Warning: spoilers for Knights of X #1 ahead!

One of Marvel Comic's oldest and most powerful magical objects, the Siege Perilous, has now returned in the pages of the X-Men's new series Knights of X, finally returning to its Arthurian, Otherworldly roots. Captain Britain and her new knights are being sent on a mission by the great magician Roma; to seek out and retrieve the Siege Perilous, and hopefully win their war against the evil Merlyn.

The Siege Perilous, a magical portal that transforms and gives a new life to anyone who passes through it, is based on the Siege Perilous from Arthurian legend; a term for an empty seat on King Arthur's Round Table that is deeply connected to the lore of the Holy Grail. First seen in 1988's Uncanny X-Men #225 by Chris Claremont and Marc Silvestri, Roma gifted the Perilous Portal to the X-Men after they were killed defeating the Adversary in battle and she resurrected them, allowing them to continue operating in secret in the outback of Australia, but has rarely been seen since.

Related: Psylocke and Captain Britain Get the Team Up Fans Demand in New Fanart

Now, in Knights of X #1 - written by Tini Howard with art by Bob Quinn and Erick Arciniega - it seems like in Marvel's universe the Siege Perilous and the Holy Grail are one in the same, and the newly formed Knights of X are on a new quest to find it, save Otherworld, and get back to Krakoa. Captain Britain sought out Roma because she knew that she did not support her villainous father Merlyn, and while Roma would love to help Betsy Braddock, since the series takes place in the Dungeons & Dragons-esque world of Otherworld, the only way the fairy magician can help is by sending Braddock on a quest. Captain Britain is able to use Otherworld's magic to summon her Knights of X to the realm, gathering Gambit, Shatterstar, Rictor, Shogo, Meggan, Bei the Blood Moon, Rachel Summers, and Kylun to create her own "Knights of the Otherworld Round Table." When the once-evil, and now amnesiac, Mordred surprisingly joins the group as their tenth Knight, Roma's quest is finally revealed, with a glowing image of the Siege Perilous shown to all present, which both Besty and Gambit immediately recognize from their adventures in the late '80s X-Men.

X-Men Knights of X siege perilous

This is a huge moment for longtime Marvel fans, because the Siege Perilous is tied to so many beloved stories from the late '80s and early '90s like The Fall of the Mutants, Inferno, and the entire "Outback Era." Not only that, but the return of the wildly powerful Siege Perilous could tie up some loose ends around the mutants connections to Otherworld.

A major part of the crossover event X of Swords - which took place in Otherworld - was that if a mutant dies in that dimension, then they will not properly resurrect back on Krakoa, but the Siege Perilous could be the solution to this limit on mutant immortality. Captain Britain, her team, and all mutant "witchbreed" in Otherworld are trapped in a horrifying apocalyptic landscape ruled by King Arthur's army and Merlyn's terribly Furies, so they will need all the power they can get to fight back against the immense forces of evil threatening them. With this new team and lore-heavy artifact, Knights of X is seemingly promising an era of new stories that artfully connect back to classic X-Men and Excalibur adventures.

More: Marvel's Lord of the Rings Team Debuts in Knights of X Preview

Knights of X #1 is available now from Marvel Comics.