The End of an X-Men Era, the Krakoa Era-What happened?
A chapter has ended in the history of the X-Men, the Krakoa Era, but BREIFLY how did it happen and how did it end?
The Krakoa Era has been a significant milestone in the ongoing X-Men stories. In years to come it will be spoken alongside Days of Future Past, the time the X-Men went to space, the Siege Perilous and the Age of Apocalypse.
The origin of Krakoa is significantly linked to an important moment in the history of the X-Men.
In the beginning there were X-Men: Cyclops, Jean Gray, Iceman, Beast and Angel. One of the biggest moments in X-Men history is when the team changes. Since then, the roster of X-Men has changed and new teams have arrived and departed.
It all started with the arrival of Krakoa.
In 1975, Giant Sized X-Men brought a new team and with it some of the most recognizable X-Men. The cover alone is iconic. And Krakoa made it all possible.
The original team receive a distress call from a remote island, a strange set of events lead Cyclops to be the only survivor. Having returned to Professor X, Cyclops cannot explain what has happened. Without a team of X-Men to investigate, Professor X recruits a new group who include the now historical line up of Wolverine, Storm, Colossus and Nightcrawler.
When the new team investigate the island, they find a whole host of mysterious forces at work. They are attacked by giant crabs, birds, plants and even rocks.
When the new X-Men find the original team, they are told that the whole situation has been a trap. Cyclops was allowed to leave the island because the island knew that he would return with a new group of mutants. And that’s exactly what they island wanted, more mutants, because the island feeds off mutant energy.
The combined efforts of the X-Men overcome the island (pretty impressive) and Krakoa is sent into space. The island is eventually returned to the planet and then Professor X gets a good idea. He decides to make the island a home for mutants.
He also has some less than good ideas, like inviting all the mutant villains to join them on the island and telling humanity that mutants are the new gods.
Introspect, not the greatest ideas. Some villains just can’t help themselves (Mr Sinter) and human beings go full on sentinel, which causes a great deal of pain and suffering for mutants.
The tipping point comes with the Hellfire Gala (it’s like a Met Gala for mutants in comics). The combination of Mr Sinister, sentinels from the future and the human resistance (formed into an organisation named Orchis) to mutants attack and lay waste to Krakoa.
Professor X is forced to make all the mutants walk through a portal. He is later told that he made all the mutants walk into a meat grinder. It pushes Professor X over the edge and he does some terrible things and then surrenders to the sentinels and Orchis.
Luckily some other mutants were able to resist Professor X’s mind control and didn’t walk through the portal. Cyclops is arrested, there is some space travel, time travel and dimensional travel. Usual X-Men adventures.
Wolverine has a war with Sabretooth and the result is all the sentinels guarding Krakoa are destroyed. Which is great time because the island returns along with all the mutant who walked through the portal. They didn’t end up in a meat grinder. They were in the white hot room which exists outside of the multiverse.
Fifteen years have passed for them and they have constructed a better society for mutants and had time to resurrect all the mutants that were killed. They’ve been really productive. But they aren’t going to stay. They came back to unify Krakoa and to return some mutants to Earth. And then they are off.
Which leaves us where?
With a new era of X-Men stories. Beginning in July X-Men: From the Ashes will be setting up new teams and new adventures.
The big difference, at the moment, is Professor X is not included. He’s currently in a coma and no one really like him very much.
A whole host of great stories have risen from the Krakoa Era. If you didn’t catch the origin, the House of X and Power of X are the places to start. From there you have the ongoing X-Men stories plus some great story arcs like Sins of Sinister (spoiler, Mr Sinister is being bad).
For more on Professor X’s creation of Krakoa as a homeland for mutants, check out The House of X and Power of X by Jonathan Hickman (this is a paid affiliate link and as an Amazon Associate I will earn a small income from qualifying purchases, but won’t cost you any more).
Originally published at https://neuromyths.substack.com.
