
Exodus realizes the trap: the Eternals are forcing the X-Men to relive their own memories as both a distraction and a trap. He removes himself from the trap just in time to see a bloodied Wolverine with multiple knives in his shoulder. Logan announces the Eternals have killed Egg, one of the Five X-Men who helps manage the delicate resurrection protocols of Krakoa. An enraged Emma Frost puts together a “telepathic strike force” to attack the Eternals – while Professor Xavier defends the entire Quiet Council from the Uni-Mind by himself.
The opening salvos of the X-Men-Eternals war showcases the sheer power of both sides. The Uni-Mind almost overcomes powerful mutants like Emma Frost, Destiny and Exodus, but Xavier appears to be stronger than all the Eternals put together. Unfortunately, this is only a defense against an attack within the center of the mind – the Eternals are quite physically strong as well, and will simply resurrect if killed in battle. But the mutants can resurrect their members as well, meaning the X-Men’s fight against the Eternals could potentially carry on indefinitely…at least until one side permanently destroys the other’s ability to return from the dead.