A major hero from the MCU just came to the rescue for the X-Men, and he didn’t even realize he was doing it.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Empyre: X-Men #4 by Jonathan Hickman, Jorge Molina, Lucas Weneck, Adriano Di Benedetto, Nolan Woodard, Rachelle Rosenberg, & VC’s Clayton Cowles, on sale now.
The current crisis on Genosha has drawn out many of the X-Men’s most powerful players, forcing the mutants into battle against the zombified remnants of their former counterparts. The mutants have taken quite a beating, but the 616-version of a major character from the Marvel Cinematic Universe helped save the day without even realizing it in Empyre: X-Men #4. That character is the incomparable Doctor Strange.
The X-Men have found themselves dealing with some serious problems on Genosha during Empyre. Over 16 million mutants were murdered during a Sentinel attack on the island. After being responsible for the depowering of most mutants on the planet, Scarlet Witch decided to attempt to redeem herself by using dark magic to revive the dead mutants. In a way, she was successful; the mutants were all brought back to the world of the living, but as the undead.
As if that weren’t bad enough, the Cotati have invaded Genosha, and the Hordeculture — a group of bio-terrorists who have previously come into conflict with the mutants of Krakoa — have arrived as well to wreak havoc on the X-Men. Thanks to the sacrifice of the zombified Exploding Boy, the mutants triumph over the massive undead Cotati monster who initially created this chaos, but this defeat isn’t where their troubles end. They still have the rest of the zombies and Darkchydle to worry about. Enter Doctor Strange.
After causing the accidental zombie uprising on Genosha, Scarlet Witch retreated to New York to find Doctor Strange. Already exhausted, he listens to her story, drinking the entire time out of sheer frustration with Wanda and her actions. He eventually agrees to help her undo all the damage she’s caused, even risking his life and trading favors with magical beings to ensure he can create a counter to Wanda’s spellcraft.
Upon arriving in Genosha, Doctor Strange was able to essentially force a time cap on Wanda’s staff — the one she used to attempt to raise the dead. He explains that when the staff disintegrates, all the effects of the dark magic will dissipate. Strange predicts it will be about 30 days before the spell fully activates. In order to keep the zombies contained for the next thirty days, he deploys a spell that puts a barrier around the island. However, it turns out that this entire interaction took place 29 days before the main plot of Empyre: X-Men.
When Doctor Strange’s spell finally activates, the staff is broken and the two remaining conflicts on the island — Darkchylde and her new zombie army — are both defeated. The zombies crumble to dust, and Illyana is restored to her normal form.
Without even realizing it or planning on it, the X-Men just avoided a potentially very dangerous undead army led by a demonic sorceress thanks to the actions of Doctor Strange.
