Marvel's latest solicits suggest that Charles Xavier could actually be demon-possessed in the X-Men relaunch. Jonathan Hickman's X-Men revamp has transformed the superhero franchise. He has assembled all the world's mutants on the living island of Krakoa, hero and villain alike, and there the X-Men are building a new mutant community - almost a utopia.
The new status quo is an exciting one, but it's always seemed a little too good to be true. What's more, some aspects of this new mutant society feel distinctly uncomfortable. Take the example of the Crucible; this is essentially an arena in which a formerly de-powered mutant must fight to the death in order to prove they are worthy of regaining their abilities. It's not hard to see why figures such as Apocalypse were happy with the Crucible, but it's certainly hard to imagine some of Krakoa's other leaders – the likes of which include Charles Xavier and Jean Grey – signing off on this.
Nightcrawler stands at the heart of this new mutant community. Always philosophical, Kurt Wagner is the one X-Man who appears to be attempting to figure out what this new way of life looks like in spiritual terms. In April, Marvel will launch a new series exploring his quest for the deeper meaning behind mutant life, and Way of X is one of the most promising books advertised to date.
The Solicits For Way of X #2 Tease A Dramatic Secret
Marvel has recently published the solicitation for Way of X #2, and it promises to reveal a secret that will redefine life on Krakoa. Written by Simon Spurrier and featuring art by Bob Quinn, the issue will see Nightcrawler discover the true origin of the dark shadow threatening to consume Krakoa. Here's the teaser:
- The dark force hiding within Krakoa begins to show its true form.
- The answers are hidden… WITHIN THE MINDSCAPE. Kurt's and others.
- One of the most dangerous mutants is reborn!
Readers can be forgiven for not knowing a lot about the Mindscape. This is essentially a sort of astral dimension, one that borders on the minds of all intelligent beings. It is believed to be linked to the so-called "Nightmare Realm," home of the classic Doctor Strange villain Nightmare. But the Mindscape is not uninhabited itself; rather, it is home to a vast number of parasitic beings that could describe as demons, malevolent entities that seek to enter a person's psyche and feed on them, gradually destroying their very sense of being and driving them insane. The Mindscape is policed by a race known as the Sleepwalkers, who protect the border of the Mindscape and attempt to prevent these demons possessing human minds. It is frankly rather surprising to hear the answers to Nightcrawler's many questions lie in the Mindscape.
The Resurrection Protocols May Be A Gateway To An Invasion
Mutant society is very different to any human civilization on Earth, and that's not just because every member is a superhuman. Rather, it is because the mutant community of Krakoa is defined by the conquest of death itself. The X-Men have learned how to synergize mutant powers and Cerebro technology in order to restore the millions of mutants who have been slain over the decades, including the 16.5 million killed on the island of Genosha. Though the X-Men do not realize it, there have already been cosmic repercussions to their actions. They were one cause of an imbalance between life and death, one that would have transformed this universe into a so-called "Cancerverse" without the intervention of Jane Foster's Valkyrie. That particular revelation proved somewhat startling to X-Men fans, suggesting they should be wary of other unforeseen - and, in truth, unforeseeable - consequences.
But the X-Men may have caused another issue through their Resurrection Protocols. In resurrecting millions of mutants, the X-Men are creating and untold number of new boundaries into the Mindscape itself. Worse still, the Sleepwalkers – those charged to protect the boundaries of the Mindscape – had no idea this was about to happen, and they are limited in number, meaning suddenly they are faced with literally millions of new potential vectors for the demonic foes. It is, therefore, entirely possible some of the demonic entities of the Mindscape have taken advantage of the mutant resurrections to possess new hosts. Depending on how many got through, the X-Men could actually be dealing with a sort of demonic invasion.
Charles Xavier Himself Could Be Affected
All this means any mutant who has gone through the Resurrection Protocols could potentially be a host to a monstrous, parasitic life form from another dimension. That includes Nightcrawler himself – perhaps explaining why he has seemed oddly morose and joyless of late – but it also includes Charles Xavier. The Professor actually orchestrated his own assassination in order to cement the mutant community, trusting in Jean Grey to use Cerebro to restore him. He seemed to have gotten away with this deceit, but there could well be unexpected repercussions. Given Xavier is the one who "downloads" minds into the resurrected mutant bodies, he would be a key asset to the demonic invaders. This would also explain why Xavier was otherwise unaware of these astral entities – because he is already under their thrall.
This would certainly reinforce the sense that "Way of X" is one of the most important books in the current X-Men line. At a stroke, Nightcrawler's philosophical questions would be rewritten – becoming the key to protecting resurrected mutants from dangerous astral predators that could potentially be flooding into Earth at an unprecedented rate. The Resurrection Protocols are a fascinating idea, raising so many intellectual and philosophical questions, but these have to be understood within the context of the Marvel universe itself. It would also continue the thematic expansion of the X-Men franchise, given other current books are seeing the X-Men explore the depths of space and traverse the Multiverse itself. It will be fascinating to see how this plays out, and what the long-term implications of Nightcrawler's quest into the Mindscape may turn out to be.