Warning: this article contains spoilers for X-Men #16
It’s a new year and the status quo of The X-Men is still adjusting to the conclusion of X of Swords. It's not altogether surprising considering the rollercoaster that was the latest mutant crossover event. Big storylines in Marvel Comics tend to leave behind collateral damage and the recent contest in Otherworld is no exception. Other than Apocalypse’s self-imposed exile from Krakoa, one of the biggest upheavals brought on by X of Swords was the relocation of Arakko to Earth. Now, there’s something rotten in the new mutant state in writer Jonathan Hickman and artist Phil Noto’s X-Men #16, and it’s up to the X-Men of Krakoa to figure it out.
For those not in the know, the sentient mutant islands of Krakoa and Arakko were once united as Okkara, the promised land for all of mutantdom. However, the two have been separated for millennia and evolved into very different beings. Whereas Arakko and its mutants were hardened by the harsh and violent realities of constant war in Otherworld, Krakoa was allowed to flourish in the relative peace of Earth. Today, the two islands require the mutant Cypher as an interpreter since even their ability to communicate with one another has been disrupted by their divergent history. But there’s more to it than that: with a physical divide now in play, the two islands must find a way to bridge that gap enough for a discussion to take place.
Since the two will not merge as expected and remain separated by open water, Krakoa and Arakko manifest tree-like avatars that are eerily similar to a fan-favorite from the Guardians of the Galaxy: Groot.
Emerging from their respective islands, the two Groot-esque beings meet to parley. Hickman has been consistent in his efforts to create a character of Krakoa, even giving it a face. Now it has the ability to take on a more specific form and interact with the world at large in ways that would otherwise have been impossible. Almost always its personality is expressed through the aptly-named Cypher who acts as a translator, much like Groot and Rocket.
And what might this say about Groot exactly? The resemblance really is quite uncanny. Readers know that Groot is a member of a race known as the Flora Colossi of Planet X. Could there be a hitherto unknown connection between the two species? Stranger things have happened in Marvel Comics, and it would be an exciting development considering the X-Men are boldly going where no one has gone before in the S.W.O.R.D. series.